A Rather Appealing Tree

[Griff Aubert]

During his last meeting with Caitrin a number of things happened. Firstly, he'd become stupidly jealous of a man who was dancing with her, secondly, she'd kissed his hand, thirdly, he'd been an idiot and messed everything up but that was alright because...fourthly, there had been lots of intimacy and lip biting, which was always a good thing, and then Rouland had to go and ruin everything and turn Griff into a blabbering idiot. But even that wasn't too bad because Caitrin had said that she hoped they would see each other soon. It was with that in mind that Griff was now travelling to her uncle's lands (and praying that he was away) to surprise her.

He'd managed to get directions from a man he met in a tavern who had hopefully been sober enough to tell him the right way. Well, it was too late to turn back now, and if he was in the wrong place he'd hopefully find someone who could help him. Hopefully someone blonde and petite, it'd been a while since he'd had a blonde. Not that that was going to happen, not anymore. Still, flirting wasn't going to do any harm.

He had found a rather large looking house, one that looked like an important sort of house so assumed it would be Rouland's. He was heading towards it when he noticed a tree, which wasn't particularly interesting in itself, but it became decidedly more interesting and rather appealing when he came closer and realised that Caitrin was sat in it. He smiled a stupid smile, embarrassingly and quickly wiped it from his face. He'd had enough of being an idiot in her presence. He'd had enough of being an idiot in general.

His horse, for once, stopped when he told it to, under the tree so Griff looked up, just watching her for a moment before making his presence known. "My lady!" He called with a grin, "You appear to be in a tree."

[Caitrin de Archer]

It had been a lazy morning for Caitrin. After the excitement of the ball her Uncle had expressed he wanted her to stay in his lands for a few days so he could keep a watchful eye on her. Caitrin was glad if that was her only punishment for her actions with Griflet. Sticking to her Uncle’s wishes she was staying on his lands, just not in the house. He was annoying her anyway. He had wrote to her father the morning after the ball to let him know exactly what she had been up to. She could pretend she cared what he thought but she really didn’t. She had never had much love for her father, but somehow, him sending her to a completely different kingdom had not done much for her relations with her father. She wondered what his reply would be, probably something along the lines of Griflet’s profession or character, or even how much his estate was worth.

She eased her back into the branch she was lay on. She was lay on her back and enjoying the morning sun. Below her, on the ground, was a woven basket with her latest sample of love charms. She had been asked to make some by the women who worked her Uncle’s lands and in her confinement she had been more than happy to agree. She had already completed one, and she had picked the lavender for the others fresh this morning. They shouldn’t take too long to complete anyway.

She had thought about Griflet a lot since their last meeting, but obviously not exclusively. Mainly she had been wondering what would have happened, and how far Griflet would have gone if her Uncle had not interrupted them. It had amused her how changed Griflet had become at Rouland’s arrival. She would have to tease him on that next time she saw him. She was wearing a fitted blue dress today, it wasn’t one of her most elegant but it suited spending the morning up a tree better than any of her other garments.

“My Lady! You appear to be in a tree." Caitrin had been so lost in her own rambing thoughts she hadn’t even noticed anyone approaching the tree. Her eyes widened and she turned over so she was still lying down but she was now facing her visitor, her head resting in her hands. She couldn’t suppress her smile, or surprise at Griflet’s arrival, and she was sure her day would now become a lot more interesting.

“How very observant of you my Lord.” She smirked, “And you now seem to be able to construct a proper sentence, I must congratulate you.” She winked, letting him know she was joking. She was sure the embarrassment of that night probably bit hard with Griflet but she was allowed to tease him on it.

She considered him for a moment and then remembered their previous conversation, “You disappoint me Griflet,” She said quickly, settling herself on the branch she was lay upon and grinned at him, “You have no dead animal for me, I hope you have a pretty verse to make up for it.” It sounded odd, but last time they had met Griflet had, during the conversation, told her he would get her both items so that she could compare their effect. He had neither, and she suspected he didn’t even remember that bit of the conversation, after all, the last part had been very distracting.

[Griff Aubert]

Griff was surprisingly pleased with her reaction. She’d never been this happy when he’d appeared before, but then their last parting was a lot better than their first – even she would have to admit that they’d been making progress, which is an even better situation now that Griff had seen Rouland’s house, and hopefully part of Caitrin’s inheritance. He had already decided that he could quite comfortably live in such a house, so much for Lucan and his stupid job. It was a mercenary view, but he was practically starving. And anyway, he’d already established that they were making real progress, so it didn’t matter that he was thinking mainly of himself.

“Well I am famed for my observations.” He replied, still looking up at the tree. His neck was probably going to hurt soon, so the sooner he could get her down the better. He attempted a smile at her next words, even if she was making fun of him. He had been put into an awkward and unwanted situation which he thought he’d handled rather well or maybe not rather well, but not as badly as he could’ve done so he deserved some recognition for that.

His face fell slightly when he was told he had disappointed her, but he quickly composed himself so she wouldn’t notice. Oh wonderful. He’d forgotten about both the poem and dead animal. Luckily he was used to thinking on his feet. With the agility of someone who was used to climbing up various vertical objects to reach women he managed to pull himself up on a thick tree branch and using his rather impressive – he was told as much often – upper body strength pulled the rest of his body upwards so he was able to get his legs over the branch and join Caitrin. He looked around him, trying to work out whether he was in danger of dying or not, but then it would be a very him way of dying if it was in pursuit of a woman. He grabbed another branch above him and used that to get himself on his feet. He tested his balance, just to make sure he didn’t fall and die, and then, still holding onto the branch outstretched an arm towards Caitrin. “Oh Caitrin, with hair so fine, to see you I have climbed this vine. Your beauty, like Helen, could launch a thousand ships,” here he smirked, “especially when you shake those hips. So tell me, truly, do I waste my time, or can I hope that you’ll become mine?”

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin found this meeting a lot more pleasant than their last one. She looked down on him in favour rather than the anger this time, it was new and different. She hadn’t really found herself enjoying the presence of a man before because they were there, instead of just enjoying teasing and irritating them. She put her hand on her chin, propping it up and smiled gently down at him as he spoke. “I’m sure you are.” She agreed and ran a hand through her hair. Caitrin wasn’t sure what she felt for him yet, it wasn’t anywhere near love. Caitrin didn’t believe in such things but she knew she felt something for Griflet that made her stomach flip when he flashed a grin, and she was happier now he was here than she had been. It hadn’t been long since the dance but it had felt like weeks since she had last seen him.

She noted his silence at her words, and in turn she had fallen silent as well. She didn’t look at him for a few moments and instead looked back towards the house, her Uncle was not at home today but his presence still hung about the place.

