Mischief Managed (Caitrin, Oliver)

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

There was no denying it, Yassia would be losing this race. Giving up was not in her blood, but she was not so delusional to think that she could hold up any headstart for much longer. The hoofbeats came closer and closer, and now Yassia could already hear the heavy breath of the other horse close behind her. But still she didn’t turn around. Any moment now, her pursuer would call out for her to stop and reveal herself anyway, so why waste valuable time and check on it just seconds earlier? Yassia was now more confused than anything, and desperate to boot. Before, she had wished it to be Jeremy, just so there would not be yet another awkward moment between her and Oliver, but now another thought occurred to her. Jeremy didn’t know her. He would not realize her being the Princess Yassia right away, someone that needed to be treated with respectable distance… and she remembered all the stories she had been hearing about the unwritten Mercian hunt traditions… what if he would take her for someone like that?! Someone who had tried to deliberately provoke the men into running after them?! What if she wasn’t fast enough to explain herself?!

Just as she was reaching that particular horrid conclusion, Yassia more felt than saw something coming up to her from the corner of her eye and the next thing she knew was being smacked sidewards by an enormous impact, tumbling off her horse in the process and slamming hard into the leafy ground just beside the path, rolling around and getting entangled in her long cloak in the process, until she finally lay still, trying to catch her breath that had been knocked from her lungs. Her mind processed the happening far slower than they had actually happened, and when she finally had come to the decision that she should get up and run, move away as fast she she could from the person that had attacked her, he was already on her. Literally.

"You coward!" There was no mistaking the voice now, and the anger inside it made Yassia wince and squirm. Now everything had come down again to things she dreaded: Her and Oliver together in a close situation, with him being spitting mad. No, she wanted away! But however much she squirmed, his hands were like iron clasps pinning her down. Up until this moment, she hadn’t had a clue just how strong he was. He might not look all of it, that was for sure, but it definitely was there. What would he do once he had found out who she was? There could only be a few split seconds left until her identity was revealed, as he was already tearing at the fabric that concealed her face. And then bright light pierced her visual field and a gush of fresh air assaulted her skin, as she squinted up at his face, so dangerously close to hers.

He was so close she could see the surprise flicker up in his eyes as he recognized her. "Yassia?" And there it was again... Her name on his lips, spoken in a tone that was not anger… and as such proved to be the perfect siren’s call once again. With her chest still heaving from the excitement of the flight and chase she looked into his eyes and tried to summon the strength to be mad at him… or just tell him to get off her. He HAD hurt he after all, throwing her off her horse with that risky move. She could have broken some bones for crying out loud! But of course no anger was forthcoming. He had disarmed her yet again,… just by being there, being so close, bringing back memories from happier times, from the last times they had been so close. In the Forest of Balor, kissing him and sleeping in his arms… and on the Riverbank just the other day, giving him the kiss of life and feeling his lips respond…

There was no helping it now… Yassia’s cheeks flushed, both from her heart beating in a frenzy and from very distinctive memories. She wanted to say something, but she had to open and close her mouth twice before she could even produce a sound, let alone a real word. “Quite a bad surprise, huh?” she whispered, not knowing what else to say. “Once again it’s the wrong prey…”

[Oliver Strathmore of Mercia]

The predicament Oliver was in would have been terribly funny had it not been horribly embarrassing and scary. It was embarrassing because he had just realized how easily he had given in to the thought of pranksters destroying their hunt all for the sake of trouble, how he had easily given in to the emotions of catching the scalawags and making them pay without even much of a thought to knowing more or why. It was scary because he had assumed Yassia to be any strong man and had practically tackled her to the ground with as much force and impact. He could have easily hurt her. She could have broken some bones or hit her head against a rock. Oliver would never forgive himself for harming her like that...all because of a foiled hunt.

