I'm Hiding. Go Away. [Caitrin]

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

By now the pain in his cheek had left. It had not been that hard a slap, it was merely the surprise that had made him seem more painful, or that was his excuse anyway. Regardless of his actions however - and really, had they been so hard to endure - Caitrin had no right to slap him. He was sure that he would be severely in the wrong if the situation was reversed (not that the situation would be reversed, he was a gentleman after all), yet it all very well and good for Caitrin to go on attacking him because she felt it was justified. Celyn thought his covering her mouth and pulling her into a bush was justified. Apparantly it wasn't. "Well I don't agree with your opinion." He said, in a slightly childish tone. He could have added that, as a prince, it was not her opinion that mattered at all, but his, but he was taking the moral high ground. Or at least he thought he was, which was near enough the same thing, being a prince and all.

He sighed - did she really have such a low opinion of him? Yes, he had insulted her in a language she didn't understand, and yes, he had pulled her into a bush and covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming, but even so. It wasn't as if he was doing so for no reason. And anyway, who wouldn't want to find themselves in such a position with a prince? She should be grateful. "No, I do not "treat all women like that"." He replied, trying to shuffle away from her, which proved to be a difficult task. "Only those that deserve to be treated in such a manner, and you, my dear, certainly do."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Did she really care if Celyn agreed with her opinion? Not in the slightest. She knew she was right, and that was all that mattered at the end of the day. Caitrin merely shrugged at Celyn's words and looked away from him. He could think what he wanted, but slapping someone who had just dragged you into a bush and gagged you seemed perfectly reasonable to Caitrin. Well, he wouldn't be doing that again would he? So the action had had its intended outcome.

She just stared on at him. Was he this intent on completely insulting her? He had had no justification for pulling her into this bush and practically gagged her so she wouldn't tell the guards of his location. Caitrin had had no intention of telling them anything, no, Celyn had just assumed the worse of her obviously, and had just decided that she would have probably given him away. She was getting nowhere with simply arguing with Celyn, so perhaps she could adapt to play to his rules a bit; not that much, but a little tweak couldn't hurt. "And what manner would you prefer me to act in?" She asked with raised eyebrows, drawing herself slightly closer to him, "Seeing as, in context, you dragged me into this bush and gagged me. How else would you want me to react, please enlighten me." There were many ways in which Caitrin could act, and ways that she would use to her advantage. Celyn had yet to discover her charms after all.

Caitrin now shifted to look around the clearing. The interesting man had left and she couldn't see anyone in the clearing. She wondered if Celyn would permit her to leave the bush without dragging her back or attacking her in some way. She wouldn't put it past him of course. "Can we get out of this bush now?"

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Now she was just being childish, he thought, completely ignoring his own childishness only a few minutes before. His actions didn't matter because he was in the right, and he was royalty, and they just didn't. Was she trying to be clever? He assumed so, women like her often tried to be clever. It was irritating. They should stick to embroidery or some such activity and leave cleverness to men. "I would prefer you to act like a lady." No doubt she would have something to say about that, something silly and annoying. "And before you say I was being ungentlemanly, that shouldn't matter. After all, I have not attacked you." To him, that was a perfectly logical argument to make. Caitrin probably wouldn't see it as such, but that was her problem, not his.

As much as he wanted to leave the bush, he wasn't entirely convinced they were gone. As quietly as he could, he shuffled forward so he could see clearer. Hmm. There didn't appear to be anyone about, and he had heard Ifan declaring that he hadn't seen him. They should be alright. And if they weren't...well, that's what his legs were for. "It would be a pleasure." He replied, and shuffled back to his previous position to allow Caitrin some room to move, "After you, milady." He extended his arm, sort of - it was quite hard to do such an action in such a confined space, making a show of how he was acting like a gentleman, even if there was a tone. He was behaving as he should, and making a point about it.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Raising her eye brows, Caitrin kept her arms folded. He hadn’t really given her the chance to act like a lady now had he? “Oh, would you prefer me to be at home then, like a dutiful sort of woman?” She smirked and shook a finger in front of his face, “In case you hadn’t already noticed, I don’t adhere to that way of thinking. I am a Lady in my own rights, you have just not seen how.” At court Caitrin could play the part of a Lady very well; almost too well some could argue. She could play men for all they were worth, and leave them wanting more. She knew all the normal womanly things like how to dance, sew and things like that. Just because she knew these things didn’t mean she had to implore them in all of her day to day activities. “It is ungentlemanly to drag a woman into a bush against her will.” She pointed out irritably. He could not say that he had acted like the perfect gentleman. If he had then he would not have been so selfish nor childish. Neither of them had taken the moral high ground, so they were both as bad as each other really.

