Half the World Away (Yassia, Caitrin, Griff)

[Oliver Strathmore of Mercia]

Caitrin had been a 'very dear friend' of Yassia. What a crazy happenstance that was! Of all the people in Camelot who could have helped Yassia get settled in, it had to be someone he knew quite well, someone from Mercia. Was there a sign here, a meaning of sorts that he ought to know about, that he ought to heed? He hadn't met Griff yet, but from what Yassia just said and from the look on Caitrin's face when she had told him about her fiance, Griff seems like a great fellow. He had to admit he was looking forward to meeting the man, and making a friend out of him. Anyone who could make Caitrin happy and earn Yassia's admiration must definitely be worth connecting to. Yassia's admiration. Since when did he start considering her opinion of people? Somehow, somewhere between their talk in her chambers and their arrival in the courtyards, it just happened. Oliver was starting to get a little worried at how Yassia never ceased to figure prominently in his thoughts. The fates it seems are quite keen on playing with them just when he had vowed to push her away. He just hoped he can control himself, keep himself away from her, throughout the journey. He nodded when Yassia said Caitrin and Griff were made for each other, and turned his head to look at her. There was a smile on her face, and Oliver's traitorous heart wished that that smile had been for him.

As they descended the steps towards the courtyard, Oliver followed Yassia's gaze to where Caitrin was, and saw a man trying a bit too hard to compose himself as he greeted his father and brother. A small amused smile tugged on the corner of his lips when he realized this must be Griff. To the casual eye, Griff looked very comfortable as he presented himself. But to the keen eyes of a hunter, Oliver could see that Griff was anything but. He caught the fleeting look of annoyance that had crossed Griff's face when Caitrin introduced him, and decided to save the man from anymore unnecessary discomfort.

"May I present my fiancée, Lord Griflet Aubert."

"A pleasure to meet you, sire."

"The pleasure is all ours to have such good friends joining us on our trip back home," Edmund responded a tad too courteously to Griff. The Crown Prince wasn't sure what to make of Caitrin's betrothed, so he reserved the judgment for later.

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.”

"Oh, you're worth waiting for, Princess," Edmund replied as he gave Yassia a small bow in return. Oliver couldn't resist rolling his eyes at his brother's all too obvious effort to get in Yassia's good graces. "Good morning, father, brother," he cheerfully greeted his family after Yassia did, patting his brother on the shoulder when she proceeded to greet Caitrin and Griff. Oliver inwardly smiled at the look of surprise on his brother's face when he saw him arriving with Yassia. "I chanced upon the princess on my way here and offered to help her with her things," he reasoned as he handed Yassia's bag to a servant. Let the pretending begin, Oliver told himself.

Following Yassia, Oliver greeted Caitrin with a bow and a kiss on her hand before turning towards Griff. "You must be the man who had stolen the Lady Caitrin's heart. I'm Oliver. It's nice to meet you." he greeted him with a smile and held his hand out for a firm friendly shake. "You have to forgive me if the invitation to Mercia came at such a short notice. When Caitrin told me she was getting married, I just couldn't resist planning a party of sorts back home to celebrate such a wonderful event. You will love Mercia..." Then a mischievous glint shone in his eyes and Oliver leaned closer to whisper something to Griff, although it was still loud enough for Caitrin and Yassia to hear. "I don't know about Caitrin's family though. That's why I specifically asked that you come along so you can see for yourself before you officially get yourself hitched to her wagon," he teased with a wink. It was all in good fun. Oliver knew there was no more stopping these two from tying the knot.

A slight commotion up front caught Oliver's attention, and he turned to see King Arthur descend the steps to meet his father and brother. It was mighty gracious of him to personally bid the Mercian party farewell.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin knew that Griff wasn't overly pleased about journeying to Mercia, and in truth she would have preferred to make the journey without him. That wasn't anything to do with the fact that she didn't want to be seen in her homeland with him, no it was quite the opposite. The motivating factor in these thoughts was defiantly the presence of her father. Payton de Archer had once too often voiced that he disapproved of the match and it was quite easy to ignore his letters, but it wouldn't be as easy to ignore him in person. Of course it wouldn't make any difference to Caitrin; she would become Caitrin Aubert no matter what her father thought, and that was the end of that matter.

