A Dangerous Amount of Flesh [Dristan]

[Rowan d'Auber]

Contrary to popular belief, Rowan d’Auber was actually capable of doing things by herself. No doubt her elder brothers would argue against this, at which point she would attack them with whatever was at hand and prove that she very much could do things on her own. Ever since Arthur had been restored to the throne Iwan had been more paranoid than ever about letting her anywhere without a chaperone. She had tried to argue that should Camelot be taken over again, one chaperone wasn’t going to make much difference. The only thing that managed to prevent him from standing outside her room all day every day to make sure she didn’t do anything “reckless” was his new found role as a father– something which still amazed her to no end. How Iwan had managed to find himself a wife was a mystery she would never understand. Perhaps a mystery only bettered by how exactly said wife had become with child. Iwan wasn’t exactly...forthcoming in his affections...

Anyway. The whole point of Rowan’s walk in the castle’s gardens was to not have to worry about Iwan, or anything really. She could just enjoy the fine weather and the peace. Normally she was the last person to be enjoyed peace and quiet, but after Morgana’s...somewhat tempestuous reign, even Rowan was welcoming the calm. Finding a more secluded spot, she sat down and immediately went to work on making a daisy chain. Yes, she was a fully grown woman, and yes, she should probably be out looking for a husband but what did she care? Daisy chains were much better than husbands – no less fiddly though. It was a good thing she didn’t bite her nails, otherwise this would be hopeless. She bit her lip in concentration, holding the stem between her fingers and close to her face because this was Important Business. Ah ha, that was one stem sorted. She smiled to herself as she threaded the stem of the other daisy through the hole she’d just made with her nail. Well, this was coming along quite nicely...

After about twenty minutes she was still sat on the floor and still threading stems through holes, only now she had a daisy necklace and matching headdress. She decided she needed something for her ankle – with no one else about she’d taken her boots off and was flashing a dangerous amount of flesh, her whole foot was on display. It was a good thing there weren’t any young nobles about; otherwise she might have had to accidentally show a little more...


Tagged: Dristan de Archer
Location: The castle gardens
Timeline: Year two of the s4-5 gap

[Dristan de Archer]

Dristan was just about settling back into his life in Camelot, and he was even feeling a little more cheered than he had done in some time. Thinking on it, he was glad that he had been in such close proximity with his family, he had just needed a little push in the right direction to get him to finally take the plunge and journey back home, to his actual home. It was quite different of course to how he remembered it, as it appeared that his father had seen fit to take in one of his cousins, and therefore adopt her family along with her. Dristan didn’t mind of course, they all seemed pleasant enough, and his father clearly enjoyed their company. However, it was a little too loud in the home for Dristan for him to stay there for too long at a time. He therefore had taken to exploring Camelot and the fields beyond during long afternoons, and sometimes even during the mornings to see what he could find, and to see who would listen to his lute. It almost felt like he had never left, and now he was starting to settle in, and it was all going fine for the time being. It would never be the same of course, he knew that, but Camelot was his home, and he had come back to it.

Today Dristan had decided to explore the gardens; he had spent many a day out here in his teenage years watching the young noblewomen of the court passing him by. He used to catch every glimpse that he could, and he could still remember his first boyish crushes formed upon this very grass. He chuckled at his own sentimentality, sometimes he wondered just how old he actually was. This was a time to form new memories, he was still a young man and he had the world at his feet. Just because he had seen more of the world beyond Camelot than most nobles here didn’t mean anything really; here he was just like everyone else, and he preferred it that way. He would rather be remembered for the man he was now, rather than the foolish lovesick boy who had run away.

Strumming his lute as he walked along the gardens, he noted a distinct lack of women. Well this was disappointing, usually women came to his lute as moths did to a flame; without fail. Frowning, he looked around, where was everybody? Had he missed a feast? Or a joust? No, his father would have said something. Shrugging, he continued to pluck away at his lute, humming the tune along to the chords. Quite by accident, Dristan did eventually come across a young woman, decorated in daisies and barefooted, well, on one foot at least. Some men might have been embarrassed by such a scene, but Dristan was just intrigued, and strummed a sharp chord to grab the woman’s attention, accompanying it with a quick grin, “There will be no daisies left by the time you are finished, my Lady.” He chuckled a little, letting her know he spoke in jest.