Well at least he was now permitting her to leave the bush. She could therefore be satisfied that she wasn’t going to get dragged into some uncomfortable position then. She inclined her head towards Celyn as he addressed her appropriately and then gestured for her to leave the bush. “Thank you my Lord.” The words almost stung in her mouth, but she wasn’t giving him his full title, she was merely giving a little to him. She had no reason to show disrespect when he was using her title after all. Caitrin didn’t need telling twice and she heaved herself out of the bush and looked around quickly for any of the men who had been after Celyn. “There’s no one else here.” She called rather cheerfully back to the bush and took a few steps forwards to retrieve her herb basket. Her Uncle’s headache could perhaps wait a while longer, she hadn’t quite finished with Celyn just yet. “So what are your plans now?” She asked, turning round to face him as he finally emerged from the bush.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

"At least you wouldn't be here irrititating me." He replied, before she had come along he had been quiet happily sitting in his bush, minding his own business. She had been the one to initiate contact first, therefore she could hardly complain about his actions. After all, he hadn't forced her to speak to him, in fact, it would probably have been better if she hadn't. "No, I hadn't noticed." There was more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Her next comment was met with raised eyebrows. "Oh haven't I? From what I have seen you are bossy, obnoxious and have far too high an opinion of yourself - just like every other noblewoman." His words finished, he pressed his lips together in an almost-grin. He was quite certain that out of everything he had said the thing that she would argue against the most was being like every other woman, which was exactly why he had said it.

Presumably, she had chosen not to address him properly on purpose. Well, he wasn't going to rise to it. He was far above such petty teasings, that was the plan anyway. The temptation to tell her that she should be referring to him as either "your highness" or "sire" was ignored, instead he glared at her for a few seconds. It wouldn't have made a difference to say anything anyway, she would just ignore him. If he was back home he could have had her flogged...

Of course there was no one else there, otherwise he wouldn't be about to leave the safety of the bush. She was just pointing out the obvious, something which was entirely unnecessary. She seemed to looking happier though, and less like she was going to hit him again. This was suspicious.

"So what are your plans now?"

Ah. Looks like he wasn't going to get rid of her quite as easily as he thought. Maybe he should have stayed in the bush, where it had been safe, well, relatively safe. "Avoiding my guards." He said simply, after all, that was why he had been hiding in the first place. They might not be in their vicinity at the moment but they were certainly still looking for him. "I suppose you'll be looking for someone else to attack now."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Ah well now he had admitted that she was annoying him, so Caitrin was somewhat satisfied. After all, that had been the reaction she had been going for. Her words and jests would have done no good unless they were having an effect. And here Celyn was, confirming just that. She grinned in a rather smug manner, and didn't let it fade from her face as he began to rhyme off his observations of her. She shrugged softly, she really couldn't care less what Celyn thought of her. He wouldn't be around long enough for her to care. "Now that is just your opinion." She pointed out rather rationally. "You forgot to mention beautiful, intelligent and of course enchanting." It felt odd to switch from annoyance to flirtations, but it was done with ease. Although Celyn wouldn't understand the sub-text of her words, it was still fun to use them. No doubt his reaction would be amusing anyway.

Caitrin was quite disappointed he did not rise to her little misuse of titles. Oh well she clearly wasn't trying hard enough to annoy him that much. She didn't poke the fire though for the time being. There was no point in making an argument out of nothing. If anything it would just amuse him and prove him right for not thinking incredibly highly of her.

Of course Caitrin was happier now that she was not in a confined space; she had never been one for confined spaces anyway, but especially not when she was forced to spend that time with a spoiled Prince. Plus it was a beautiful day, apart from Celyn's words, his stupid language and just his general self, it was quite a good day. She was quite enjoying winding him up anyway because he was rising to her words. Perhaps she could shift the tone of this conversation, after all, it was what she was best at. No of course Caitrin did not stop with nobles, Princes were within her grasp as well. Perhaps that would annoy Celyn more if she began to mold her flirts to him, and change his perception of her. Sometimes Caitrin loved the way her mind worked.