Well at least Edmund seemed quite well disposed to Griff, there was no reason why he shouldn't be, but still. She was about to cut in with something to say but her attentions were quickly diverted by Oliver and Yassia's presence. Edmund had stepped away from them and Caitrin nudged Griff slightly and whispered in his ear. "This is where the fun begins." Of course it was said sarcastically. She had filled Griff in with the whole situation when he had been recovering from his hangover yesterday. Really Caitrin expected this whole event to be quite awkward, and she felt like she and Griff had been caught up in the middle of it all.

Her thoughts were cut short as Yassia then proceeded to greet them. She bobbed her head to her friend, as it was customary in the presence of Royalty. Her friends words caught her off guard as she was focussing more on her friends expression. She wanted to as her what was wrong but in a way she already knew the answer. Instead she hid her concern and just put on her usual smile. "We decided to meet you all here, it made sense after all. I hope that is not a problem?"

If it was an issue then it was too late to correct it now. Instead her attentions were now diverted to Oliver as he kissed her hand. She swept into a low curtsey as it was customary. "It is nice to see you again" She said softly and then proceeded to just listen as Oliver turned his attentions to the man standing next to her Of course this was the first time Oliver and Griff had been introduced, and it was important for Caitrin for them to get along. As Oliver leaned in to whisper something in Griff's ear Caitrin raised an eye brow at Oliver. and folded her arms in jest. "What are you up to Oliver?" She teased softly. It wasn't that she didn't trust him with her betrothed, it was just she knew what Oliver was like. No doubt he would be after drinking Griff under the table before long.

Whilst waiting for his answer she found herself diverted by the presence of Arthur. Of course it was only right that in his fathers place he should come and see the small party off. She was glad he had come, after all they were good friends and he could send her off with good wishes. Arthur took his turn in well wishing the rest of the party, so Caitrin waited her turn until it was his turn to face her. She bobbed her head to him, but she was grinning all the same. He conveyed his best wishes to her, of course hoping that she would be safe on her journey and return to them with tales of her homeland. Caitrin of course assured him that she would come to see him once she was returned to Camelot. And then he bid her goodbye and moved on. In a way it put things into perspective. Arthur had been one of the ones to help her to settle in in the Camelot court when she had first come to Camelot. Now she was going back to her homeland and it all felt rather odd in a way. Caitrin's hand found Griff''s and she squeezed it softly and looked side-wards up at him. This was was a journey they would make together.

[Griff Aubert]

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Nothing Caitrin was saying was in any way reassuring. He already didn’t particularly want to go to Mercia, and was sure he was going to feel lovely and awkward around Yassia and Oliver, especially as Caitrin knew them both so well. It therefore really didn’t help when she made comments like “This is where the fun begins”. Having already decided he didn’t much care for Edmund, his expectations for the rest of Mercia were not terribly high – and it was going to be cold. For the first time in rather a long time he found himself thinking about Glouchedon, which right now felt like a whole lifetime away. Whatever faults he found with its occupants, there was no denying his home was a beautiful place. It had warmth and sun, something that he was probably going to experience very little of in the near future.

He smiled back at Caitrin, but it probably wasn’t a very convincing one. He was trying to be enthusiastic about their journey, he really was, but he was beginning to feel like a spare part and that was never a good thing for someone with his issues... but before he had time to fully appreciate how awkward he was, Yassia and Oliver had arrived. There wasn’t much of last night he could remember, but the little incident in which he tried to flirt with the woman was springing to the forefront of his mind. That was probably something that shouldn’t be mentioned in front of Oliver. Speaking of which, he was quite surprised at the young man’s appearance. He’d been expecting...well, something else. Someone else. Someone more like Edmund, perhaps.

