I'm Hiding. Go Away. [Caitrin]

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

This was not the first time Celyn ap Llewellyn found himself utterly and horribly bored. It would not be the last time either. That was annoying. He sighed and brought his horse to a standstill. He didn't actually know where they were, which was one of the nicest feelings in the world. They could be anywhere. Anything could happen, but it wouldn't. Because he was stuck with this stupid parade of people who insisted on following him around in case he fell over and scratched his finger. To him, the situation was ridiculous. He was perfectly capable of looking after himself - he was a grown man! But, it was his father's orders that he should have no fun and never be allowed in his own company.

"I have a feeling we're in Camelot." Ifan informed him from where he was sat on his own horse. Ifan was the only person in the party whom Celyn could stand, they had, after all been raised together and were practically brothers. If Celyn had had any say in anything, it would only be him and Ifan now, just wandering and seeing what they could find and jumping off things and just doing whatever they wanted. Funnily enough, his father, the king, had not approved of that suggestion. So now they were followed by five of his father's favourite knights who seemed intent of stopping Celyn from having any fun. It was getting to the point where there was absolutely no point in Celyn even bothering, which was probably what his father had wanted.

He just nodded in response to Ifan's comment. It was so much more interesting when he didn't know their location. They had been travelling for months now, just wandering throughout Albion as Celyn attempted to enjoy his "freedom". He pressed his lips together - this was not the first time he had considered escaping. There had to be a way. He was a prince after all, there was nothing he couldn't do. "Erm...Ifan, I'm just going to...you know...I shan't be long." He dismounted his horse quickly, eager that this new plan of his would work.

Ifan gave him a questioning look, he'd known Celyn long enough to know was trying something. "You have three minutes."

Celyn just grinned up at him. "Trust me." With that he headed further into the woods, not bothering to explain to the others where he was going. Right...this was where the fun started. He had three minutes before they started looking for him...he just needed somewhere to hide... A ha! He found a rather large bush, which was rather nicely clustered with a few others. They wouldn't find him there, as long as he kept quiet.


Tags: Caitrin de Archer
Timeline: Series 2, before the Five Day Festivities
Location: Somewhere in the woods near the de Archer estate.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Once again Caitrin de Archer was doing pretty much the opposite of what everyone wanted her to do, and was out in the forest on her own once more. She couldn't see what her Uncle's problem was. The escort he wanted to send with her all the time looked like he would be the one in need of protecting if any trouble arose; not her. So she had slipped away from the estate; as was her way, and she was now enjoying some peace and quiet.

Usually Caitrin would only journey into the forest on her own if she wanted to practice her sorcery, however today's journey had a different sort of motive. Caitrin's Uncle, Rouland, had an insufferable headache which he had been suffering from for the past few days. He of course had not accepted her help at first, even though he knew that she was well versed in herblore. It was utterly ridiculous really; she was only trying to help. Then again it was in her own self interest as well to cure her Uncle's headache as when he was grumpy then everyone suffered. He had finally asked her for some relief for his headache, so her mission this morning was to collect the correct herbs to cure his headache. So far it was going well, she only needed a ginkgo leaf and then she could make a natural brew for her Uncle which would relieve his headache.

Caitrin had decided to complete the task on foot; Lily would have found it hard to navigate the thin forest roads anyway. It was probably quicker on foot. The longest part of the journey had been the walk here, but as it was such a pleasant morning she could hardly complain really. She almost had a spring in her step, life just seemed to open to whatever she made it at the moment. She was still not engaged, she still had no commitments, so she was free to do as she wanted; within reason of course.

A smile swan onto Caitrin's lips as she spotted the plant which held the ginkgo leaf on it up ahead. She set her woven basket down and leaned forwards to pick some of the leaves off the bush. After all, if she picked a few and pressed them then she would be able to use them in brews for quite some time. She didn't particularly want to be running into the forest every week because of her Uncle's headaches. They were all probably alcohol induced anyway, Caitrin had tried to suggest that he stop drinking but of course he had had none of that.