Still, he just lay there, practically sprawled on top of her, his face barely inches away from hers. Frozen, he could feel all wits leaving him. He was completely clueless on how to handle this situation. Yassia, it seems, always have this uncanny habit of popping up unceremoniously in his day. Not that he didn't welcome it (he welcomed it very much!), Oliver only wished he would be better prepared for it. As always, she manages to catch him unaware. And as always, he couldn't easily recover from them.

"Quite a bad surprise, huh? Once again it's the wrong prey."

Oliver found himself starting to nod, his mind actually still blank, still reeling from the rather unexpected turn of events. But then he fully grasped what it was she was saying, and he shook his head and managed a small shy chuckle. "A surprise, yes," he found himself whispering back. It wasn't bad at all really, and he knew he had not caught the wrong prey. She was the perfect prey, a prey any man would only be so lucky to catch and earn him the envy of all the other men. With that thought, he took a deep breath to steady himself. It was a mistake though, for instantly he was assaulted by a scent that was distinctly Yassia, sweet and foreign, and yet there was the scent of the forest all about her as well. It was a scent that Oliver knew he couldn't resist. She smelled of the forest, her hair, her skin, her cloak. She smelled of the very thing that keeps Oliver alive and alert.

He took another breath, just to take in the scent again, and this time, he found his mind slowly calming down, settling. "I'm sorry, I thought..." What did he thought exactly? Would he be able to tell Yassia about his embarrassing fumble without so much as blushing red. "I didn't mean to tackle you so hard like that. I should have just called out, but I was afraid..." Afraid of what? Afraid he'd lose the pursuit. Slowly but surely, Oliver was starting to realize now why he simply couldn't give up on the chase, why he desperately wanted to catch his prankster. His prankster was none other than Yassia, and it was no surprise he was so drawn to her, even without knowing it was her. "Are you alright?" he finally asked, gently and full of sincere concern, as his hand automatically reached up to pluck out a leaf from her hair. Unknowingly, his hand moved down her cheeks and he basked in the softness of her skin again his fingertips. Then his eyes met hers, and Oliver was ensnared.

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

Why weren’t they moving? Yassia’s confused and overstrained brain had tried to find the fault with this situation for quite a few moments now, since something just wasn’t right, and now she had settled on this one. They were still in the position they had reached when he had tackled and held her to the ground. That was not right, wasn’t it? It certainly was not proper. And yet she had made no effort whatsoever to push him off her, just like he had made no effort to move away and help her getting on her feet again. It should have been the most natural thing in the world… so why did being in this totally unnatural situation feel so… natural? She needed to get her head straight! And quickly! But how… sweet stars, how?! She never knew what to do when they were that close, it was just like her brain took a holiday for the time being, just when she would have needed it the most. And it got harder everytime, that she realized too. There was just not much hatred left for him, that special hatred that had made her strong during similar encounters when fate had just decided to make things worse. It had been hard on the riverbank already, she had needed a few moments to remind herself that him and her were history. Long dead history. And in those few moments she had let the kiss happen, had even responded to it.

So what she needed to do now was remind herself once again of what he had done to her. He hated her, yes? He had rejected her, and just wanted to be friends, if even that. He had driven her from his side, and she had accepted it. SHE HAD! She only needed to remember how this felt like… having accepted it. But however deep she digged into herself, the feeling had vanished. There was nothing she could cling to any longer. Instead there was this new feeling, this feeling of having Oliver so close it hurt. Yes, it hurt, in places where she had never thougt she would ever be hurt. There was a pain in her stomach as if she was hungry and her throat went dry as if she was thirsty. She had never experienced that feeling before. Or had she? Yes… actually she had, it had just been tainted with other things back then, real physical pain for starters. And then the knowledge that she could not live on this feeling, that she had to push it back. But it was the same, undoubtedly the same feeling she had had when being with him in the Forest of Balor. Only this time it was so much stronger that she hardly could bear it.