Matching Oliver’s smile – and this time it was convincing – he took the man’s hand. He had to stop himself from laughing as Oliver spoke of “stealing Lady Caitrin’s heart”, somehow he didn’t think following young women on horseback and then glaring at them while they danced with stuck up idiots was everyone’s idea of romance. “It was rather unexpected,” Griff admitted, but then that could have been because he’d completely forgotten about it until last night, “but that doesn’t make it any less appreciated. As to loving Mercia...well, you’ll have to excuse my southern sensibilities.” There, now no one could complain when he started wearing all his clothes at the same time and refusing to be anywhere outside a five metre radius of a fire.

Ah, yes. The other reason why he wasn’t as enthusiastic about going to Mercia as much as he probably should be: Caitrin’s family. While they couldn’t possibly be as bad as his family (or that was what he kept repeating in the hopes that would make it true) they came with the wonderful added awkwardness of being Caitrin’s family. At least with his own he had the luxury of saying what he pleased, but he was going to have to make a good impression, especially with Caitrin’s father who probably already hated him. Rather surprisingly, his only comfort came in the form of Rouland. If he could survive Caitrin’s uncle he could probably survive anything. “Surely they cannot be as bad as her uncle...” he replied, glancing at Caitrin who was clearly listening despite the fact that Oliver had been talking to him. His words were said in jest, or at least with a tone suggesting such. But no matter how bad her family were, they could protest and hate him all they liked, he loved Caitrin and he was going to marry her. Besides, they couldn’t be worse than his, thank God the two sides weren’t likely to meet. That didn't even bear thinking about.

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

"Oh, you're worth waiting for, Princess,"
Alright, so it wasn’t the most imaginative comment in the world, but it was at least something heartfelt, and Yassia was in quite the mood to count her blessings after what had just come to pass. So at least someone around her appreciated her presence, that was good to know. Accepting the bow with another gracious inclining of her head, Yassia replied: “That is good to know, but should never be a valid excuse for tardiness. I vow to be better in the future.” Words. Empty words, as empty as she felt inside. But she had to play along, for all it was worth. For all they knew, she was nothing but excited about this journey and just held back her joyous mood for means of courteousness. And she hoped that her efforts were convincing at least for those who didn’t know the truth.

It was hard to meet Caitrin’s eyes especially. Caitrin knew her too well, she could read her like a book sometimes, and it should be evident for her that Yassia had not had the best night after their conversation. But her injust lashing out at her friend also was still fresh in her mind, and so she shied away from burdening her even more.
"We decided to meet you all here, it made sense after all. I hope that is not a problem?"
A problem?! Yassia gave a little chuckle at that, though it was not as merry as intended, even had a slight bitter edge. Caitrin being here was truly a gift of the stars, even though they were not really generous to her in general right now. Seeing her friend was at least diverting part of her attention from those she did or did not want attention from. If she only could have acted like she wanted, she probably would have pulled Caitrin in a desperate hug and never let go. But she had to appear strong. No flaws when you’re pretending.
”It is not a problem at all!” she assured in an overly cheery voice, but then dropped it to a level where only Caitrin would be able to hear her. “Thank the stars you’re here… I desperately crave sanity, and you can provide it by distracting me. Please…”

Yassia was gladly pulled from her attack of desperation when she saw Arthur coming down to see the party off. How sweet of him indeed! She smiled politely as he said goodbye to Oliver and his family and just waited patiently for her turn. Time to take up the brave show again! Like the perfect princess she expressed her gratitude to him and her hopes that he would find his new duties not too demanding. In the back of her mind, she still knew that once she got back from Mercia she would probably have to bring up her own problems again, but now was neither the time nor the place. With another curtsy and a bright smile she said her own goodbyes, asking him to pass on some greetings to her uncle Sir Kaye. The older man had apparently not managed to shake off the festivities quite so well, and had been confined to bed.