As Caitrin continued to pick the leaves she heard a shuffling from the bush and stepped back. The bush was moving? She raised an eye brow, it could of course just be some woodland creature, and that was the most likely solution, but to be sure Caitrin put her hand on the hilt of the dagger at her belt. She brushed a few of the branches on the bush aside and jumped back again as she was confronted with a mans face. The shock made her heart thud against her chest, and the grip on the dagger tightened though she didn't wield the weapon just yet. "Who are you?" She half demanded of him, "And what on earth are you doing sat in a bush?" Thinking about it, that was one of the weirdest questions she had ever asked. Oh well; it was in context. There was a man, sat in a bush; she was entitled to be confused.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

It had definitely been more than three minutes, quite a bit more thinking about it, and yet Celyn hadn't been discovered. A grin passed across his lips. He was good at this hiding lark, but then that wasn't a surprise. He was good at most things. It was slightly uncomfortable however, being a bush. He was cramped and had things sticking into him, but it was better than being stuck with those idiots so he was just going to live with it. He could live with being uncomfortable if it meant he could remain alone.

He was just about to relax when he heard footsteps. Someone was approaching. Brilliant. He had to stop himself from muttering under his breath. This was not the time to start cursing. That would give away his position, and then where would he be? It was after a few seconds of holding his breath that he realised this was the most exciting thing he'd done during his whole trip. This was horrendously disappointing.

A hand reached out and pulled some of the branches back, and Celyn didn't quite have enough time to react before there was an angry looking woman staring at him. He stared up at her, slightly wide-eyed, and yet relieved that it wasn't one of his men. That was something at least. Wait, what was that she'd just said? English wasn't Celyn's first language, and although he considered himself fluent enough he couldn't quite make out what she was saying. It was certainly a strange accent she had and one that he'd never heard before.

After a pause he decided to just assume what she'd said and go with it. "I am Celyn, prince of Sugales. And I'm hiding. Go away." In a rather ungentlemanly, and unprincely, action he batted her hand away, allowing the branches to fall back into place, narrowly avoiding getting smacked in the face in the first place. Well, this was brilliant.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was still holding the branches back with her hand and just staring in bewilderment at the man in front of her. He wasn’t bad looking, even a quick glance told her that. Sometimes Caitrin just had a habit of attracting men from all walks of life; this was just one example of her talents. Well, that was all well and good, but there was still the question to why there was a man hiding in a bush in the first place. This was utterly ridiculous when Caitrin thought about it, but at least he didn’t seem like he wanted to attack her or anything like that. Consequently, the grip Caitrin had been keeping on her dagger loosened slightly and she ran a hand through her hair; one hand still brushing the branches to one side.

It took longer for Caitrin to figure out what the man in front of her was saying than anything else. He had a thick accent which Caitrin hadn’t heard before. She managed to catch some of what he had said, and he was already amusing her somewhat. She had managed to catch that his name was Celyn, he was a prince and that he was hiding. Well that was the most unusual thing Caitrin had heard in a long while. “Oi!” She quickly protested as he batted her hand away. She held her hand for a few moments in a rather dramatic way even though he had not hurt her in the slightest. Releasing her hand, Caitrin moved to just furrow her brows at Celyn, why on earth was he hiding?

Of course she wasn’t just going to leave him alone. She was Caitrin de Archer, and if there was one thing she was good at, it was the opposite to what she was told. She bent down again and pulled back the branches to reveal Celyn to her once more. She pressed her lips together and donned one of her grins, “And what if I don’t want to ‘go away’?” She teased softly. This was probably going to be the most exciting thing to happen to her for quite a while, and Caitrin was not one for letting opportunities like this pass her by. “Who are you hiding from?”