She inclined her head towards Celyn as he spoke and let out a small 'heh' noise and stepped towards him. "I didn't 'attack' you." She defended, now taking the opportunity to run her eyes over him quickly before returning to focus on his face. "And why would I want to run off so soon? I thought we were getting along." She even managed a small wink, was that too much too soon? Perhaps he would see it as her jesting with him.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Yes, that was his opinion, which was why he had voiced it. Hadn't they already established that his opinion was the only one of any import, or had that just been decided in his head? Celyn was fairly sure he had said something along those lines to Caitrin, but she was ignoring him, unsurprisingly. He folded his arms against his chest, her next words were certainly amusing. And while he did have to admit that she was beautiful, he couldn't say the same for her being intelligent and enchanting. It took a lot more than some childish insults to enchant him...wait a second.

Oh. Fantastic. She was flirting with him. Clearly he hadn't had enough of noblewomen flirting with him. Suddenly he missed the elbowing. And she was winking. What was it with women and winking? They seemed to think that all men were incapable of anything once a woman winked at them. Well Celyn had enough self-restraint not to jump on the first woman who winked at him.

It was irritating, to put it nicely, that Caitrin was now trying to flirt with him. At least when she was arguing he could argue back, at the moment he was just looking at her with a rather put-out expression on his face. This was not a situation he wanted to be in. What exactly was he supposed to do? He was sure that she was only doing it to annoy him, in which case saying anything would just motivate her further. But he couldn't flirt back, that would just encourage her. Bloody women. Ignoring her was probably the best thing to do, or rather, ignoring her tone, rather than ignoring her. Ignoring her would probably only end in physical discomfort. "Did you? How strange. I was under the impression that we weren't getting along at all."

[Caitrin de Archer]

While Caitrin hadn't expected Celyn to suddenly warm her, she was expecting some sort of positive reaction. Obviously that was too much to ask. Caitrin just smiled back at him, he hadn't furthered her comments about her being beautiful, intelligent or enchanting, but he also hadn't denied them. Therefore there was still hope in this situation. After all, Caitrin had the whole morning to kill and Celyn was here so she might as well have some fun while she could.

Men, in Caitrin's experience, were quite easy to figure out. Many had little experience of love or matters of the heart. It was sweet really, but it just made the thrill of introducing them to flirts more exciting. Then of course there were the men who knew it all, and thought they were as charming as they could be. Neither type of man really applied to Caitrin in the long term. In the short term however, the thrill of the chase was almost like a drug, and Caitrin kept having to go back for more.

Although his words were unsurprising, she couldn't help but be slightly offended by the harshness in his voice. Or at least that was how she perceived it. However, keeping her usual act up, Caitrin just kept her smile up but raised one eye brow. "What on earth would lead you to that conclusion?" She asked, shifting to flick her hair over her shoulder whilst flashing Celyn a soft knowing grin. He couldn't hold out forever; all men were the same.

Deciding to be a bit more forwards, Caitrin moved towards Celyn, but instead of standing in front of him, she began to lean on the tree which was quite close to him. she stood with one leg resting on the tree trunk, the other supporting her weight on the ground. "So where do you want to go? Unless you would rather stand around in this deserted area all day." Twinges of suggestion came through in her words, it was quite subtle but enough to be noticed. She didn't care she was being bold, it was needed in this situation.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Celyn wasn't impressed, or in any way further inclined towards Caitrin. He just wanted to be left by himself. She was, irritatingly, far too stubborn and far too full of herself for Celyn's liking, and something told him that even if he wanted to be left alone she wouldn't have it. She was probably as bored as he was, only less inclined to enjoy her own company. How wonderful.

"Your elbowing me is probably the best example." He replied, folding his arms across his chest. Did she honestly think this was going to work on him? She was just a silly little girl, whereas he was a prince. He was above this sort of thing.

He took a step back. She might want to be closer to him, but the feeling was definitely not mutual. If she thought she was being charming and inticing she was sorely mistaken. "I want to go away from you," he paused, "but that's not going to happen, is it? So, failing that," he shrugged, "I have no idea."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Her elbowing had been completely justified. Funnily enough being pulled into a bush and gagged was quite a threatening situation. Caitrin didn't particularly like not being in control of her actions, and Celyn had put her in a rather unfamiliar and threatening situation. "You did drag me into a bush." She reminded him, raising her eye brow at him. Honestly, why was she suddenly the bad guy? "I think elbowing was one of the nicest things I could have done in that situation." There were worse thing she could have done to inflict some form of pain towards him, and he should have been grateful she stopped at elbowing his ribs. Well, she had slapped him as well, but she'd been angry; it was justified.