Now she had opened a door and she could not close it again. Yassia had buried the memories so deep inside her, only bringing a few precious forward whenever she had allowed herself to dream, but there were so many she thought she had forgotten. She had remembered things he said, and things they did, but she had completely blended out how it had FELT, because at that time she had been too confused and too inebriated to place the feelings and sentiments, it hadn’t even mattered. But now she was here again with him, alone in a forest, and it felt like everything that had been happening in the meantime was just being erased. Oliver and Yassia, the olive tree and the thistle, nothing else and nothing more. And that was all she wanted.
When he plucked a leaf out of her hair, her own hand automatically went up to play with the tiny locks that grew on his neck, completely lost in the memories and feelings of then and now.
“Shhh….” She whispered, shaking her head. “I’m alright, I promise. Please don’t worry.” And then, without so much as any conscious thought, her grip tightened around his neck and she gently pulled his head closer. No, she really had no idea what she was doing at all…

[Oliver Strathmore of Mercia]

Somewhere at the back of his head, a very small voice was telling Oliver this wasn't right. Something about the way this was happening was not supposed to happen at all. But another voice, louder the first one, was drowning that small voice. This is the right thing to do, it practically shouted over the other one's whisper. This is how it ought to happen. Don't let it go. What was Oliver to do? He had always been a slave of his own thoughts. And right now, his emotions are agreeing with them. The small voice tried its best to be heard, tried to tell Oliver to think of the promise he once made, the promise to be a good and responsible son of Mercia, the promise he made to Yassia, concerning Edmund and the kingdom--

And then he felt her hand playing with his hair, and it drove the loud voice crazy and ecstatic. The small voice didn't stand a chance. The excited shouting and the rapid beating of his heart were much too loud for Oliver to ignore now. He was already trapped in her eyes, and her hands only removed any chance for him to escape. When she whispered, it only fueled the burning fire that was already raging inside him, eager and impatient to escape.

Oliver felt her grip tighten around his neck, and it was all the push he needed to jump off the edge, throwing all caution to the wind. He closed the rest of the small distance between their faces, and his lips touched hers in a kiss that poured all of the bottled up feelings inside him. It was passionate yet sweet at the same time. Gentle yet fiery. Ever since that kiss by the river, Oliver had told himself never to succumb to such temptation ever again. But who was he kidding? Every night, he dreamed of that kiss, of the kiss before that, and of more kisses to come. And somehow, this kiss right here, this was a dream come true.

Deepening the kiss, his arms snaked around her waist as Oliver pulled Yassia closer. He wanted to feel her against him, to be near her as much as possible. The small voice was gone now. The loud voice had totally taken over, rejoicing in its triumph, pushing and encouraging Oliver on. And somehow, the loud voice wasn't annoying or irritating at all. Interestingly, it assured Oliver that, yes, this was the right thing to do in this situation, and that he need not worry because, yes, something good will come out of this.

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

Yassia could be drifting through time and space as little as she was aware of the reality around her now. Something seemed to have closed around Oliver and her, an almost inpenetrable space that kept them away from everything they would normally consider. And the worst thing about that special space was that it left you uncaring about possible consequences of what you were doing. Yassia hadn’t thought this through at all, or else she would have rather bit her own tongue off than even considering to kiss Oliver. Nothing good would ever come of it, they were star-crossed and always would be. She didn’t even ask herself why he was responding to it, even though he had wanted anything of her, she didn’t even draw the connection to the riverbank or the Forest of Balor any longer, she was utterly and completely lost in the moment. A wonderful moment, one she wished never to end again.

Her body was in uproar, her heart beating in a frenzy and yet she was not afraid, she was exhilerated, completely out of it and enjoying every second of it. Oliver’s lips on hers were a toxin, a drug that threatened to pull her under and toss her into a maelstrom of raw emotions, and yet she enjoyed the ride like she had enjoyed nothing else in her life. Maybe because she knew it wouldn’t last, maybe because she knew they ought not do this, she felt every emotion a hundred times magnified and yearned for it to last forever, even welcoming it to destroy her if need be. No one in the world had ever managed to make her feel that way, to make her so completely lose sight of who she was and what she ought to do. It was like she was dissolving into him and he in her, they were not two separate beings any longer, but one. And yet, it was only a kiss. If a kiss could make her feel that way… how would it feel to…