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Well she was persistent, Celyn had to give her that, and curious, something he could hardly fault her for. But she was in danger of giving him away and that was something he was going to try and avoid. Besides she was a woman, and his experience women were only good for one thing: causing trouble. He let out a loud sigh and tried to fold his arms against his chest, which, when one is hiding in a bush, isn't the easiest task to accomplish. This was certainly a new situation, and not a pleasant one and therefore the exact opposite of why he put himself into it in the first place.

She was grinning at him. Why was she grinning at him? Did she find something amusing? Hmm. Silly question. Alright, she probably found him amusing, well, that was fair enough, she could find him as amusing as she wanted, so long as no one discovered where he was.

"And what if I don't want to 'go away'?"

"I'm a prince. You'll do as I say." He replied firmly in his own thick accent. She didn't do as she was told, something he wasn't surprised by. Well, if she wasn't going to go away and this was the situation he had been given the only thing left for him to do was to try and enjoy it. Besides, this was the most exciting thing to happen and it might be the last exciting thing if she didn't keep her voice down. "I'm hiding from..." he trailed off, trying to think of the correct word. English was a stupid language. "My people. If you're not going to go away, would you get down? They'll see you." Given that she was putting him at risk he thought it was a rather reasonable request to make. He was not going to be discovered because of some stubborn woman with a silly voice.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Well he was certainly living up to the typical Royal typecast wasn’t he? Even in those few words she gained a quick insight to his personality. If he thought that he was going to match her stubborn nature then he was sorely mistaken. She’d come up against better men than Celyn and come off better. They only took Caitrin on once before realising what a mistake it had been; Caitrin had never been one for backing down, even if she was wrong.

To Caitrin it wouldn’t make a difference to her if he was a Prince or a commoner, he wasn’t getting away with speaking to her like that. It might work in wherever it was he came from, but Caitrin was not one for being treated like some stupid woman. This was Camelot, and she refused to just ‘do as he said’. She cocked a grin and let out an amused laugh, “I don’t think so, I’m not going anywhere.” Her words were almost cheery as her staying would be the easiest way to irritate this man, and perhaps she could teach him some manners while she was here.

She raised her eye brows, so he snapped at her and now he wished her to aid his hiding? Well, where would be the fun in that. Once again she found herself completely confused by his words, his people were looking for him in a forest in Camelot? His accent told Caitrin that he was not from around here, so why on earth were his men looking here for him? “And why on earth would I do that?” She asked him, folding her arms; her voice still as loud and chirpy as ever. His accent still confused her somewhat; it wasn’t one she could even have admitted to hearing in court. There were a variety of nobles from different regions in Albion, but none of them spoke like Celyn did. “In fact, I may just speak a little louder.” She winked at him, he would have to be a lot more polite towards her if he expected her to not give him away. This certainly was proving to be an amusing situation already.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

This is what happened when women were allowed out alone. They just got in the way. Celyn should have assumed this was going to happen. What he was surprised about was her indifference to his status and importance as royalty. He may not be of Camelot, but he was still a prince - the heir to the throne of Sugales and whether Silly Voice liked it or not, he was her better. But, he was not a stupid man and he could see that if he didn't want to be found by the others he was going to have to co-operate. He was not happy about this, and that was putting it politely. With a sigh that was probably a tad too loud given the circumstances, and a glare he conceded, albeit it reluctantly.

"Fine. What do you want?" She was clearly after something that would make keeping quiet seem like an attactive prospect, otherwise she wouldn't be quite so against the idea. Women were all the same, always trying to get something out of you by whatever means necessary. Celyn had learnt that from experience.

He was still sat rather awkwardly in the bush, and although aware it was hardly a position to reflect his grandeur, it would just have to do. He did shift slightly, however, but only to try and make himself more comfortable. It didn't work. Everything, it seemed, was against him.

[Caitrin de Archer]

For the moment, thoughts of her Uncle's headache couldn't have been further from her thoughts. This was far more interesting. His accent was a source of interest on its own, it was amusing he spoke in such a way. Did everyone speak like that where he came from? "Does everyone speak like that where your from?" She asked him rather bluntly.