Eventually she turned back to Griflet, feeling more awkward now and gave a small apologetic smile, “I’m sorry. My Uncle should not have been so abrupt.” She was telling the truth now, she had been angry at her Uncle and his choice of words, he should either have put Griflet out of his misery or have taken Caitrin away from him. She had felt bad afterwards for not jumping to Griflet’s defence, but Griflet had surely faced down worse than her Uncle? If not then he wasn’t particularly well travelled.

Caitrin was surprised as Griflet began to climb the tree as well. She had been expecting him to try and get her to come down and join him. She was still lying on the branch, but it was large enough for the both of them to be on there in relative comfort. He was proving that as he came to join her, although he extended an arm to her, she didn’t take it, she didn’t want to seem too over keen. Instead she flashed him a pretty grin and a small wink as he began to spin his poetry. At least he had come up with a pretty verse to amuse her with. As he paused she turned onto her back, steadying herself and looking at him upside down, laughing as he mentioned her hips. She licked her bottom lip as he continued to speak and raised her eye brows at him. She shifted her body closer to his and flashed him a quick grin, “You may hope.” She said softly, in keeping with his poem. All in all she had enjoyed it, “But I refuse to give you any more than that.” She gave him a wink before thinking to sit up next to him, after all, it was uncomfortable lying on the branch.

Now she came to think about Griflet’s presence in a practical sense and scratched her nose, looking at him and cocking her head to one side, “How did you find this place?” She asked him, then realisign she had told him to visit her but had not told him where her Uncle’s estate was. But then she placed a hand over one of his and grinned, “But I am glad you have come, I have been extremely bored under my Uncle’s watch.”

[Griff Aubert]

In answer to her apology he merely shrugged dismissively. It wasn’t Caitrin’s fault and he would rather forget about the whole ordeal. He felt embarrassed enough as it was without her reminding him of it. All it had done, well apart from show him to a fool, was to confirm that he was still unable to cope without his blasé attitude and over-confident pretence, and he definitely didn’t need a reminder of that. “It doesn’t matter.” He replied and hoped that would be an end to it. Caitrin had apologised and he had accepted, so surely there was nothing more to be said and he could forget about it all.

He was quite pleased by her reaction to his climbing the tree. See, he could be just as impulsive and disregarding of social norms as she could, as evidenced by his poetry recital whilst standing in a tree. Seeing as he’d just made up the poem as he went along he was quite pleased with how it turned out, maybe he could become a poet. He was sure someone would pay good money for such beautiful verse. As well as making him rich and famous and loved throughout all the land, it also seemed to have had a positive effect on Caitrin, which was the whole point. All in all, it was a poem well penned.

It made him stupidly happy, happier than it should do, to hear that he did indeed have hope that there would be something between them, something more than an interrupted kiss outside in the dark. “To give me hope is to give my joy, to make me feel like a man, and not a small boy.” He laughed at his poetry, because he thought himself that good, and because it was a stupid poem and because he was just damned happy at the moment. And why shouldn’t he be? He was in a tree with Caitrin.

“I met a man in a tavern.” He began to explain, “He told me the rough location and I got him a free ale.” The less said about that ale was probably for the better. His skin still tingled when she touched him; he turned his hand over so his palm was against hers and started tracing patterns against her hand with his fingertips. He would probably annoy her by continuing with his rhyming, but he was enjoying himself. “Well when boredom strikes the best place to be is clearly sat in the sunshine – sat in a tree.”

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin didn’t pursue the conversation that had been exchanged between Griflet and her Uncle. She knew in the past that men had been scared off by her Uncle’s presence, but it had never been done to a man who was in pursuit of Caitrin, usually it was men seeking alliances or help who were chased off by him. Caitrin was still angry with her Uncle and made no light task of letting him know at every opportunity. She knew that Griflet must have been either traumatised or worse, because he was not even making light work of that night, but instead putting a rather sombre twist on the whole thing. One thing though needed to be said, “He cannot have scared you that badly Griflet, for you are still here.” Caitrin knew that, from past experiences, when a man was frightened off by something then they would find something or someone else to keep them amused. Only a few days had passed since the ball so she knew Griflet must be determined to pursue his feelings towards her, even after her Uncle’s words.

She could tell Griflet was happy at her words, his whole body language said so, right down to his signature smile. She returned it, as now she had said it she was glad. She hadn’t admitted that she had overt feelings for Griflet, but she was allowing him to hope because she was starting to think that she had been wrong in her initial judgements of him at the lakeside. Perhaps he wasn’t that sort of man after all. She rolled her eyes at his poetry, worrying she may have fed his ego a bit too much and gave a small giggle, “What kind of woman would I be to deny you joy my Lord?”

Caitrin thought that his words, that he had met a man in a tavern, was the start of a bad joke but she was pleased to discover that it was not and nodded. Her Uncle’s lands were not hard to find once you knew how, but they were out of the way because Rouland liked it like that. She shrugged slightly, playing with the ends of her hair aimlessly and smiled, “A fair trade then? Ale for a morning stuck up a tree with me?” It was a gentle tease but she was happy with it, the fact she had some feelings for Griflet did not mean she would abandon her teases, if anything, they would be made worse. She laughed at his latter words and squirmed as he drew his fingers against her palm; she was discovering that she was in fact incredibly ticklish. No one had ever really touched her like that for her to realise she was ticklish earlier, she hadn’t really let them. Now she was remembering acting the same when Helgund had traced her palms whilst trying to teach her sorcery. Caitrin enjoyed the memories of Helgund because she had been one of her only friends whilst growing up, and her memory lived on through Caitrin’s sorcery. She wasn’t going to let such things ruin her morning though, and now Griflet was here her mood was much improved, “I have always found it an enjoyable pastime.” She voiced happily, “It is better than being in there anyway.” She gestured towards the house and rolled her eyes. She would rather be out here in her own company than have to listen to her Uncle or her Aunt, especially with the moods they were in with her at the moment.

[Griff Aubert]

“I would endure a lifetime being humiliated by Rouland if it meant I could spend even a second in your company.” It wasn’t a complete lie, or perhaps it was, but there was some truth rooted in it, so that was the main thing. Apart from the obvious logistics that after spending a lifetime there wouldn’t be a second left. Even so, it was the thought that counted, so while Griff was in no way prepared to spend any amount of time with Rouland alone for only a second with Caitrin he could easily endure the memory of his humiliation in order to spend time with her now. It was practically the same thing.

She was rolling his eyes, so he narrowed his. If she was mocking his poetry then she clearly knew nothing about art. He’d just discovered himself to be a literary genius. She should be falling at his feet, but metaphorically, as she’d only fall out of the tree and injure herself. “Well exactly.” He frowned, pulling his mouth to one side as he thought, “Nothing rhymes with ‘exactly’. Exactly...so tax me?” He shrugged. Being a poet wasn’t fun anymore.