As if to fuel her scandalous thoughts, Oliver now got even bolder, and suddenly it was not only their lips touching and their arms, now he was pulling her so close as if he practically wanted to melt into her. And in this weird state of frenzy and in-between, Yassia didn’t find anything wrong with it. Or… not Yassia, she wasn’t sute anymore if she still was enough in control of all of this to have her name tagged on her actions. But she didn’t care. She was all lips, arms, hands, legs… she was putty in his hands, ready to melt. Her other arm that was not entangled in his hair, reached upwards to come to rest on the small of his muscular back, only bringing them closer and closer.
But then something pierced the space that had been forming around them. Yassia wanted to ignore it, to keep ignorant of her surroundings for all time to come, but slowly her brain was kicking back in, and her senses couldn’t be consumed by Oliver fully anymore. She realized she was lying on slightly uncomfortable forest ground. There were birds singing neaby… and then, the sound of hoofbeats!

Within a split second, everything came crashing down on Yassia and she gasped, jerking her head to the side, her eyes wide like a frightened deer’s. The chase… Oliver, … the separation,… CAITRIN! Caitrin and Jeremy!!! They couldn’t find them like this, sweet stars, what had she been THINKING? What had she been DOING? She… oh stars!! Even if this wasn’t the other part of their group, no one could see them like this. This shouldn’t even have happened! “Someone’s coming”, she whispered frantically, flexing her muscles to push Oliver off herself, feeling her cheeks flush in the deepest red, unable to look at him.

[Oliver Strathmore of Mercia]

She was responding. More than anything that was going on around them in the middle of the jungle, Yassia was receiving and returning his passionate kisses with a fire that was distinctly her own. The kiss was so familiar, and yet it was not. Oliver had kissed her only at least a couple of times since they have first met, and already he knew her lips against his like no other. The softness and the sweetness was a welcome and familiar respite, and yet Oliver could never get used to the way she was responding, like she was surrendering to the kiss like he was, relinquishing control, and just letting go to bask in its wonderful glory.

Boldly, he had pulled her closer not really thinking of consequences or the thereafters. On their own, his mind, his heart, and his body had acted on their singular strongest want, their strongest need, unable to hold back any longer, to be near Yassia as close as was possible in that moment. Oliver didn't even realize what he was doing until he felt her one other hand ease its way up his back, engulfing him in the warmest of embraces that sent tingles down his spine. She had accepted him, and it was all Oliver needed to turn his kisses into more feverish and passionate ones. He had been long gone, had long fallen off that cliff, not caring whether someone would catch him or not. But she was there. With open arms, she had caught him and held him close like she wasn't letting go. And Oliver fervently wished she truly wouldn't, that she'd stay there, forever.

Of course, like everything else in his life these days, nothing really ever goes Oliver's way. When he felt her jerk her head to the side, breaking the kiss, he tried his best not to take her lips back again. And then he felt her push him back, and Oliver felt himself crash against the jagged rocks by that cliff. She wouldn't even look at him, and Oliver need not be told twice. Yassia was only caught in the heat of the moment. Nothing more, Oliver told himself even as the voice inside his head wasn't agreeing with him. She was only human after all. And Oliver had to scold himself for letting his own feelings get the best of him.

As fast as his still frazzled mind and body would allow him, Oliver pushed himself off of Yassia, and stood up. The sudden loss of contact was unbearable, but he held back, an unreadable mask coming over his face even as he tried to steady his ragged breathing and calm his senses down. It wasn't until then that he heard the hoofbeats, and realized what had made Yassia stop. He didn't know what to think or what to say to her. He ought to apologize for kissing her like that, but he couldn't bring himself to lying. He wasn't sorry for what he did. He even wished he had done it sooner. But of course, his wishes were not exactly for the betterment of everybody, are they? They were his own selfish motives, one that he couldn't allow Yassia to get entangled with considering the predicament she's already in. With that thought, he held his hand out to help her up. "I'll get the horses," he told her afterwards before turning away from her, and making his way towards where Arrow and the other horse had stopped to graze on a clump of bushes.