[Rowan d'Auber]

Rowan was rather pleased with herself. Usually she got far too bored to finish anything, but now she was rather determined to make as many daisy chains as possible and cover herself in them. After putting the second chain around her neck she stopped for a moment, leant back slightly and looked up at the sky. It was so warm. If she had the energy she would go down the lake and find a secluded spot for a swim, but as it happened she was too comfortable on the grass. She supposed she should do this more often. Normally she was far too busy running around or annoying Kay and Iwan or doing something, and she liked doing things, but she never really relaxed. And at the moment the sun and the daisies were keeping her quite content.

The sound of music caught her attention. She shuffled forward in an attempt to see who was making the noise. Hopefully it would be someone interesting, she couldn’t abide boring people. She couldn’t even sit there politely and pretend that she was interested in whatever they were saying. Small talk wasn’t one of her strong points, neither was subtlety. Her lack of subtlety was probably why she was now half shuffling half crawling to see who the source of the music was, and then having to scurry backwards when she saw it was a man, a rather young nice looking man.

She sat just the way she had been, legs outstretched slightly and started working on a new daisy chain, trying to give the impression that she was completely absorbed in such a task – why, she hadn’t even noticed there was a rather nice lute playing young man. What a surprise! Well, it would be a surprise if Rowan could master the fine art of subtlety. It really was something she needed to work on. She looked up as he approached, doing her best to look nonchalant. “Did you want some for yourself, my lord?” She asked with an eyebrow slightly raised, well, at least her openings were getting better.

[Dristan de Archer]

Music guided Dristan onwards as he continued to strum on his lute, heading in no particular direction. He had forgotten how beautiful the gardens were, of course they had changed quite a lot since he was last here. He had just been a young man then, and though he still took no particular interest in flowers, he could safely say the gardeners here were doing a good job. There was no denying the view was one that most would kill for. The garden back at the estate was haphazard at best, it was small, and mostly housed his cousin’s little herb garden now, and it would probably be somewhere that she let her children run wild in when they were old enough. It was quiet here as well, in the marketplace there was always the hustle and bustle of the general public, and when you whipped an instrument out you were often accused of begging, so you were moved on anyway. Here, Dristan could strum a chord, and not worry about being attacked, ran into or have someone try to buy his lute. That had happened many times before.

He had not expected to be spending time so idly upon his return to Camelot. Throughout his time in Caerleon’s kingdom, Dristan had often forced himself to look back at Camelot with distaste, so he would not be tempted to return. It wasn’t the case though; now he was home he realised just how much he had missed it. He felt like he vaguely knew the woman that he had come across in the gardens, she was certainly beautiful enough and that left Dristan wondering whether she had a lover, or such, that she was waiting for here in the gardens. Dristan had been in too many situations like this before, women had often sought compliments and to be wooed by him, the only problems that had arisen was when their jealous lover had turned up, and of course Dristan always got the blame.

Dristan couldn’t quite place where he knew the Lady from. She was clearly Camelotian, her accent gave her away. Jesu, given he lived in a house with two Mercians, and a Gloch-Gloucha, wherever the hell Griff was from, Dristan felt like he was deprived of hearing a good Camelotian accent from time to time. No doubt the children would inherit a hybrid accent, or follow Dristan with his Camelotian accent; anything was possible. He couldn’t say that he had felt like a daisy chain was what was needed to brighten his day, but he decided to humour the woman a little, “Ah, but what would the price of such a rare piece be?” He asked with a mock serious tone, “And forgive me my Lady, I should have introduced myself, I am Lord Dristan de Archer, what may I call you?”

[Rowan d'Auber]

Just because the man was using a mocking tone didn't mean that Rowan was going to take him any less seriously. Her daisy chains were rather impressive after all, so why wouldn't he want one? She narrowed her eyes slightly and pressed her lips together as she thought. Her head tilted slightly as she looked him up and down. She could think of several things to say but unfortunately she wasn't quite so sophisticated to get away with such thoughts. She was getting better at talking to men though, especially those with rather distracting faces. No doubt if Iwan was here he'd be ushering her away while giving the man several stern looks, but he wasn't there, which meant Rowan had the freedom to behave however she wished, and say whatever she wished...well...within reason.