It was indeed a fair trade, especially as he hadn’t actually paid for the ale. Not that he’d say anything to Caitrin, he rather liked not being pushed out of a tree. He simply nodded, preferring not to elaborate, instead continuing to compliment her. He was well practiced in distracting women with pretty words. “Well it is a pleasant tree,” he replied, tapping the branch he was on as if to demonstrate just how pleasant a tree it was, “And I find myself in more than pleasant company,” he smirked, “I might even go so far as to say fantastic.”

He was still smirking, only now it was caused by her reaction to his fingers. He didn’t know she was ticklish, he’d have to remember that and use to his advantage. Often. At her words he followed his gaze, eyes landing on the sight of Rouland’s estate. It looked even larger from a height. It hadn’t occurred to Griff quite how much money the man hand, and, with any luck it would soon be Caitrin’s. It was then, looking out at the estate, that he decided that he’d quite like to own such an estate and would do all in his power to enable himself to do so. “I can think of several enjoyable pastimes.” He replied, and his eyebrows rose suggestively.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin wasn’t sure how far she believed Griflets words, not because she didn’t believe that he had feelings for her, but she didn’t believe that anyone would want to spend an extended period of time in her Uncle’s company for any reward. Especially seeing what her Uncle had witnessed during their last meeting. She couldn’t suppress a smile though, and opted for teasing him gently. “Im glad you accept that fate so freely, because unfortunately I come with my Uncle.” She paused, wondering if she should tell him about her father and his expectations of her. It would probably just scare him off, but he had to know because she was expecting the letter from her father any day now and it would be about Griflet. “Unfortunately you have my father to contend with as well.” She lazily rolled her eyes back to Griflet and put her finger on the crook of his nose and poked him slightly, “But I’m sure it’s nothing that you can’t handle.”

She hadn’t disapproved of his poetry, she just supposed it hadn’t had the complete effect he had expected it to have. Her sisters would have died for a man to construct a poem for them, and would have probably thrown themselves at the mans feet there and then. Caitrin knew better; she knew Griflet better than that. So she laughed at his attempt at his last rhyme as it had amused her, "I can see you are dedicated to your art my Lord." It was a slight tease but she didn't really care that much, "But I enjoyed your rhyme, thank you." Now she gave him a genuine grin because he had very obviously made it up on the spot, and even though he had it was incredibly impressive.

Caitrin’s smile widened as Griflet called her fantastic again and she shuffled up the branch towards him, closing the gap between them slowly. She enjoyed being complimented, as most women would, and of course she loved it even more when it came from Griflet. “See, I told you last time we met that you thought I was fantastic.” She gave a small laugh, “But I have to agree, the company isn’t bad.” She winked at him, not giving in to him straight away. The fun was always in the chase, not in the capture. That had been her philosophy so far and she wasn’t about to abandon it. Apart from a quick kiss in the gardens, not much had intimately passed between the pair, and Caitrin appreciated that fact and although Griflet was here with her now she didn’t expect him to have thought about her exclusively since their last exchange; that would be insane.

Caitrin’s eye brows rose with Griflets and she set her hand down by the side of him, inclining her body slightly more towards him unconsciously and grinned. “Perhaps you could enlighten me on a few my Lord.” She said more softly than she had meant it. She kept catching him looking at the house but thought nothing of it. Perhaps he was looking out for her Uncle, after all, she supposed Griflet felt some fear for the man after their exchange. It amused her to think he was so afraid of her Uncle, where she was not. “I’m sure you have a few ideas to amuse me with.”

[Griff Aubert]

An uncle and a father. How wonderful. No doubt said father would be even less hospitable than Rouland, although such a thing was hopefully impossible. It would be hard enough trying to seduce Caitrin under Rouland’s watchful glare, let alone her father. Knowing Griff’ luck he’d be even better at catching the pair of them in compromising positions and would be the origin of Caitrin’s quick-temper. Well, meeting the family was going to be fun fun fun. He tried to remain casual however, because it wouldn’t do to let Caitrin know that he was now dreading the prospect of being alone in a room with Rouland and Mr Caitrin, she’d only tease him about it. So he shrugged and replied: “Well you know me, I can handle anything.” He smirked after realising that his speech could have a double meaning.

He nodded at her mention of his art, but it was more a nod of acknowledgement rather than one of agreement, the sort that royalty were so practiced in when they had to pretend to care about the common folk. It was definitely an action full of his own sense of superiority, or rather, his put on sense of superiority. “Well it is only natural, little one.” He replied and patted her head – he probably shouldn’t have done that, she’d probably slap him – and tried to keep a straight face but his own amusement prevent such a thing and he started laughing at his own joke, as well as preparing himself for any oncoming slaps.

He instinctively put an arm around her as she shuffled closer, and noticed how nice she smelt and that he probably hadn’t thought that about a woman with such sincerity. But then, he hadn’t done anything with a woman with such sincerity before. “Yes, well, that was just me seducing you.” He grinned, it had, at least in part been trying to seduce her, it was usually his sole ambition whenever a young woman was around. However, at the time of calling her fantastic it had been completely sincere, but she wasn’t going to know that because she’d only tease him about it – as she was doing now – and end up with an ego large enough to match his own, and that would never do.

“Well there’s always fishing.” Griff suggested with a grin. He knew full well that Caitrin was expecting something inappropriate when he prided himself on never being inappropriate in front of young women. On the contrary, everything he said was always appropriate to both the woman and situation. As soon as he finished speaking he realised that Caitrin would probably declare that fishing was her favourite pastime and demand that they find the nearest lake. Even if she didn’t like fishing at all she would make him do it just to annoy him. “Although I’m not sure I trust you enough, I’d only end up drowning.”

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin had only initially said it as a passing remark, but now she thought on it, she wondered what her father was going to make of the whole situation. Since her arrival in Camelot every letter he had sent included some detail of why she was not married yet. If he had his way then she would have been married at the age of sixteen to a thirty year old man she did not know, or love. God had taken him away and had therefore released Caitrin to her freedom, and Caitrin was not about to give it up so quickly. Rouland had probably told her father about the ball, but further than that she could not think as her Uncle had been urging her to attempt to converse with some suitors for a while. The letter was expected soon so it would not be a long wait. She couldn’t help but laugh at his words. From what she had seen so far of Griflet he could handle anything, but her Uncle Rouland. “You cannot handle everything my Lord. No one can handle me.” She proclaimed boldly, winking at him. It wasn’t one of her better lines but it would do for now. Once her flirtatious spark had died she shrugged towards Griflet, “I should not worry about my father,” She sniffed back, not looking at Griflet but looking ahead, “He has merely sent me letters ever since he sent me to Camelot, and will probably do little else, even if Uncle has wrote to him regarding us.” Her voice had the raw anger it always retreated to when speaking of her family. She had never been particularly fond of any of them, but it was the fact she felt she had literally been banished to a different Kingdom which had grated with Caitrin since the first talk of selling her wardship.