[/color]

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin looked lazily across at her brother. She was still getting used to having her family back around her, well, the family she had grown up with. There was a part of her which would always resent her siblings, because her father had loved them, or at least she had thought they did. Jeffrey had often helped her dress and tend to her bruises after one of her father’s moods though. He had taught her how to use a bow as well, so she could only despise him so much, and she was a grown woman now. Glaring didn’t suit her. Jeffrey, she was sure, was taking them in circles. They’d gone back to the fork in the road, but from there they had got a little lost,

“We’re lost aren’t we?” Caitrin groaned and Jeffrey looked sideward’s, irritated at her. He didn’t answer her question, but spurred his horse on a little more. Caitrin smirked a little and drew her horse alongside his, “We are lost.” She declared and Jeffrey stopped the horse,

“And how would you know?” He asked, as Caitrin’s mare also came to a halt. She recognised the tone in his voice, and faltered,

“I know these woods too you know.” Jeffrey pressed his lips together,

“You haven’t lived here for years.” Caitrin looked forwards, and pulled a face as she turned to her older brother,

“Like that is my fault.” She replied, her voice low and stern, “Why do you care?” She asked him and Jeffrey shrugged,

“Maybe I missed you.”

“You never visited.” Jeffrey laughed,

“Like father would allow that.” Caitrin just stared onwards at Jeffrey and bit her lip,

“I’m sorry.” She said quietly, “But you have to understand how I felt. I just felt like you had all left me in Camelot.” Jeffrey finally raised his eyes to her,

“I’m sorry as well. I know you won’t stay in Mercia, but I want you to know I never wished you ill; I wanted you to be happy.”

“I am happy.” She said with a soft smile, “I made a home in Camelot.” Jeffrey nodded and began to spur his horse on again. Caitrin followed suit, “Dine with me later, we have a lot to talk about.” Caitrin said finally after they had gone on for a while in silence. At that, Jeffrey smiled,

“Thank you sister; I shall look forwards to it.” He then looked forwards quickly. “Someone’s up ahead; stay close.” Caitrin drew her mare beside Jeffrey’s and they both rode on to where there was a murmur of voices echoing in the woods. She ran a hand through her hair and kept her eyes on the path as she spotted the two horses up ahead, and then the two people by the side of them. Caitrin bit her lip to stop herself from grinning too much; Yassia was the deepest shade of red imaginable. “Oliver?” Jeffrey rode up alongside the pair, “I was just coming to warn you that you were chasing the princess, but it seems that you’ve already discovered that.” He looked quizzically at the pair, “What are you doing down there?”

[Yassia Dyfrène de Ailantha]

Stars, he was so close!!! Closer than they had been in quite a while, definitely closer than at the riverbank… and maybe even closer than they had been in the Forest of Balor. Because there, they had been resting chest to back, which had been comfortable for her, but rather uncomfortable for… what they had been trying to do. Kissing. Being close. Now however, he was all but lying on top of her, and there seemed to be no inch of her body where they did NOT touch. It was almost enough to make her faint with the sheer overwhelming sensation, and yet a part of her didn’t want it to stop. This treacherous part of her wanted to get even closer to him, even though that seemed physically impossible. She wanted to melt in his arms… be one with him somehow, even though she didn’t know how that would work. But she could not have it. Of course she couldn’t. It was never good to let yourself be ruled by emotions and physical needs, it was not what she could do as future queen. She was not some gypsy, a carefree thing that would live every day like it would be her last, enjoying physical pleasures Yassia didn’t even allow herself to dream of. But that was what Oliver wanted, and he would always want it. He wanted the passion of the moment, and not the responsibility of day-to-day. The responsibility it took to rule. He had always been the rebel prince and would stay so for the rest of his life. Just that she could not be his rebel princess. She had not been born for this.