Then she stepped back and returned to Caitrin’s side, letting her gaze wander over the little party while being overcome by a strange feeling: she wanted to go as soon as possible and yet she wanted to stay. But the starting of the journey was not her call, she was only a guest, welcomed by some, but only tolerated by others.

[Oliver Strathmore of Mercia]

"What are you up to Oliver?"

Oliver gave Caitrin a nonchalant shrug. "I'm just telling Griff that he's got a friend in me should he need inside information," he replied teasing yet again. Of course, he knew that was not necessary. He knew these two wouldn't have committed to getting married if there still was any hesitations from either side. Just looking at them now, it spoke volumes to Oliver. To see Caitrin so happy and to see Griff making her happy--that was what marriage was all about, wasn't it?

When Griff expressed his feelings for the trip and for Mercia, Oliver couldn't help but smile appreciatively at his honesty. At least this man doesn't sugarcoat his words just to please royalty. Oliver found that refreshing, and he couldn't help the respect that he was starting to develop for Griff. He would be good for Caitrin indeed. "I perfectly understand. It could get rather freezing in the evenings. But I'll make sure to see to your comforts when we get home. And please don't hesitate to ask for whatever it is that you want and need," he told him. It was interesting to note that Caitrin was technically from the north while Griff was from the south. Nothing quite like a meeting of both ends of the country to make an interesting union.

Oliver had known that Caitrin had practically cut herself off from her family as her own family had cut her off themselves. He had not intended to arouse any more animosity by taking her and Griff for a visit to Mercia. If only he could throw a pre-wedding party for them here in Camelot, he would have gladly done so. He hoped Griff wouldn't take the invitation against him. He offered it in celebration of his friendship with Caitrin, to make up for the time that they had been apart. “Surely they cannot be as bad as her uncle...” Griff had expressed. Oliver had heard little about Rouland de Archer, but judging from how Caitrin had grown to be the fine lady that she is now, Oliver could tell that her uncle was nothing like Caitrin's family back home, far from it. It had been a good thing for Caitrin to come live with her uncle. He dreaded to think what might have become of her had she stayed in Mercia. "I think it's best if you find out for yourself, but I'm pretty sure you can manage them. Once you've survived Caitrin, you'll survive everything in this world." he replied with a wink at Caitrin.

Oliver had excused himself from Griff as he joined his father and brother bid King Arthur farewell. The young king had been a gracious host, and while Oliver was sad about what had happened to King Uther, he knew that Arthur would be just as capable of leading Camelot, maybe even better. As soon as all the farewells were done with, Lord Bayard proceeded to mount his horse while Edmund and Oliver made their way towards where their guests were waiting. "We have a carriage available for our guests," Edmund said as he gestured towards an open wagon with seats that could accommodate four passengers. Then he turned to Yassia. "The carriage should be more comfortable for you, princess. I'll be close should you need anything," he told her, gesturing to his servant who was waiting with his horse behind him. Oliver approached Caitrin and Griff himself. "You, guys, can take the carriage, too, if you like. Give your horse a bit of an early rest," Oliver offered with a warm smile.