Caitrin let out a small amused laugh at Celyn's words. Well he knew her well enough to know that she wasn't just going to disappear. If Caitrin was anything, she was stubborn, and quite good at getting her own way in some respects. At least Celyn knew what he was getting himself into already. She cocked her head to the side, her eyes still fixated on Celyn. Shrugging, she looked back to her herb basket and was almost amused at the thought of Celyn trying to help her identify the specific herbs she needed for basic remedies in the home. He probably wouldn't have a clue where to start. "Well I still have herbs to collect, or failing that we could just walk? The forest is quite lovely this time of year after all." Once again her lips pressed into a smile and she once again took another step towards Celyn; pushing herself from the tree. "Or would you rather I decided where the morning takes us?"

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Was she going to keep going on about that? It was starting to get boring. All of his actions had been entirely necessary - and if she hadn't been being so loud in the first place then she wouldn't have ended up in the bush. Instead of giving her an actual reply he just exhaled loudly. He wasn't convinced she was deserving of a reply, and even if she got one she would probably only ignore it and go on some more about how much of an ordeal the whole thing had been. What she failed to realise was that whilst she had been stuck in a bush with him, he had been stuck in a bush with her. With another heavy sigh he began to brush specks of dirt from his cloak - something else he could blame her for. All in all, this was not going well.

Was she trying to be nice? Her tone was certainly softer than it had been, and she was smiling at him. But Celyn had learnt the hard way to be cautious when a woman smiled. It usually meant they wanted something, and while in this case it was quite obvious that Caitrin desired his company. He was, however, sure there was some ulterior motive. It was highly unlikely that their conversation so far had prompted such a desire - she must be planning something. The only way he would figure what exactly this would be was to go along with it, and anyway, Celyn was never one to miss an adventure, and something was telling him there was never a dull moment when Caitrin de Archer was present. It might be infuriating and frustrating, but never dull. He cocked his head, tugging his lips to the right as he considered what she said. It didn't seem like he had been given a choice in the matter, not that he had been expecting one.

His attention turned to the basket on the ground, presumably it was there for Caitrin's herbs. It would be the gentlemanly thing to carry it for her, and although Celyn had no desire to aid the woman in any way he had been brought up properly, and so coming to the rescue of a helpless young woman was a second nature. Clearly carrying a basket of herbs was part of that rescuing. It lay a few paces away so he walked over and picked it up - it really did make him look regal and masculine. "I didn't really have a choice, did I?"

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin took Celyn’s silence on the whole bush incident as an indicator that she had won that little argument. She had been justified to be annoyed at him, it hadn’t exactly been polite to practically gag her. However, perhaps it was time to look past that, he still seemed slightly well disposed towards her which was quite surprising after all the elbowing and slapping. Any other man would probably have stormed off by now, their pride in tatters. It made Caitrin slightly suspicious, was Celyn up to something? Then again she wasn’t one to speak, for she was trying to set her plan into motion. Toying with the feelings of men was, unfortunately, becoming a pastime for Caitrin. Eventually she would grow up and settle for just one man, but that was probably a long way off in the future, and Caitrin had no mind to settle down just yet. Celyn could be one more string in her bow, just another man and nothing more. It was Caitrin’s way after all.

Caitrin was pleasantly surprised as Celyn picked up her herb basket. She shook her head at his words and grinned smugly, "Not really, no." However such a gentlemanly gesture was not going to change her opinion of him straight away. It was however quite admirable that he was still acting like a gentleman after she had essentially insulted everything about him. He was either used to it, or he was a fool; Caitrin didn’t really care which it was. Pushing herself off the tree, she didn’t gesture for him to give her herb basket back, if he wanted to carry it then who was she to deny him?

Now collecting herbs all morning would be incredibly boring, but Caitrin would think of something else while they walked. After all, it wasn’t like her to stay on task, she was too easily distracted for all of that. Caitrin took a few steps in front of Celyn, trying to look like she knew where they were going. Well, she wasn’t lost just yet, she just wasn’t quite sure where to go next. “Will your men still be in the forest?” She asked Celyn, rather casually spinning on her heels so her hair whipped around her shoulders, “Or can I walk freely without worrying that you are going to pull me into another bush.” She winked to indicate the jest and although her lips were brimming with a soft laugh, she didn’t let it out and instead she walked back to his side.