Caitrin could sense that Griflet’s ego was glowing at her comments and she was regretting them straight away. She had always thought herself the more vain and big headed in a conversation, but obviously Griflet was determined to excel her in the latter, and probably the former given half a chance. However then he patted her on the head, and it felt like they were back on the forest, and she was seeing red again. She thought of punching him, or slapping him directly in the face. But Griflet was over dramatic and would probably fall out of the tree and inconveniently break a limb. Instead, she punched him hard in the arm as that would not knock him off balance. She had always been touchy about her size as she had been the smallest in her family, but she also couldn’t stand being patronised. “Do not do that again.” She instructed him, pointing a finger directly in his face.

She didn’t complain as he slipped his arm around her waist. She just merely complied with his action, and shuffled up again towards him so that their sides were touching, and she rested her head on his shoulder for a moment. He was incredibly warm, and his touch felt inviting; dangerously so. She smiled for a moment, content with just enjoying that moment before Griflet spoke again. Her head was raised off his shoulder so she could catch his eye and raised her eye brows, folding her arms, “Is that all you have to seduce me with? You’ll have to try a lot harder to do it again.” Caitrin didn’t laugh, but she felt she was going to. She knew that teases and challenges like that were like playing with fire with Griflet. He was reserved and shy with his sexual feelings like most men were. If she was going to offer some pleasurable experience she was sure he would take the opportunity without a seconds hesitation.

Fishing? Caitrin raised her eye brows at him, which was a thing she often did in Griflet’s company and held back a laugh. She was sure that wasn’t what he had in mind but she was willing to play along with it until he decided that they actually weren’t going fishing. Therefore the conversation had not progressed at all. She wasn’t sure how much she trusted Griflet either, but not whilst questioning whether he would kill her or not, more on the topic of her feelings. She knew she should not just accept him straight away and the worries that he was merely a flirt or after something more still niggled at the back of her brain. She ignored those feelings for the most part. Griflet was here after all, not with some other noblewoman. “I didn’t drown you last time we were at a lake.” She quickly protested, “I should have done, but I didn’t.” Caitrin had been extremely angry with him for the lakeside exchange. She had felt he had taken advantage, but then again she had let him which made the incident ten times worse in her mind.

Moving on, Caitrin looked around them, as if hoping for inspiration. Then she remembered her love charms and decided that would do nicely. “You can help me with my charms if you want,” She said slowly, missing out the word love out of charms as she was sure he would only tease. She pointed to the basket at the foot of the tree as well to illustrate her point. “Or, if you do not want to help, you can sit opposite me, trying to tease, annoy and seduce me, as it is what you will do anyway.” She grinned at him mockingly and then put up a third finger and pointed to it, counting off his options, “Or if you can think of something better to do, I might adjust my plans- your choice Griflet.”

Notes: Love charms are made out of willowy bark and lavender, you bind them together in a love heart shape and tie it off with yellow ribbon. Just for future descriptive purposes!
Also, I had no ideas about this post, I actually have no idea why its that length!

[Griff Aubert]

Her flirtation was ruined by the warning of her father. In Griff’s experience fathers were always something to be weary of, and Caitrin’s was certainly no exception. Perhaps he was even worse, considering that Caitrin was quickly becoming more than just a fling for Griff. It also occurred to him that with a father came another inheritance, making Caitrin even more appealing than he had first thought. He could therefore probably cope if it meant more money and land.

As she spoke of her father Griff noticed the evident anger in her voice. Well, he more than noticed it; it almost hit him in the face. She was never very subtle, and clearly this was no exception. He himself had never had a good relationship with his father. Corneous had always expected more from Griff than the young man was willing to give, and throughout his childhood was constantly being reminded that his older brother was a knight of Camelot, why couldn’t Griff have such aspirations? Well he did have aspirations, thank you, he thought bitterly. Just not the ones that his father had chosen for him. When he had finished his internal rant he was unsure what to say to Caitrin. This was the first she had mentioned of her father. Did she want empathy? Room for her anger? He chose to remain silent, because he couldn’t offend her that way, but nodded his acknowledgement.

“Oi!” He exclaimed, more out of shock than annoyance as he just about managed to stop himself falling out of the tree. He had been patronising, but it had only been in jest, and even so, she nearly pushed him out of the tree! That was just being overdramatic. He resisted the urge to make some comment about her being too sensitive but then he would definitely be pushed out, and probably break a limb or do.

He couldn’t help but inhale deeply to smell her when she rested her head on his shoulder. It was strange, for some reason, quite unknown to himself, he was almost nervous. He shouldn’t be nervous, he shouldn’t be anything but his charming and seductive self and the feeling that he was not solely his charming and seductive self was a disturbing thought. Caitrin was just a woman, a fling, a conquest. This was not the first time he was having to tell himself to get it together and stop being so damned emotional. He didn’t become nervous around women, he didn’t feel his skin tingle when they touched him, and he certainly didn’t develop any feelings for them. But then Caitrin came into his life and he was having to rethink everything. He ran a hand through her hair because he wasn’t sure what to do, but that seemed as good a thing to do as anything else.

“Is that all you have to seduce me with? You’ll have to try a lot harder to do it again.”

Ah, a challenge. Griff could do a challenge; he was good at a challenge. He could hide behind it and stop himself being such an idiot. He smirked, challenge certainly accepted. His hand left her hair and hovered slightly before he used his middle finger to lightly trace her bottom lip. He was concentrating far more than he should, seeing as he was more than used to touching a woman’s lip. After what he believed to be an adequate amount of time had passed his finger dropped to her throat, softly running along her skin, feeling her pulse flutter. Eventually his hand found her jaw line, thumb brushing her cheek and he leant towards her to speak into her ear: “I haven’t even started to seduce you.” He nipped her earlobe with his teeth and then leant back, biting his lip and waiting for her response with more than a touch of cockiness.

Telling him that she should have drowned him probably wasn’t the best thing to do, as now he was just rather put out. He had been being charming at the lake so definitely hadn’t warranted a watery death. “I suppose I should be grateful? I can swim, you know.” He wasn’t the most fantastic swimmer in the world, although he would never admit to be anything but an expert in anything, and he didn’t particularly like it, but he was fairly confident that he would have been able to survive, should she had attempted murder. He was still glad that she had resisted that temptation, although it did occur to him that it probably would have actually worked to his advantage. No woman would be able to resist him while dripping wet.

He followed her finger and saw the basket at the foot at the tree. He was rather intrigued. “I could never annoy you!” He said with a tone of put upon offence. “Seduce you, however...” he smirked, but then dispelled any such thoughts from his mind. Now wasn’t the time for that sort of thing. Besides, he was genuinely interested in these charms she spoke of. “I’ll have you know I’m very helpful! And rather interested in your charms, as I’m sure you know.”