His question took her slightly by surprise. She didn't particularly want anything from him, no she just wanted a bit of amusement. Well, that was wanting something from him, but it was hardly sometime he could just give her straight away. "I want to know why your hiding in a bush." Her voice was softer this time and instead of bending down to look at him, she sat down on the forest floor so she was half complying with his words. It was a valid question, it wasn't every day you came across a man hiding in a bush, let alone a Prince.

A grin swept across her face as she looked about the forest. She couldn't hear any men coming in their direction, but there was plenty of time yet wasn't there? One hand was still holding the branches back and she carried on looking at Celyn in a rather confused way. "Are you on the run?" Now that would be more interesting.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Celyn half-glared up at her. Was she suggesting there was something wrong with the way he spoke? In actuality, there was something wrong with English. He had a rather wonderful voice, only know it was being tarnished by the foreign language instead of being allowed to flow naturally. And besides, she could hardly pass judgement on him. Half of what she said was completely missed by Celyn - he was instead relying on her facial expressions and when that didn't work he was just going with what he thought she'd said. So far it seemed to be working, unless they were both in two entirely different conversations. That was always a possibility. "Yes, yes they do." He replied, perhaps a little defensively before adding, "I've never heard your accent before. Are you from Camelot?" He hoped not, he was going to be spending some time in the kingdom, it would be nice if he could understand people.

"I want to know why your hiding in a bush."

Well it was none of her business. Under normal circumstances he would welcome curiosity, his own life relied upon it so much he could hardly deny it to others. But this was simply not the time to engage in conversation and he'd already decided that she was a liability. Not only that, but was a liability that he probably wouldn't be able to get rid of. "I told you I'm hiding." He said in a less-than-polite tone. He had just explained that.

At least she was sat down now, even if she was still being loud. This was a ridiculous situation to be in. He took a moment before answering her question. It wasn't as simple that. "Yes and no." Now, how to word this, that was the problem. "They're my..." he bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows, trying to the think of the right word. "My hardwy." Hmm. If she had never heard his accent before it was probably not at all likely that she would understand 'hardwy'. This was frustrating. Celyn had never cared much for learning English - the lessons were boring and outside had always seemed like a far better place to be. This was exactly the sort of situation Owain had always been going on about.

He was clicking his fingers now, getting even more irritated when his brain failed to produce the correct word. "Protection!" He said at last, his click turning into a point and looking rather pleased with himself. The feeling did not last long however, and his expression quickly faded, replaced by one of irritation. "Or they're meant to be. Look," he sighed, "I'm not trying to be rude, but you either leave or keep quiet. For a moment at least."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Well in that case Caitrin made a mental note to never visit the place that Celyn came from. It would be ridiculous, she wouldn't be able to understand anyone if she did! Even if many people did speak with the same accent as Celyn, Caitrin still thought the accent was ridiculously hard to understand. At his question she shook her head. She wasn't surprised he had not heard her accent before. It wasn't one you usually came across in these parts. In truth it wasn't even a proper Mercian accent. Caitrin's mother had been from the further northern regions, and it was from her Caitrin had taken her accent from. "No I'm from Mercia." She explained, and waved in the general direction of the region; or at least she assumed that was where Mercia was. "It's further north than here."

Well yes, Caitrin knew that he had been hiding. He hadn't even had to speak to her before she'd managed to figure that one out! She rolled her eyes at him, clearly he was determined to be as unhelpful as possible. He was only making this worse for himself as if she continued to be loud and in the way, then his men would find him. Really he should be being nice to her.

At his next words Caitrin furrowed her brow. What on earth was a 'hardwy'?! She said it softly and quietly to herself, she couldn't pronounce it right. Honestly, she had never heard anything like it before. "What on earth is a hardwy?" She asked him before he had chance to speak again, "Is that English?" It didn't sound English, but then again it could be some colloquial term or something like that.