She didn’t offer him her arm just yet, because perhaps that would be a bit too forwards. She did however stay quite close to his side, and gave him a gentle smile. She was laying the foundations for her plan, after all it wouldn’t do to just jump in with her flirts and teases, no, she had to get him on side first. “Let’s head this way,” She suggested, point to the east, “I was heading in that direction anyway.”

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[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

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Part of him was surprised that she was letting him carry her basket. Celyn was half expecting her to make some comment about thinking he was being so charming and gentlemanly but it wasn’t working on her, and she didn’t want him messing around with her herbs. But she didn’t, she just let him carry on. Maybe she was planning on filling it with heavy things.

In answer to her question he just shrugged. They probably were still in the forest somewhere, but it was a rather large forest, and his men were most likely going to get lost – especially if Ifan was leading them. And as far as bushes were concerned, well, he was very quick to voice his opinions on that sort of thing. “Trust me; there is no one I want to be in a bush with less.” He replied, his serious tone being betrayed by a slight curl of the lips. “I don’t understand your objection though.” Back in Sugales there were hundreds of women who would jump at the chance to be in that position. Caitrin was obviously just trying to be awkward for the sake of it.

Celyn smiled back – it was only polite and it looked like Caitrin wasn’t letting him go any time soon. If he wanted his walk to be a pleasant one he was going to have to make it that way. And she wasn’t a bad person. She was just frustrating. He had quickly learnt that in her eyes, his opinion was not valid and so whether he liked it or not, they were going east. Naturally, he wasn’t going to tell her that he was well aware that he was being forced to do as she pleased. He was going to pretend that he hadn’t noticed, and that he didn’t really care anyway, which normally he wouldn’t, only now he did because she was far too frustrating. “East sounds good,” he replied with what he hoped would be an enthusiastic smile, but he couldn’t help but add, “Even if it is the wrong side of the country...”

[Caitrin de Archer]

The last thing on Caitrin's mind was running into Celyn's men, but if they did run into them then it would cut her morning short, and that simply would not do at all. She did make a note to at least keep an eye out for shifting weird speaking soldiers. She smiled at Celyn's words and ran a hand through her hair, she hadn't been expecting anything else from him really. His next words amused her somewhat, but it was easy enough to twist the words in her favour. "I don't believe you have that much of an objection to being in a bush with me. After all, you were the one who dragged me in." She winked at him and tried to be serious, but she was probably failing.

Caitrin pulled a face at Celyn, which was something that was becoming a common occurance in his company. "There is nothing wrong with the Eastern country." She pointed out. Mercia was in the east, and it was rather presumptuous of him to just write off the entire western country because that wasn't where he was from. Honestly, did he know his geography? She stepped away from him and breathed in sharply, the cool air of the morning forest hitting the back of her throat. It was a lovely morning, and she was certain that she would be taking full advantage of this new opportunity which lay in front of her. Anyway, she still had to set her plan into motion.

She was wearing her travelling cloak, so occasionally she would spin round to show the dress off which clung so perfectly to her slender figure. It was all subtle hints, which would hopefully have the desired effect. It was always fun to toy with men anyway. She noticed some of the leaves which she had been trying to pick out earlier up ahead so she half rushed forwards to grab a few. Caitrin had been rather distracted earlier, and therefore hadn't picked up anything. Once the leaves had been picked, she made her way back to Celyn until she was standing right in front of him and she placed the leaves in the basket and just let her eyes trail back up to him rather lazily. "Do you have any suggestions for the rest of the morning?" She asked, running a thumb over one of the leaves, "Unless you are content to follow me round the forest, picking leaves all morning."

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

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There was no arguing with Caitrin. In the little time that Celyn had had the...pleasure...of making her acquaintance he had learnt that. Despite the fact that his dragging her into the bush was a matter of self-preservation, it seemed she was still intent of using it as some sort of excuse to attack him. He rolled his eyes at her wink, a small smile tugging at his lips. She was certainly unlike other women, although whether that was a good thing or not was a matter of opinion. Celyn hadn’t decided either way yet. But he was glad that he had pulled her into a bush. Whether she was shouting at him, or trying to be flirtatious she was amusing and a welcomed distraction. He definitely needed more distractions in his life. Deciding to go along with her flirtations rather than try and avoid them he replied: “Well I couldn’t waste such an opportunity.” Of course nothing was going to come of it, but if they were going to spend time together it would certainly be better spent flirting than arguing. It would certainly result in fewer headaches.