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was glad in a way that Griflet remained silent as she spoke about her father. She had no respect for the man, she never really had. He had only ever seemed interested in things which would better his personal position rather than his family on the whole. After all, he knew her sister Ysolde had been courting a young nobleman at the time he had rushed her into marriage with another man. She hadn’t really spoken to her sisters since their marriage, she was sure they resented her in a way as she had escaped that fate. She hadn’t mentioned her previous betrothal to Griflet, but perhaps that was a subject to be pursued at a different point. It had no place in their conversation as she had never even met the man she was supposed to be betrothed to. That had been the extent of her married life, a mere thought nothing more.

Perhaps that had been why she had been so resided to becoming nothing more than a playful flirt at court. She hadn’t wanted that burden of marriage she had felt when her father had sighed her fate. When she had been sent to Camelot it felt like a new life, and she had wanted to stay single. Griflet was making her question this philosophy and she wasn’t sure she liked it that much. She had feelings for him yes, but she wasn’t sure how far he was going to go with his feelings, and she didn’t want to end up being hurt. Of course Griflet knew nothing of her rambling thoughts and for her part she just smiled up at him as he nodded. She wasn’t going to let her father ruin any more of her life.

Caitrin smiled as he ran his hand through her hair. Ever since she could remember she had enjoyed people playing with her hair, it calmed her, in the same way that magic did. She nuzzled against his neck, enjoying the feel of his touch. She sighed out softly and smiled. She hadn’t ever let any man even touch her hair before, it was her pride and joy, she felt her hair often was the feature that defined her. It made her stand out from the crowd and she enjoyed that feeling. Caitrin let Griflet away with running a hand through her hair because she enjoyed his touch and he was soft with her hair and was careful. She slipped her arm around his waist and kissed the bottom of his neck before she returned her head to rest on his shoulder, enjoying his warmth and just sitting with him for a while.

As his hand left her hair she raised her head off his shoulder, facing him square on as he took on her challenge. As his finger brushed across her lip her first urge was to kiss him again, and not stop for a long time. But she blinked and managed to keep herself under control. Her lips were tingling and he was now moving to her cheek, leaving burning sensations wherever he touched. No man had ever made her feel like this, she hadn’t really ever let them in close enough to try. As Griflet traced his finger down to her neck she felt herself rolling her head back, exposing more of her neck and her chest heaved up. She placed a hand at his waist, more to steady herself as he was making her head dizzy again.

Caitrin looked up at him softly as he found her jaw and felt her pulse increase as he whispered into her ear. She let out a small squeak-like noise as he bit her ear and she was sure he was satisfied with his attempt as now he was in front of her again; biting his lip. She raised an eye brow at him, using one of her hands to brush past his cheek and her fingers found the back of his neck, drawing him in closer to her, “A good thing too, for it has not worked even if you were trying.” She winked at him, now mimicking his lip biting actions and waiting stubbornly for his reply. “Do let me know when you do start trying.” She still had one hand at his waist but decided to keep it there, she dropped her hand from his neck, drawing back slightly as if they were too close he would have the advantage if he was trying to seduce her.

Satisfied she had made her point about their first meeting she didn’t reply to Griflet because it would only fuel his self pity for the fact she had practically just said she would have drowned him on their first meeting. She swung her legs playfully as his attentions were drawn to her love charms. She raised her eye brows as he said he could never annoy her and laughed loudly. On their first meeting he had done nothing but annoy her and well he knew it. “Well you have already tried to seduce me.” She pointed out and winked.

She was surprised he was actually interested in her charms. They were one of the many things she had learned under Helgund’s instruction. Helgund had told her that as a young girl she had used a love charm to gain the affection of a young warlock. Caitrin had always expected the story to end with Helgund falling in love and marrying the young warlock, however apparently Helgund had realised his brother was much better looking and had instead married him. She snorted as she remembered the story then composed herself, realising that Griflet would have no idea what was amusing her.

Caitrin knew she was going to have to tell Griflet exactly what they were for, and she was almost cringing which was another new experience Griflet was making her suffer. She licked her bottom lip thoughtfully and looked over at him, “I’m sure it is more my teases, not my charms you are interested in.” She said quickly, and then continued, not really wanting him to lose interest in her charms, “They are love charms, I make them for the girls who work my Uncle’s lands.” She wrinkled her nose, feeling a bit of colour flash to her pale cheeks, “They believe it’ll bring them love.” Caitrin didn’t believe in such things, she didn’t really believe in love, let alone that a small charm could cause such feelings. However, it gave the girls a sense of confidence and that could hardly be a bad thing.

[Griff Aubert]

At Caitrin’s speech Griff looked surprised: his eyebrows raised and his mouth fell open slightly. He had thought he’d been doing rather a good job at seducing her. It was one of his many talents, and he didn’t much care for being told it wasn’t working. Not that he actually believed her, not while he sat in a tree with her. It was just a slow seduction, that was all. He was working the charm slowly, but it was definitely working.

Off the top of his head he could think of several young women who would leap at the chance to be seduced by him – which, incidentally was the reason they never were – so it was just...well, it was implausible that Caitrin would not want the same. That would mean that he was losing his touch, and that was equally implausible, nay, it was impossible. As he was constantly having to remind himself in Caitrin’s company: he was Griflet Aubert, complete charmer and all around fantastic human. “Oh hasn’t it? Is that why you couldn’t keep your hands off me at the feast?” He smirked at her, eyebrows still raised. Her reply should be interesting.

She was right in that he had attempted to seduce her before. He wasn’t counting their last meeting as a seduction, as there had been little need for persuasion, but he had certainly made a move in the forest. Irritatingly, she had not fallen for his charms straight away, but then if she had he wouldn’t be sat in a tree with her. He would be in a tavern finding the next Caitrin. He caught himself, mid-thought, and smiled, just to himself and realised what a stupid thought that was. He wouldn’t be finding the next Caitrin, because there was no such thing. She was incomparable. For a few moments he was simply sat there, looking at her, smiling because it seemed so ridiculous that he was sat in a tree, talking about seducing her, but there was nowhere he would rather be, and he just felt happy. So absorbed was he in his thoughts that he didn’t realise she was speaking for a few moments, but his attention was immediately grabbed by the term ‘love charms’ and he tried not to laugh because surely Caitrin was the last person to be handing out such things?

He stifled his laughter and tried to keep an expression of seriousness. He pressed his lips together to keep from laughing, and nodded. “I see...” He noticed her blushing slightly, which amused him even more, “so is that what brought me here?” He teased and it occurred to him that it wasn’t the first time he’d used a line like that to a woman. The simpler ones were always being taken in by spells and charms and how he’d found his soul mate. But he quickly banished such thoughts, because his past conquests where neither here nor there and all that mattered right now was the beautiful, fantastic woman next to him.

[Caitrin de Archer]

OOC: Don’t hurt me, Cait’s confused! Also I'm ashamed how long this took me, eh hopefully it'll be worth the wait!