Right so if these men were supposed to be protecting him then why was he running away from them? He was literally making no sense, but instead of becoming annoyed with him, Caitrin just became more curious. As he asked her to be quiet or leave, she decided to comply with the former. After all, she was already having fun with this encounter, why would he let it just slip by. "Fine." She said with a whisper, though she gave him a look which said she really wasn't happy about being silenced even for a few moments.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

That explained her accent then, he had not yet travelled that far. He had heard of Mercia and would probably end up there at some point. He would have to prepare himself though, especially if all the women were like this one. "What is your name, anyway? You know mine, it is only fair, is it not?"

No, that was not English. What a stupid question that was. To say that he was offended was an understatement. He took pride in his heritage and in his native language and did not approve, at all, of it being mistaken for English, which was a stupid language. "No. It is not." He replied firmly, his irritating evident in his tone. "Does it sound like English?" Even if his accent was new to her, surely she should know the difference between English and his native Welsh. What a foolish girl she was.

He was actually rather surprised when she began to comply. He had been expecting some other "smart" comment and a threat about being louder again. Hmm. He was slightly suspicious now, well, more than slightly. There had to be some reason why, all of a sudden, she was deciding to actually be useful. Maybe she would demand something in return for her help. She wouldn't be in luck. He was a prince, she should do as she was told regardless of whether she would gain anything by it.

He would have thanked her, but he heard footsteps and voices that sounded decidedly familiar. So he did was his instincts were telling him to do: he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the bush.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin hadn't realised that she hadn't introduced herself. On her part it was rather rude on her part. She smiled softly and nodded in agreement that it wasn't quite fair that she knew his name and he did not know hers. "My names Caitrin de Archer." She bobbed her head more out of habit than anything. Other formalities weren't needed as frankly, he was in a bush, so court rules didn't really apply here.

Perhaps presuming his words had been English had been the wrong assumption to make. He looked insulted straight away which told her that it had not been English which he had been speaking after all. She shrugged, not extremely happy with his tone. She'd made a mistake, she didn't know that it had been in a different language. "Well I don't know do I?" She protested hotly, "What language is it then?" Well if he was going to contradict her then he could at least put her right.

Her head inclined upwards as she heard approaching footsteps, and for a moment she wasn't quite sure what to do. What if the approaching peoples weren't exactly friendly? None of this really mattered though, as she quickly found herself being pulled into the bush by Celyn. She landed rather awkwardly and protested with a loud, "Ow!". Honestly she'd said that she would be quiet, why on earth had he felt the need to pull her into the bush as well?

She shifted herself so that she was sat next to Celyn, or as close to being seated as she could manage. It was after all quite a small space. She cast a glare in Celyn's direction and hissed at him, "There was no need for that!"

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Celyn inclined his head towards her after her introduction. Even if she wasn't going to observe even the most simplest of manners it didn't mean he was going to do the same. "A pleasure it is to meet you." He replied, trying to sound as though he was being genuine. He doubted if this Caitrin would care either way if he was genuine or not, but that was hardly the point. He was a prince, whether he liked it or not, and there were certain rules that had to be followed.

Her ignorance was hardly endearing, but then, from what had seen, not a lot of her character was. Mainly she was just annoying. "It's the language of my people." He explained, surely that much was obvious? He didn't know many people who broke into random languages for the sake of it. "Welsh." A much finer language than English by all accounts. He grinned at her, a rather self-satisfied grin before adding, "Fyddwn i ddim wedi ei difetha gan eich tafod, fy arglwyddes." No doubt that would only irritate her further, but Celyn found himself not really caring. Her reaction might be amusing.

"Be quiet!" He hissed, she might well be in pain but she was supposed to be being quiet, and quite frankly he didn't care anyway. Bushes were not designed to be comfortable. "Yes there was. Just be quiet." The footsteps were getting louder and she'd probably start shouting at him, or hitting him, either of which he wouldn't really be in a position to complain about. Her comfort however was the least of his worries right now. The only thing worse than being found in a bush by his father's guards would be to be found in a bush with a random young woman. That would certainly be something to write home about... Before she had any time to start complaining he'd pulled her further into the bush and clapped a hand around her mouth. The guards were close enough to see their feet now, so despite whatever protestations Caitrin might have, he wasn't going to be found.