Her comment prompted an eyebrow raise from the young prince. There were many things wrong with the east. It was cold and not nearly green enough and there weren’t any valleys at all. It was all rather disappointing. He did wonder whether she was actually that proud of her side of the country, or whether she was just arguing with him. He wouldn’t be that surprised either way. She struck him as the kind of woman who took offence for the sake of it, whereas he liked to think of himself as far more relaxed about such matters. That wouldn’t stop him arguing, however, it just meant that he didn’t actually care that much. “And what is it exactly that makes the east so much better?” He asked, arms folded against his chest – which wasn’t that easy with a basket digging into him. He supposed it make him look quite rugged and masculine, compared to a squirrel anyway.

If Caitrin was trying to be subtle she wasn’t doing a very good job at it. Celyn had had enough women throwing themselves (or being thrown by their fathers) at him to know when a woman was trying to entice him. A little twirling was obviously seen as quite impressive in the art of seduction. Celyn had seen it all before, and none of it had affected him. That wasn’t strictly true, but that didn’t matter now. It didn’t matter at all.

He hadn’t realised he was smiling quite so much as he watched the young woman, but when he did realise exactly what his face was doing he put an immediate end to it. He’d just met the woman. And she was annoying. He managed to push any similar thoughts out of his head by the time she had returned, which was probably a good thing as he’d only start smiling again and she’d assume he was smiling because of her, which obviously wasn’t the case. As boring as he sounded – and he did so hate to sound boring – he didn’t have any suggestions, mainly because he wasn’t exactly sure where he was and so didn’t know what there was to do. He would be quite content to simply wander and see what happened, but something told him Caitrin was one to look for excitement, rather than stumble across it. “I’m afraid I’m quite ignorant.” He replied, the smile beginning to tug at his lips again. “Which means you’ll have to entertain me yourself.”

[Caitrin de Archer]

Although their introduction could be described as unconventional at bet, Caitrin was enjoying her time with Celyn immensely already. It gave her something else to focus on this morning rather than just trying to collect herbs to appease her moody Uncle’s headache. Caitrin was of course that Celyn was returning her flirts. It made the conversation less one sided, and meant that they could have a little more fun together. It was always better when the man had a good sense of humour and a sharp wit about him. “Are you glad you didn’t waste the opportunity then?” She teased softly, trying to draw Celyn out of himself in a way. “Or are you expressing your desire for a similar opportunity to occur?” Now she raised one eye brow at him in a rather suggestive manner. Though Caitrin had no desire whatsoever to be dragged into a bush to be gagged again, perhaps Celyn would see a bit more into it. If he did, then who was she to complain? He was after all quite handsome, and she could enjoy that on a surface level.

There were many good thing about the East and Caitrin mimicked Celyn and folded her arms at him. “Mercia lies to the North-East of here.” She had already told Celyn that her accent was Mercia, but perhaps he couldn’t remember that far back in the conversation. “I am from the Eastern country, so that is why it is better than the West.” She pulled a face at him and winked because she was sure that would provoke some sort of reaction. Celyn had a habit of rising to her jests and teases in a rather amusing way.

Although Caitrin could think of many answers to Celyn’s later words, not many were fit for a Prince’s ears so she decided not to speak them just yet. Caitrin began to frame her mind to the problem at hand. She didn’t want Celyn to go away thinking she was boring after all. Well I suspect collecting herbs all morning is going to get rather dull.” She pointed out playfully and looked up at Celyn. Her hands were playing absent mindedly with the belt at her dress. Now what could they do to entertain themselves? Caitrin pulled a face, the only things she could think of were rather immature, and Celyn being Celyn, he probably wouldn’t approve of any of her ideas. However, she would have to try out one or two of her ideas on him or else it was going to be a rather long walk. “Well we could always just let ourselves become lost in the forest.” She grinned and took a few steps forwards, gesturing to the general area which was the forest.