Caitrin was stubbornly satisfied with Griflet’s physical reply to her words. Although she enjoyed his touch, and even some of his words, she wanted this man to know once and for all that she wasn’t like all the other silly girls at court. She wasn’t bought in by a few pretty words and a couple of embraces. She was sure that Griflet probably knew that anyway but it was still something for Caitrin to point out at every opportunity. They had shared an intimate embrace in the gardens, but that was once. It was hardly anything to get too excited about. She doubted that it was a one off event, but only time would tell if she was right on that account.

Caitrin was annoyed at herself in a way for letting whatever feelings had developed for Griflet even enter her mind. She had always been so careful with her feelings, and knew that she would probably be forced into marriage by her father, or Uncle. She wasn’t sure which wielded that sort of power over her anymore seeing as her Uncle had her wardship. She took her head off Griflet’s shoulder and didn’t look at him for a few moments. Did she even want any of these feelings? She had wanted them in the gardens, but now she was out of that intimate setting and back into the real world where she was a wealthy heiress to some of her father’s accumulated wealth and therefore a target for other noble families. Did she want to let Griflet come any closer to her, emotionally, than he already had? She wasn’t wearing an upset expression, she just looked confused and it reflected her thoughts entirely. What was she supposed to do? Was she supposed to let Griflet continue to flirt and tease her and consequently become closer to her emotionally? Or did she dismiss him and run back to her Uncle’s home and refuse to see him ever again.

She didn’t realise he was speaking for a few moments and she blinked a few times before she realised what he was talking about. She forced a small smile and tapped the tip of his nose gently, running her finger down from his nose to caress his lips softly, trying to blink out the arguments which were happening inside her head and just focus on Griflet, just for a few moments. His lips felt soft under her finger but she carried on moving the single finger down until she got to the bottom of his neck and then answered him, “That was mutual.” She answered quickly and defensively, “You couldn’t keep your hands off me either!” Caitrin lifted a hand to brush some hairs from Griflet’s forehead and watched him carefully as she completed her task, “Or do you not remember that little detail?”

In Caitrin’s eyes the ball had been mutual. True, she had kissed him first but he hadn’t really done much to encourage her to kiss her had he? No, she was sure that arguing with her was not Griflet’s idea of seduction in the slightest. Furthermore, he hadn’t really stopped her, and they had both been caught up in each other’s feelings in the gardens; therefore it was a mutual event. The forest hadn’t been mutual, but that also hadn’t worked. She hadn’t really fallen for Griflet’s charms at all, he had just annoyed her then, but now it felt a bit different. Once again she wondered how far she was prepared to let Griflet go into her feelings, but more and more she was starting to feel like she couldn’t control the answer to that question anymore.

Caitrin knew that Griflet was trying to laugh, he was wearing the same face he had at the ball during the conversation with her Uncle at the start. She blushed again, and was immediately annoyed for doing so. As Griflet spoke again she pulled a face at him and raised an eye brow at him, did he really think that line would work? Managing not to laugh she looked straight on at him, “I don’t believe in them myself.” She answered truthfully, looking down at the woven lavender and willowy stems, “It was just one of many things my nurse taught me back in Merica.” By Helgund... The woman’s name still pulled on Caitrin’s heartstrings, she had been her best friend. Then she wondered if Griflet was going to follow up the information she had just given him. Many were often interested in her knowledge of herbs because it often bordered on magic. Her heart pounded, what were Griflet's views on magic? Would he dismiss her straight away if he knew the truth or worse, he could tell Uther.

Caitrin looked back up at Griflet, she had answered him diplomatically so now she had to fall back on her confidence and act as he would be expecting. “So therefore you should enlighten me to why you are actually here?” It was a challenge, but she needed to hear the answer in a way, she didn’t just want his charms and teases, she wanted to know there was something past that which she could trust and believe in. She wanted him to set her straight so she could know whether she could let him into her feelings anymore or not.

[Griff Aubert]

Griff was trying to remain in control of the conversation, but it didn't help when she was making valid points and proving him wrong. That was just inconsiderate. "I remember every detail," he replied in an authoratitive tone but there was a badly suppressed smirk betraying his inner thoughts. Regardless, he continued with an air of superiority. "I was merely humouring you." She had kissed him first that night, so his argument was a valid one. He was rather impressed with himself, but then he usually was. After all, he was a very impressive person.

It occurred to Griff, as she mentioned, albeit fleetingly, Merica, that they didn't actually know that much about each other. They knew each other, that part was easy, but her entire history was quite a mystery to him. He wanted to press her further, but there was something in the tone of her voice that suggested it would not be a good idea. When she had spoken of her father earlier there had been both anger and bitterness in her voice, and it would hardly do to upset her - especially as he was currently sat in a tree. So he just nodded and leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek and said, because the atmosphere needed lightening: "Maybe you could teach me how to make one, then I could find myself a nice rich wife." Well, that was his plan anyway.

He laughed softly and scratched his neck and tried to think of something grand to say, some terribly impressive answer that would sweep her off her feet and hopefully out of her dress. In the end he went for simple because it had always worked before. "I came to see you. I found myself missing you."

[Caitrin de Archer]

OOC This is what happens when you leave me alone for ages with a post. Just warning you

Caitrin felt a familiar pang of jealousy as Griflet mentioned using her charms to attract a rich woman. She knew he was joking, or at least she hoped he was. She tried to mentally slap herself, she didn’t care if Griflet wanted someone richer, or more beautiful than her. Hadn’t they both made it clear at the dance that the thought of them becoming anything more than a fling was laughable? She couldn’t stop herself feeling jealous though as she imagined Griflet with another woman. It hurt, but why did it hurt? She didn’t care about him did she? Of course Griflet was unaware of her little mental ramble so she managed a small smug little grin at him, “I think you may need more than luck, and my love charms, to attract a rich wife.”

Caitrin was starting to feel more vulnerable and exposed as the conversation progressed. She couldn’t hide behind her words, or her actions like she did with other men who tried to court her; no Griflet was too sharp to let her do that. She felt like he was forcing her to be herself, she could no longer just act flirty, over confident and completely in control. There was a part of her which wanted him to care about her, and just her. Caitrin had not been close to a lot of people during her life. The only person she had been close to had been Helgund, after her death she had closed herself off from the world. Caitrin had been determined never to let herself care that much about anyone ever again. She looked up at Griflet again, now just really looking at him, why was he doing this to her? Did he even know he was doing it? He told her he missed her, but words were easy. But she supposed he must be telling some truth because if he didn’t care about her he wouldn’t have risked facing her Uncle again would he?

Caitrin didn’t want Griflet to know how much of an effect he was having on her emotions, and how much he was making her question herself. Therefore she did what she always did best and gave a knowing grin, running a hand through her hair as she looked back at Griflet, “I can’t imagine what I did to make you miss me.” She let a small shrug ripple across her shoulders, cocked her head back and then drew up close to Griflet, “But I did miss you as well.”