[Caitrin de Archer]

For the moment he was being somewhat polite so Caitrin returned his good wishes, "A pleasure to meet you too." She didn't add his title into her words. She owed him no respect yet as he had not earned it in her eyes. That was how respect worked with Caitrin anyway.

Caitrin raised her eye brows at Ceyln as he continued to speak in Welsh. Honestly now he was just being rude. The words sounded ridiculous to Caitrin, she tried pronouncing some of them under her breath again but she couldn't understand how he could call those utterings words at all! "Are you going to enlighten me to what you've just said?" She asked him, folding her arms irritably at him. She could see the smug look on his face, he obviously thought being able to speak made up words with a funny voice made him better than her with her native tongue. How mistaken he was. "Your people can keep their language." She certainly didn't want it, it sounded like he was making half of it up. He probably was as she would be non the wiser.

Caitrin continued to just glare in Celyn's general direction, "Is that your favourite English phrase? 'Be Quiet', she asked rather sarcastically and folded her arms again. She had agreed to lie low and keep quiet, and he had ruined her mood somewhat by pulling her into the bush, so now she was determined to do the opposite of what he wanted.

Caitrin was about to speak again, and threaten to give his position away to the approaching men, but then he took it one step further. Caitrin would have yelped as he drew her further into the bush, one hand firmly across her mouth. One hand went to his arm and tried to pull it back from her mouth, the other she used to start elbowing him in the stomach. She didn't care if she hurt him, no in fact she wanted to hurt him. Caitrin continued to struggle, not caring if the men approaching her and Celyn heard them.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Celyn, because he was being rather immature, just laughed at Caitrin's words. Good. He was happy to be annoying her, so no he wasn't going to enlighten her. He would have to remember just how much she appreciated his speaking Welsh again. It would certainly help him get a few things off his chest. He'd just smile sweetly and speak softly, and then of course refuse to tell her what he had said. "I don't think I shall." He replied with a grin. It had been amusing to watch her try and repeat his words, and not quite being able to get her tongue around the sounds. "Oh don't worry we will. Wouldn't want the likes of you diluting it, now would we?" He asked raising his eyebrows slightly.

She was very fond of glaring, he'd noticed, but then he probably deserved it. He wasn't being the easiest person to get along with, he would admit that readily, but then neither was he, and he wasn't glaring. All he was doing was speaking in a different language. That wasn't rude at all. "No," he said simply, "But around you I find it the most useful. Is glaring your favourite expression? You seem to do it enough." She'd only get lines around her eyes, surely even she was aware of that...

Ow! He had to bit his lip to stop himself making a noise. His hand upon her mouth was probably pressing a little too hard against her, but she was elbowing him so he thought that was fair enough. It was no easy task to try and stop someone attacking him while keeping her quiet and hiding in a bush, but if anyone could do that it was going to be Celyn. He was quite determined that he wasn't going to be found, especially not because of Caitrin. "Stop elbowing me!" He hissed as quietly as he could, holding her more firmly, although not firmly enough to stop her being able to hit him. After struggling for a few moments he let out a small sigh - it would have been a louder and far more frustrated but the feet were still visible. "Stop hitting me and I'll let go."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Of course he wasn't going to do something as simple as just telling her what he had just said in his silly made up language. And he was laughing at her, her mood really wasn't improving. "I have no desire to learn your ridiculous language." She quickly retorted, "I am sure you have made half of it up on the spot." Did she care she was insulting his heritage? Not in the slightest. Her mother had told her once about the Gaelic language of the north, and it sounded much like the Welsh tongue Celyn was speaking in. As her mother had been from the north, she had known some Gaelic, though Caitrin had never really paid much attention to that side of her heritage. Well, she had picked up a few words, though she was a bit rusty. She would have to rack her brain to see if she could remember any of the Gaelic, she wouldn't use it unless she could truly remember it as it wouldn't have the desired effect otherwise.