And this was why the reasonable part of her was glad she had heard someone approach. It had stopped her from letting this go to far, even though it had gone far too far already. Getting away from him seemed an impossible task, and in those split seconds between her decision, Oliver breaking away and the de Archer siblings appearing on the small clearing beside the road, Yassia was caught inside a maelstrom of conflicting feelings. She felt shame churn her stomach, shame about what she had just been doing, how easy it had been for Oliver to break into her secret fortress, to make her forget everything she wanted to stay true to. Then there was sadness, overwhelming sadness and pain that made her want to cry out, because she had had to part from him, because this moment of bliss couldn’t have lasted. And finally, there was anger, but more at herself zhan at Oliver. She should have never agreed to that chase, she had been riding into a trap with eyes wide open, and now look where it had brough them! This could never be fixed. Just when they had started to build on a fragile truce, te beginning of a friendship… this chase and the aftermath had probably destroyed it all. They had torn at both their hearts and souls again, and who knew how long those wounds would need to heal. Though… maybe she was only speaking for herself. Maybe…maybe it wasn’t like that for him. He had wanted this after all, right? Oliver probably was only annoyed they couldn’t have gone further in their fun without any commitment.

“O-okay…” she whispered, still not daring to look at him, afraid of what she might see. For a moment she contemplated refusing his hand, but she didn’t want to destroy even more of what had already been damaged, Try to make it seem normal… as if these past few minutes didn’t happen…
And then Caitrin and Jeremy were suddenly onto them, catching them right as they still saw Yassia on the ground. Oh sweet stars… and she was already blushing! Whatever they would think now!!
“It’s… it’s nothing”, she tried to appease them, though she didn’t know how good she would be at lying. Caitrin for one knew her far too well. “The horse reared and threw me off. Oliver just tried to help me up when you came. I don’t think I hurt myself too much.” Not physically... no.

[Oliver Strathmore of Mercia]

Oliver was pulling the reins of the two horses back to where Yassia stood explaining what happened to Jeffrey and Caitrin. Of course, she would tell them a different tale, one that is innocent yet seemingly believable. The de Archer siblings can never know what exactly had transpired between him and Yassia. What had happened will become a well guarded secret, like their time in the Forest of Balor, like their time in the river just days past. As much as Oliver was starting to hate these clandestine, yet unplanned, meetings between him and the princess, there was nothing he could do but stay mum. News and gossip travel fast, and while he trusted these friends to keep the secret, it would be too hard to explain the truth to them. Oliver can only guess how much Caitrin knew, but Jeffrey was completely clueless. It was best to keep it that way for everybody's sake.

"Next time, you ladies contemplate on giving us a chase, you best take the racing horses. This mare of yours got spooked by Arrow," he said, supporting Yassia's story and gently stroking the mane of Yassia's horse. It was actually quite a fine horse as it gave Arrow a rather good chase. But Jeffrey or Caitrin wouldn't know that unless they closely inspect the horse. Then he turned to Yassia. "Are you feeling better to ride, princess?" he asked, not really alluding to Yassia's made-up story now, but to her overall well-being. Oliver was honestly still reeling, feeling lightheaded, from their heated kisses earlier, and wasn't so sure if Yassia had recovered as well.

Addressing everybody this time, Oliver asked. "So...do you ladies have any other plans for today? Any other hunts to foil?" he asked with as wide a grin as he could afford, trying his best to regain composure as soon as he could. "I am famished, and I am sure you are too after that chase. Lot had brought a good amount of food for a quick snack back at camp. We'd love for you to join us. Right, Jeffrey?" he asked, giving his friend a little suggestive glance. He hoped Jeffrey wouldn't spoil it for him. Despite and inspite of everything, Oliver was glad to see Yassia and wanted to spend just a few more time with her before they head back to the castle where Edmund will most likely take up Yassia's time again, like he always does.