As soon as everybody was settled, Oliver turned to his servant Lot who was holding his steed for him. Lot's eyes flickered towards Yassia when he saw her and made a gasp of surprise. Oliver elbowed him and gave him a stern look as he mounted his horse. "Sire, isn't she the--" Lot whispered. "One and the same," Oliver cut him off as casually as he could, not wanting to draw any attention to their conversation. There was no denying Yassia's identity to his servant. Lot have been there in the Forest of Balor after all. He knew what happened then. From the clothes Yassia was wearing, it was not hard for Lot to figure out that Yassia was anything but the nomad they had met before. "She's not a nom--" This time Oliver had to quickly maneuver his horse so he could move Lot away from the carriage, away from everybody else, before his servant could finish speaking. "Let's keep it down, Lot, all right? Nobody knows about what happened back then. Nobody must know," Oliver warned Lot, leaning down as if to stroke his horse by the neck. Lot opened his mouth as if to ask one more question but then closed it again when he saw the serious look on his master's face. He finally nodded and proceeded to mount his own horse. Not soon after, Lord Bayard had lead the caravan out of the courtyard and through the gates of Camelot.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was still convinced that Oliver was up to something, and it would probably involve her at some stage. Or perhaps she was being paranoid, and it was just between him and Griff; who knew? She was sure they would find out either way anyway. Caitrin gave Oliver a mock warning stare at his words though; her family weren’t that bad. The only perspective Oliver would have been able to give on the de Archers was through his dealings with either Caitrin or Jeffrey; the others weren’t that often at court. Caitrin wasn’t sure what Jeffrey had told him about their family, but it was probably only positive things.

In a way, it felt like Caitrin was presenting this new life of hers to Oliver. She knew that it wasn’t anything so deep, but it just felt like everything was going her way. She had Griff by her side, and she was never letting him go again. Her hand slid within his and she gave it a soft squeeze and cast Griff a smile as he and Oliver spoke of Griff stealing the Lady Caitrin’s heart. However, Caitrin couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Griff as he started to complain about the cold. Honestly, they hadn’t even left Camelot yet and he was already deciding that Mercia was going to be too cold for him. It wasn’t that bad. If they were going to the highlands then Caitrin could have understood his complaint, but he was just being fussy for the sake of it.

Caitrin tried to not laugh as Griff voiced that Caitrin’s Mercian family could surely not be worse than her Uncle Rouland. It was quite the opposite as her Uncle was everything her father had failed to be. In his own way, her Uncle had always been there for her during her time in Camelot. He had accepted Griff even though he thought she should be aiming higher than the second son of a Duke; he’d even given Griff permission to marry her. He was quite laid back about everything she did, within reason. Her father however was incredibly strict, and had always taken a firmer hand with her. Self consciously she hung her head slightly, it was a trick she had learned as a child. If her head was low, her father had less chance of slapping her cheek. She raised her head once more, and forced a soft smile onto her lips and squeezed Griff’s hand again and was about to point out that her Mercian family were beyond comprehension, but Oliver beat her to it. She raised both eye brows at her friend, and playfully slapped him on his arm with her free arm. “Hey, I’m not that bad.” She gave a soft laugh and looked back to Griff, hoping he didn’t take that too seriously. In her opinion she wasn’t a handful, so there wasn’t anything to worry about.

As Oliver excused himself, she turned to Griff and leaned upwards so that she could whisper into his ear. “I shouldn’t worry about keeping warm, I’m sure we’ll think of something.” The lines of suggestion in her voice could hardly be missed, but this would be a time for them to be away from the prying eyes of her Uncle, and have their own space for once. Kissing his cheek lightly, she returned to her original position by his side until Oliver returned to them, advising them to take the carriage. Caitrin had already spotted that Yassia was taking the carriage as well, and that would mean she could have a few words with her in private. Well, relative privacy, but it was a given that Griff was going to be there. “We’ll take the carriage for now.” She said to Oliver and bobbed her head to him, and began to lead Griff towards the carriage. They could always argue about who got to lead the horse later anyway. Once they were all settled in the carriage, and Caitrin was sure that Oliver would not overhear her, she leant forwards towards Yassia and whispered, “Are you alright?” Yassia had said something to her in privacy earlier in the conversation about needing privacy, but Oliver had soon been upon them so she hadn’t been able to inquire further. Now she was taking her chance.

[Griff Aubert]

I completely forgot about this thread, I'm so sorry for the delay.