He deserved the glares she was giving him. After all, he was irritating her more than she had ever thought possible in such a short space of time. To make a point she just continued to glare, but raised one eye brow at him. "You deserve no less." She pointed out, and began to listen out for the approaching men. Well, that was before Celyn grabbed her and practically muted her.

All Caitrin could focus on was trying to break free of Celyn's grip. Though she was incredibly persistent with elbowing Celyn in the ribs in the hope that he let her go, he was bigger and stronger than she was. His hand was starting to hurt around her mouth, and that just increased her struggles. Caitrin wanted to laugh as he asked her to stop elbowing him. In fact she paused before putting all her energy into a stabbing jab in his ribs; just to prove a point.

Did Caitrin believe him, that he would let her go if she stopped struggling? She wasn't quite sure if she did believe him. However, she was in a position where she could resume her jabs if he was lying. Overall she was incredibly annoyed, and this wouldn't let Celyn away with this. After one last jab she remained quite still, waiting for him to release her and fulfill his half of the bargain.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

How ignorant she was. While he was not surprised at her lack of enthusiasm for his language, did she honestly think it was made up? He hoped she was just trying to provoke him, rather than voicing an actual belief. It would be far too depressing if she was. While Sugales was not the most highly thought of of the kingdoms in Albion it was a proud one nonetheless. He didn't take too kindly to her attitude towards it. He was half tempted to reply to her in Welsh, but that would be childish and would just provoke more disrespectful comments from her, so for the moment he bit his tongue and tried to think of something that could be said by a man of his standing to a woman. Nothing was springing to mind. "Believe what you want." He replied, a rather weak reply as replies went, but it was a little more civil than what he had wanted to say. Oh sod it. What was wrong with a little childishness? Nothing, he decided and added, with a grin of course, "Nid wyf yn gofalu am y farn a menywod yn blino. It means I don't care."

Despite her apparant ability to be the most annoying thing in his life right now, he did need her on side if he was not going to be found by Ifan and the others. That probably only made her more annoying. As a rule, Celyn didn't much care for relying on others, especially when that other was a woman. It wasn't exactly a situation befitting a prince. Well, most of the situations he managed to get himself into were hardly befitting of his title, that was what made them fun. This was just bordering on degrading.

With some reluctance he let go of her. She could easily escape and alert the others, but it was a risk he was going to have to take. It was his freedom or his ribs, so he chose his ribs. "Happy now?" He whispered, all too aware of the stupidity of their predicament. Right now, not only would being found mean he would have to return to the life of a travelling prince, instead of a mere wanderer, but it would be horrendously embarrassing. What would Ifan think if he found Celyn lying in a bush with a strange woman? He dreaded to think.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was still convinced that Welsh was a language she did not want to learn in a hurry. It just sounded ridiculous to Caitrin, and with her northern accent it just sounded silly as well. Once again she found herself just trying out some of the words that Celyn had used. She hoped that English didn’t sound as awful to Celyn as Welsh did to Caitrin. She didn’t voice this worry as Celyn would probably just say that it did sound awful to wind her up. “Do you not think it is just easier to say that in English?” She asked, as it was shorter and it made more sense in English. Those reasons were good enough for Caitrin.

This defiantly ranked as one of Caitrin’s more unusual encounters with men. She’d never really encountered a man in a bush before. Then again, if this man truly was a Prince then he would be the third Prince who Caitrin had the pleasure of conversing with, perhaps with the odd flirt once she had calmed down somewhat. Funnily enough it was easier to see the better in someone when they didn’t have you practically gagged and held captive in a bush. That might be over-reacting slightly, but Caitrin didn’t care. The worry was valid in her mind.