She would have probably continued her words, somehow, but she could hear the sound of a horse quickly approaching. She sat up straight, her heart pounded; her Uncle wasn’t supposed to be back for hours was he? No, it was a familiar face, and Caitrin groaned, it was her fathers messenger Simon.

“Letter for you my Lady!” He slowed the horse under the tree and held the item up in his hand, looking expectantly at her. She rolled her eyes, excusing herself to Griflet as she gracefully climbed down the tree and onto the ground to receive the letter.

My Dearest Caitrin, My primary reason for writing is to address the matter which your Uncle outlined to me in a letter a few days ago. Though your Uncle has always commended your conduct, in this matter we are in one mind of believing it was badly done. I expect a daughter of mine to conduct herself properly at all times, including whilst being alone. I expect you in future to bear this in mind.

To the matter of this man, if he so warrants the name, I urge you to break off connection with him if you believe he does not have the wealth, or connections we expect you to gain through marriage. As he is hardly worth our time if he has neither. This brings me to the last matter of my letter. Due to my current restoration to favour in the Mercian courts I am able to increase your dowry significantly as you are my last unmarried child. Payton de Archer.

Caitrin scoffed as she read over the letter again and Simon looked nervous for a few moments. She looked up to Griflet, she had never given up anyone on her fathers instruction before and she wasn’t about to start. To put it crudely she was her Uncle’s property now, and her father would do well to remember it.

“Leave us, I will reply later.” She said to Simon who turned his horse in the direction of the de Archer household sharply. Caitrin let out an irritated huff, skimming over the letter again and felt her temper rise quickly. She never failed to become annoyed when her father wrote to her. She wanted to screw up the letter but she knew her Uncle would want to read it. Instead, she set herself a bit away from the tree and laid herself down on the grass; her red hair messily contrasting against the grass. She looked up at Griflet, her letter lying beside her and scrunched her face, “I hate my family.” She watched Griflet carefully, if anything, the fact her father told her to give him up made her more determined to not stop whatever was happening between them both.

[Griff Aubert]

Griff was not at all convinced by her words, after all, he had managed to charm her well enough and he knew from experience that other women were far easier. The fact that he didn't want to attract any other women was besides the point, he didn't want her doubting that he could. Why wouldn't he be able to? It was one of the few skills he possessed and was therefore damn proud of it, and more than a little defensive of it. He masked this irritation in true Griflet Aubert fashion: by turning to his narcissism. "Well I can always just take my shirt off." He replied with a wink. And now she was definitely thinking about him shirtless. It was a result all round.

Despite himself, a grin found its way across his features when she told him she'd missed him too. His cocky, arrogant side was not surprised and telling the other half of his psyche that this was only to be expected, but that half was far too busy being stupidly and uncharacteristically happy. Women never made him happy, well, not emotionally anyway. But here she was, making him smile just by saying she missed him.

But the moment was to be shortlived. Griff did not hear the servant approach until Caitrin had sat up and was already aware of what was happening. All he was aware of was the fact that she'd moved and was further away from him and he didn't much care for it. He watched her leave the tree and was surprised at how graceful she was. Caitrin wasn't normally graceful, well, not around him anyway. She was too busy being angry or seductive. Being careful to keep his balance he shuffled along so he could watch was happening on the ground below. Whoever this man was, and whatever was contained in the letter it certainly wasn't good, but at least Caitrin was annoyed and it wasn't his fault.

He watched her lying on the ground with his lips pressed together and not sure what to say. He had no idea what the letter was about and as it wasn't his business and she was angry enough already he didn't ask. What he did was rather clumsily join her on the ground and said, "Yes, so do I." After a second or two he added, "Mine, not yours." And then rolled his eyes at himself because that much was obvious and he was being a fool.

A few moments passed where he just looked down at her. It was a new feeling, but he wanted to make her feel better, less angry and tried to convince himself that was only because it would make a seduction easier but even he knew it was because he didn't want to see her upset. He ran a finger down her cheek, he didn't really know what else to do and asked (which was probably going to be a mistake): "What's happened?"

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin couldn’t help but flicker her eyes over his shirt, but blinked the thought of him without his shirt on out of her head as quickly as it came. She cocked a small laugh at his words, knowing now that he wasn’t serious; therefore her jealousy had been misplaced. Caitrin felt slightly relieved, and then felt silly because she shouldn’t be worrying about him running off and finding someone else because he was here, sat in a tree with her and just her. She regained her confidence which had faltered slightly previously and grinned over at him, “You can if you want.” She teased softly and shrugged, “But I will not be returning the favour.” She leaned forwards to poke him softly on the nose and just smiled at him for a few moments. Yes, this was more her style, over confident and flirty, and she would make sure it stayed that way.

The ground was soft beneath her gown, and it was at least a change as she had been setting up in the tree for quite a while before Griflet had arrived, and at least now there wasn’t the possibility of her falling and breaking her neck. She scowled slightly as she grabbed her fathers letter from her side again and brushed her eyes over it. She was sick of her whole family trying to dictate her life. Her father had tried to marry her off to some idiot nobleman she had never met once before, and she would be damned if she was going to let it happen again. She had found his comment about her conduct rather amusing, her Uncle didn’t know the half of what she had, and did get up to.

She watched Griflet as he climbed down the tree after her, less gracefully but she supposed he was less practised than her. She turned her head towards him as he spoke about how much he hated his family as well. Oh god, that was just another thing altogether wasn’t it. She supposed Griflet was ignorant of the fact she had met his brother Lucan the other day in the castle as he hadn’t brought it up. “I met your brother, Lucan, in the castle the other day.” She didn’t look particularly happy when she told Griflet, but she had disliked Lucan’s attitude the second she had met him. He had tried to tell her she was just like some lovesick girl running after Griflet. She had feelings for him, yes, and she did feel like there was honestly something between them, but lovesick was something she was not.

She put her eyes away from him at the moment, flickering her eyes over her Uncle’s manor in slight disgust. Of course he had probably been all but too happy to report back to his brother about his daughters behaviour. It might shock them all but she didn’t care much for their advancements, hadn’t they all already got their lot from her sisters and brothers who had been married off in haste? She wanted to marry someone she truly cared about, when the time finally demanded it. Griflet’s touch brought her attention back to him and she blinked slightly, the anger at her father was now mixed with an odd sense of longing for Griflet’s touch. It was a strange combination and one she hadn’t really experienced before. At his question she looked at him seriously and then heaved herself up so she was leaning on the lower part of her arm, raising her shoulders off the grass, “My Uncle thought it was his duty to write to my father to tell him about us.” She said quickly and snatched the letter from the grass, “Read it, I don’t mind, it is about you anyway.” She half thrust the letter into Griflet’s safekeeping and leaned back into the grass once more. The letter concerned him mostly, well apart from the dowry, but that was of little consequence to him really was it? What would he care about that?