Caitrin then casually turned her shoulder to face him so she was only half looking at him. “Or, you could try to catch me.” Her voice had an eager anticipation and she hitched her skirts, though not too much which would be unseemly, but enough so that she could run with ease. “Unless you are too serious for such things.” Caitrin certainly wasn’t too serious for anything like this. For her, life was for living in the moment, and that was how Caitrin lived her life. She took a few steps back and turned on her heels, shooting Celyn a smug grin before she went to run. Of course she didn’t go too far at first, she was waiting to see if he would take up the challenge.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

If truth be told - and only then it would only be told internally, there was no way he was going to say this to Caitrin, she had a high enough opinion of himself already - he was rather glad he didn't waste the oppurtunity. That was not because he particularly wanted to be attacked in a bush by an angry redhead, but because it then led to introductions. It also didn't mean that he was in any great rush to repeat it. Once was more than enough for any young man, so it was certainly, without any question of a doubt, enough for Celyn. He could see that Caitrin was trying to flirt with him, which surprisingly wasn't an unpleasant as he had first thought. It was with this in mind that he chose is answer carefully. He didn't want to ruin her fun but he also didn't want to give her anything else to tease him with. "Well maybe next time you can do the dragging." Logically, he doubted that she would be able to drag him anywhere, but that pointing that out would probably be a mood-killer.

He was still unconvinced that the east was better than the west. The north east definitely wasn't better. He'd never been there but from what he had heard it was dark and cold and there was very little rain. Celyn happened to like the rain. He liked the smell and the sound and the feel of the ground afterwards. "On the contrary," he began, putting on his best authoritive voice because this was important business, "I think you'll find the west is better because it's where I'm from." It wasn't the strongest of arguments, but then it was the same as hers so if she pulled it apart she was doing the same to her own.

Celyn doubted that anything with Caitrin could become dull. She may be quite an acquired taste, but she was certainly not dull. Her face, for instance, was becoming a source of entertainment as she kept pulling it while she thought. He didn't know anyone with quite so animated features.

"Well we could always just let ourselves become lost in the forest."

Now there was a suggestion he couldn't disagree with. It was his opinion that people should get lost more often as that was when interesting things tended to happen. He liked the feeling of not knowing where he was, the excitement and surprise of the unknown and he'd heard stories of this forest. While it was highly unlikely that anything that interesting was going to happen, there was still that small glimmer of hope. All in all, it was a rather good idea, which was a surprise as it came from a woman.

He shouldn't be surprised that Caitrin thought him "too serious" to try and catch her, that had been the way he'd been presenting himself. But the reality was that he probably wasn't too serious for anything (which is perhaps why he had so many arguments with his father). Well, that wasn't strictly true. He was serious enough to feel embarrassed about running through a forest holding a herb basket. But Caitrin was already running off and there wasn't anywhere to put it to keep it safe. Oh well. It would be a first, and wasn't that what he was always looking for? With a roll of his eyes, but also grin on his face he started running after her.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Althoughshe wouldn’t have thought it at first, she was quite enjoying her time with Celyn. He was certainly being more civil than he had been previously so perhaps she had been quite wrong to judge him as harshly as she had done. After all, now his men had gone, he seemed quite at ease. He was certainly returning her flirts willingly enough. Ah, now that was refreshing, a man with half a brain about him. If Caitrin had repeated those words to the Knights of the court, their mouths would have hit the ground quicker than the words themselves were spoken. They were simply no fun, and Caitrin didn’t like that about them. She just wanted to have fun, and enjoy life with the people around her, at the moment that extended to Celyn as well. Her previous anger with him was dispersing somewhat, and for now she was just enjoying returning his flirts.

Caitrin really should have reprimanded Celyn for such a childish response to her words, but she had been just as bad, so she couldn’t really say anything could she? However, she did just find herself grinning at him, and she pushed some hair behind her ear and looked back at him. He certainly was something completely different; a Prince that ran off from his men, and was content to spend his time with a noblewoman he had just met? He was either mad or incredibly bored, or perhaps he was both. Caitrin for now just crossed her arms and raised an eye brow at him, “Well, the East is just better, so there.” It wasn’t her most convincing argument by far, and she was certain she could have come up with something better, but eh, he was being childish so it was legitimate for her to mimic his actions. However, she couldn’t stay in a serious state for long around him, he almost had that effect. For once, Caitrin felt quite free around another nobleman, which was strange especially as he was a Prince. She didn’t feel like she wanted to toy with him as much as she did with the other noblemen, but perhaps that was just a moment of weakness. No, her plan was still in motion, and she would exploit it fully.