Surprisingly, Griff wasn’t filled with confidence about meeting the rest of Caitrin’s family. She had to get that anger and stubbornness from somewhere. In Mercia he was going to be on his own, well, alright, not entirely on his own as there was Caitrin but even her presence wasn’t enough to make him feel at ease. He didn’t feel entirely comfortable around his own family, let alone someone else’s. They were going to hate him, of that he was certain, and although there wasn’t really anything they could do to prevent him and Caitrin being together, he’d rather not be hated by her entire family. Just Rouland was bad enough; having said that, all Griff had to do was throw some wine at him and then run away.

Not only was he definitely not looking forward to being scrutinised by the de Archers (because of course they were going to find faults in him and, because they were related to Caitrin, he would know about their feelings fairly soon. At least you knew where you stood with a de Archer, whether you wanted to or not), but Oliver wasn’t making him feel any more happy about the weather. Glouchedon was one of the warmest parts of the country whereas Mercia was one of the coldest. His southern sensibilities weren’t quite up to the task at hand. “That’s very kind of you, sire.” Griff replied, although Oliver was good friends with Caitrin he was still being on his best behaviour. It did not do to upset royalty and especially not when you were about to travel to their kingdom.

Hmm. Oliver’s next words did raise a good point. He certainly could survive Caitrin. All it had taken was some horse riding and a little impromptu poetry in a tree, then again, poetry probably wasn’t going to win over her father. There were very few things that rhymed with Payton. His only consolation was that Caitrin would be with him and if it all went horribly wrong she hated her family so they could just ignore them for the rest of their lives – it seemed to be working well for him and his family. So as long as he could survive this trip, everything would be fine.

Before he had time to reply to Oliver he had excused himself and Griff was left alone with Caitrin. Already she was being inappropriate. Griff rolled his eyes at her comment, although there was the beginning of a smirk on his features. “I’m sure we will...” he replied before she led him towards the carriage where Yassia was already waiting inside. He hadn’t spoken to her since the night before when he’d drunkenly tried to flirt with her and then almost collapsed asleep, so this was probably going to be interesting. Still, there were plenty of worse people to be stuck in a carriage with than Yassia and Caitrin, as long as they didn’t gang up against him.

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

Yassia didn’t wait for much longer as they were now settled to go into the carriage. She wanted to leave as soon as courtesy allowed her, as she was certainly not in the mood for any more niceties. Having had said goodbye to her uncle yesterday evening, there was no one now that needed any words from her, and frankly, she was no longer in the mood. It was too early in the day to keep up a happy face for too long, and only now some of the words Oliver and her had spoken really sunk in. It had sounded quite logical and rational, drawing a line under everything that had happened, but it was a far more arduous task to really put through, when you thought about it. Why had she even agreed to it? Did he deserve getting out of this so well? She was never one to start mud-wrestling, but could she really let this be?

In the end, she just gave another forced smile all around, and accepted one of the servant’s offering hands, to climb into the carriage first. Once inside and shielded from too many observant glances, she leaned her head against the wooden frame and released a long breath, trying to work up another means of composure this time. Not the cheery happiness she had had to display a moment earlier, but something more resigned, yet still not how she really felt. That would have been out of question, she one: didn’t want to adopt her uncle’s nickname of ‘sourface’ and two: had not intention to ruin the journey for Griff and Cait. She would tell her what she needed to know, but then she would wise up and the subject would be done for.

Her train of thoughts was disturbed as Caitrin and Griff climbed inside behind her, and she opened her eyes, greeting them with a tentative smile. Caitrin’s inquiry followed soon enough, and Yassia took a moment to gather her thoughts, while her fingers were drumming some sort of rhythm on her knee, the only sign that she was still somewhat annoyed. Finally she settled on something that seemed good in her eyes.
”The honest answer is: no, I am not. Oliver and I had our ‘talk’.” Oh yes, she had tried to do this earlier, but Sir Prince had thought it better to flee and go hunting. Her voice adopted a slightly bitter tone as she continued. “The outcome might surprise you, it’s certainly not what either you or I expected or hoped for, which leads to only one conclusion: It never meant anything.”