[Griff Aubert]

He noticed her eyes drop to his chest and couldn't help but smirk. She was definitely, beyond a doubt thinking about him with his shirt off. But then, she was only human - it was natural. Well, who was he to challenge nature and deprive Caitrin of such a pleasure? With a grin and a shrug the shirt was off. "I think it's only fair you return the favour..." he smirked, his eyes falling to where they definitely shouldn't. "Especially after I rode all this way."

His eyebrows furrowed. He suppossed, with them both being in the castle so often, it was only to be a matter of time before they met, but even so, Lucan had never met any of Griff's women before, he hadn't been there. This was entirely new territory for him and he wasn't quite sure how he should progress. Her tone wasn't that much use. He couldn't tell if that meant their meeting was a good thing or a bad thing. He personally hoped it was a goood thing. He liked Caitrin, he wanted Lucan to like her too, but then Lucan didn't seem to like anything Griff did.

Another thought occured to him. Lucan hadn't learnt about...whatever was going on with him and Caitrin through him. A lecture was probably coming his way in the not too distant future. His older brother had a habit of preaching his moral code and Griff had a habit of pointedly ignoring it. While there was no longer bad blood between the pair of them, they hardly saw eye to eye on anything. Lucan would think Caitrin was just another one of his conquests...Griff caught himself mid-thought. Caitrin was just another one of his conquests, wasn't she? Griff wasn't so sure anymore. Either way, Lucan was not going to be pleased.

He bit his lip. More often than not he was unsure of himself in Caitrin's company. He didn't like it one bit, but he also couldn't change it. She appeared to have an effect on him. One that made him unsure of everything, and certainly about how this particular conversation should progress. "So...it wasn't a...pleasant experience then?" He opted for an open ended question, one that would allow Caitrin to rant if she wanted to and would mean that he didn't have to commit to anything.

He followed her action so he was lying in a similar position and facing her. He tried to shuffle closer to her, but he couldn't do so subtly enough and his ego wouldn't let him do it so that she would notice.

Ah, her father: that explained a lot. From what Caitrin had said, her father seemed about as useful as his. Well, he knew all about parental issues, he'd had his fair share of them, but then he reminded himself that if it hadn't been for his appalling relationship with his father he wouldn't be here now, so there was something good about it. He was slightly surprised when he was told to read the letter. He had been expecting her to be more private than that, but when he was informed he was mentioned his curiosity was piqued, and then he became slightly unnerved. Her uncle would not have anything positive to say about him at all. This was probably not going to end well.

Well. He sounded like a charming man. Whilst reading the letter Griff took an immediate dislike to the man, which he felt was entirely justified after the "if he so warrants the name" comment. Griff was more than convinced he was a damn sight more of a man than her father, although he was smart enough to keep such an opinion to himself. From what he read he could see exactly why Caitrin was behaving the way she was. Frankly, the man sounded awful. But- oh hello, what was this about a dowry? And an increased one at that. Perhaps his plans of finding some rich wife weren't in jest after all. The plan was still in motion.

He slipped an arm around her waist and said, "Just ignore him. My father's been trying to control me my entire life," Hmm...he probably wasn't the best example of rebellion so he added with a lightened tone and a shrug, "So I just got myself disowned. And now I'm here, with you. See, good things happen too."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin hadn’t really expected Griflet to take her seriously and her eyes widened slightly as he took his shirt off. He was almost too confident in doing it and she let her gaze wander over his flesh; he had practically invited her to do so, so she was hardly in the wrong was she? She grinned a little bit, defiantly enjoying what she saw; she was allowed a bit of fun some of the time. But now he was expecting her to return the favour, did he honestly think that it would be that easy? “I never said I was fair.” She pointed out and then leaned in close to him, giving him a small peck on the lips, “You’d have to give me a better reason than your being here to even put the thought in my head.” The thought she was of course referring to was that of removing her dress. Was he honestly just expecting her to take it off, in the middle of a tree?

Caitrin wrinkled her nose as she thought about her encounter with Lucan. She had flirted with him yes, but that wasn’t because she found him particularly attractive, it was just her way; that was what she did best after all. She hadn’t liked how he had generalised her into his idea of what an ‘easy’ noblewoman would be like. Or at least that was what she had thought he had been saying. She was more strong willed than most women at court, and she certainly wasn’t just going to let her emotions run away with her in the case of Griflet. She wasn’t going to fall for him; she was Caitrin de Archer, she never fell for anyone. However, when she looked up at him, and she felt the familiar flutters in her stomach she wondered how much longer she could keep telling herself that.

Caitrin sighed softly and Griflet’s question and gave a short frown, “What gave you that idea?” She asked sarcastically and looked down at the ground, replaying the conversation with Lucan. She was sure she was not just one of Griflet’s conquests, and if she was, then she certainly would not allow herself to be conquered by any man, not just the one in front of her. “The conversation was certainly a bit...heated.” Yes that was the word, and to say how angry she had been with Lucan, she was being incredibly conservative now and keeping her emotions in check. “He told me I was just another of your conquests.” Now that came out a lot quieter than it had meant to, but it had been the main theme of the argument, and he might as well hear it from her lips rather than his brothers.

Turning on her side, she was glad to see Griflet had copied her actions. Her gaze dropped a little bit; he still had no shirt on but she didn’t blush. Why should she? Instead she was now just thinking about her father, his words of disapproval ringing through her ears. He never seemed to approve of anything which she did, and that was a fact which was consistent right from her early childhood. She had always been the one to be shouted at, and she had always managed to get herself into some form of trouble. She took the letter back off him as he finished reading it and slipped it inside one of her pockets so her darling Uncle could read it later.

She smiled as he just simply told her to ignore her father. She honestly wished it was that easy, she did usually ignore him but he was always there in her thoughts. Then again, it was a heck of a lot easier to ignore him here than when she had been living with him. That had just been hell. “I usually do.” She replied confidently, but then gave a soft sigh, “But he remains determined to try and get me up the aisle again, whether I want to or not.” She hadn’t realised what she was saying until it had been said, and by that point there was no real reason to regret it being said. Yes she had once been engaged, but it was nothing to get too excited about.

His arm around her waist just made her feel secure for a moment, like she could just ignore her father and the rest of her family, and just stay here, with him. She shuffled forwards a bit, slipping one of her arms around his side and grinned as she ran a finger on the exposed skin of his back. She laughed at his comment about getting disowned but nodded all the same; she supposed if she hadn’t got herself sent here then she wouldn’t have ever met Griflet. “I didn’t get disowned, but I was sort of sent here.” She wrinkled her nose again, it had been her Uncle’s or another suitor and although she hadn’t jumped at the prospect of coming to Camelot it had been preferred to another suitor she knew nothing about. “But your right, good things do happen.” She was still running her fingers along the flesh of his back in a rather absent minded way, simply smiled at him for a few moments, thinking that there was no place she would rather be right now than here, with Griflet.