As soon as Caitrin saw that Celyn was ready to chase after her, with a giggle she turned on her heels and headed deeper into the forest. “Don’t you dare spill any of my herbs!” She shouted, half serious and half jesting over her shoulder to him. Her words were too caught up in her laughter to be taken seriously. After all, she could always pick more herbs later. For now her Uncle could wait, because she was enjoying this moment with Celyn. After all, not many Prince’s would chase a noblewoman through the forest. If Caitrin was at all romantic she might have seen something in it, but she only saw it for what she believed it was; a bit of fun. She looked over her shoulder again, to see that Celyn was still chasing after her. She felt out of breath but she wasn’t about to give up the chase so easily; that would be no fun after all would it? “Am I too fast for you?” The words were thrown over her shoulder with a sharp laugh as she began to dodge between the trees; intent on losing herself within the beauty of the forest. This certainly was quite a different way to spend a morning. She wondered if Celyn chased many noblewomen about the forest; however it would probably ruin the moment to ask so she just kept running, and kept up the chase.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Celyn was quite convinced by Caitrin's stubbornness and no amount of persuasion on his part was going to make her change her mind. Well, if she wanted to continue life in ignorance that was fine by him. He knew that the west was better, even if she didn't and that was the main thing. The argument was not going to end unless one of them decided to be a grown up about it, and that person wasn't going to be Caitrin for obvious reasons, so it fell to him. He just rolled his eyes and laughed and muttered something about damn women and their opinionated ways.

He didn't have time to try and change the subject before she'd ran off. He could have caught up with her quite easily only he was still holding her basket and then tended to slow one down, so he sort of half ran while holding the basket against his chest, and obviously looked very masculine and impressive as he did so.
Unlike Caitrin he didn't know these woods at all and until he'd decided to hide from his men he'd never been alone in them. This obviously gave her the advantage, but at least he could always use that - and the having to carry her herbs - as an excuse. That was the plan anyway, but he highly doubted Caitrin letting him get away with that. It would probably get an amusing reaction from her though, a nice source of entertainment for the young prince.

After a few moments he found himself laughing too. There was something oddly liberating about running. It made him feel like a child again when he and Ifan used to play in the twisted, dark and ancient forests of Sugales - the trees of Camelot had nothing on those trees.

Caitrin's voice brought him back to the present, although he could make out a few words through her laughter. He got the basic meaning though. "Of course not!" He shouted back, "I am simply warming up!"

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was still impressed that Celyn had taken up her challenge. She had unfairly mistook him to be a stuffy sort of royalty, who wouldn’t be game for these sorts of things. She wished that there were more men like Celyn, after all, he was already proving to be quite fun to toy with and just be company with. She was glad, in an odd sort of way, that he had pulled her into the bush now, as if he had not she wouldn’t be enjoying this moment with him. She threw a wicked grin back at him over her shoulder, making sure he wasn’t going to drop any of her herbs; she wouldn’t be able to stand it if he did. He looked so manly running around the forest with a herb basket. Caitrin let out a small laugh, if she did keep in touch with Celyn then she would make sure this image haunted him for the rest of his life.

As Caitrin kept running, she failed to notice a raised tree root. Her foot wedged into it, and she fell sharply to the ground, twisting her ankle in the process. She didn’t cry, or even scream as she fell. No, instead once she had covered her legs once more, as her skirts had been pushed up by the fall, she just giggled. She was holding her ankle with both her hands, cupping it softly as she breathed in slowly, trying to get rid of the idea of pain. She found herself just laughing though, because it was easier and more fun than crying. As Celyn finally joined her, she looked up at him, a wide smile on her face and a small giggle erupted onto her lips. “I think the better man won, just by staying on his feet.” She pointed out, once again flirting with Celyn. Flirting with a twisted ankle was an achievement of sorts, and Caitrin was usually one for such achievements. She was biting against her lip, hard, to stop herself showing any sort of pain. “I think I’ve twisted my ankle.” She managed to tell him, and just looked up at him with an odd sort of smile, “Do you want to make yourself comfortable? We might be here for some time.” She wouldn’t be able to move for a while until her ankle stopped hurting so bloody much.

Post #700