Even after Celyn had released her she was still incredibly heated and angry. How dare he treat her in such a way! When he spoke she turned around to him sharply and with a very quick, “No.” That was at least whispered, before her palm quickly collided with his cheek. She leaned her face towards his after the blow and hissed at him, “Do not do that again!” Then she fell silent as the guards were almost upon them. Half of her wanted to just jump out and give Celyn away, but where would be the fun in that? Plus she didn’t really want to be discovered in this compromising position anyway with Celyn; who would?!

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

In response to the question at the end of your post: me. I would. I'd enjoy this a lot more than Cait.

"That wasn't a word perfect translation." He replied with a rather smug grin. No doubt that would annoy her, well good, she deserved such. Her reactions were ever so amusing, although he had taken her to be a little more intelligent than she was proving to be. Honestly, was it that hard a concept? Well, clearly it was. He made it no secret that English was not a language he held in much regard, and even if he did, surely it was obvious that the answer to her question was no? Of course it was easier to reply in his own language. It was the language he thought in and one he would much rather be using. "And no, I don't think that." He said with a definite tone. It was a stupid question, she should be well aware of that fact.

During his life, Celyn had been slapped by enough women to be able to show a little dignity after such an attack. Naturally the force of her hand made his head turn and the shock and sudden pain caused him to take a sharp intake of breath. That was not something he had been expecting. He was, however, able to overcome the urge to press his hand to his, presumably already reddening cheek, and ignore the throbbing pain. It would subside soon enough, and he wouldn't have Caitrin knowing how much that had actually hurt.

When he turned back to face her he was glaring, and justifiably so. She had just slapped him in the face, after all. "I'm not sure that was entirely necessary." He replied, still whispering. The majority of the slaps he suffered from where never necessary. It seemed to be the default reaction for emotionally unstable women. He was going to add another comment, probably a sarcastic one about her being an example of the afore mentioned emotionally unstable woman, but he could see feet in front of the bush so he stopped moving, and practically stopped breathing. As long as Caitrin stayed still as well, they should be alright.

After what seemed like hours, but, knowing Ifan and his attention span it was probably only a matter of seconds, he heard his friend's voice. "I can't see anything here." It was only a matter of a few seconds more and the feet had disappeared. Celyn let out a rather long breath. That was far too close for comfort, but at least they hadn't been found. Now at liberty to speak again, he did just that, "I can assure it was far from a pleasant experience, and something I'll endeavour not to have to endure again." Perhaps that was being a little harsh, but his cheek still hurt.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was still incredibly unimpressed with the Welsh language on the whole. It was incredibly pointless language which she would not waste her time learning. She knew her intelligence lay in other aspects of the world; she knew sorcery, she doubted Celyn could boast that! Not that Caitrin would be boasting it any time soon; she liked her head on her shoulders.

Hmm. A pity. Caitrin had been expecting more of a reaction from Celyn after she had slapped him. She was however quite disappointed, but it did give her a few moments to calm down. She was breathing quite heavily, and while resisting the urge to slap Celyn again she looked away from him and held her breath for a few moments. Her chest was heaving up and down and she ran a hand through her hair. "I think it was completely necessary."

Although she wasn't the one who the men in the forest were looking for, she still felt herself freeze as she heard another man speak. She shifted slightly so she could see out of the gaps in the bush to see the man who spoke. She couldn't really catch his appearance apart from the basics. A pity, he could have proved better entertainment than the man she was currently in a bush with.

She let out a slight sigh of relief when the men passed and turned her attentions back to Celyn. She continued to just glare at him as he spoke. "You deserved it." She said, justifying her actions before shifting away from him slightly. The men could still be about so she wasn't about to burst out of the bush. "I take it you don't treat all women like that?" She asked in a slightly moody way as she flexed her hand. She couldn't believe a Prince would be that irritating with every noblewoman he came across. Then again how many women found themselves hiding in a bush with him?