She pushed herself onto her knees, still looking up at him, and put her hands on her hips. Hmm. "Well...you do have a lute and I do approve of music." She grinned at him before taking one of the daisy chains from around her neck and leaning up slightly to put it over his. "And now you owe me a song." She declared, rather pleased with herself and how the conversation was progressing.

He was a de Archer? Well that explained a lot. Rowan knew Caitrin de Archer rather well, perhaps her reputation was one shared by the whole family...not that she was thinking about that. She could feel her cheeks becoming warmer, oh brilliant. She cleared her throat, trying to push such thoughts out of her mind and behave like a proper lady. "de Archer?" She repeated, trying to look relaxed and nonchalant. "Are you a relation of Lady Caitrin? I am Lady Rowan d'Auber, my brother is a knight...so no...de Archer funny business."

[Dristan de Archer]

Dristan wasn’t disappointed by the woman in front of him in any sense of the word. He had hardly expected her to turn round to him and deny to give him a daisy chain. If anything, he had been expecting her to either be embarrassed, or to just get on with what she had started. All things considered, he was glad that she was of the latter school of thought. Dristan had met enough women who were only capable of blushing in his time. It was sweet, yes, and showed naivety, and so forth, but what could he really do with a blushing woman, except make the blushing worse? Women who gave him things to work with were much more interesting, and were worth his time. Dristan just watched as she put the daisy chain around his neck, and lowered his head a little for her to compensate the height difference. All in all, he had been expecting payment before the product was delivered, but this woman was clearly relying on his good nature. Well, the joke would have been on her if he had chosen to run off with the daisy chain, without having given her anything. That would have shown her... or made him look utterly ridiculous. What kind of sick man stole a daisy chain? He gave a dramatic bow to her, “To honour your craftsmanship I will allow you to pick the song, or at least to give me a theme.” He grinned a little at her, determined to be as silly about this as she was being.

Well, there was a first for everything, and this was certainly the first time that Dristan had ever been threatened because of his family name. Then again, he had only just started using the name again, when he had been on the road it had sometimes been better if his nobility status had been hidden. He furrowed his eyes at the woman, sure that he was missing something. ‘de Archer’ funny business could mean anything really, after all, he had been away for years, Jesu knows what his cousin and father could have got up to in that time. He decided to deal with this one bit at a time though, as he was sure that this was going to be amusing one way or another. “Yes, Lady Caitrin is my younger cousin.” He then inclined his head to Rowan, “It is a pleasure to meet you Lady Rowan.” Right, well that was the formalities done with, so he sat down on the grass and began to tune his lute, if he was going to play her a song he wanted it to be pitch perfect. Dristan was very particular about these things, “I hope playing you a song does not class as ‘de Archer funny business’.” He said, with a grin, continuing to tune the lute, “As I am at quite a loss to what you mean by the term, my Lady.” He held his hands up, lute in one so it looked like a rather awkward gesture, but he was trying to profess his innocence, so that would have to do.

[Rowan d'Auber]

Rowan thought he looked rather dashing with the chain around his neck, well, slightly dashing. Or perhaps not very dashing at all, but he wasn’t going to tell him that. She was going to let him think it suited him quite well, and hope that saying so would make it so. She inclined her head as he bowed – grinning at the way he did it and deciding she quite liked him so he should stay around for longer than one song to pay her back. “How dashing you now look, my lord.” She teased before sitting back down on the grass and making herself more comfortable for her song.

“Hmm,” she pressed her lips together and tapped her fingers against the ground. This was an important decision. Tilting her head slightly appeared to help her come to a decision. “Play me something I can dance to.” She told him in what some people might have thought was a demanding tone, but those people would be complete strangers to Rowan. Her demands were made of sterner stuff than a slightly tilted head. With an expectant expression on her face, she stood up and smoothed down her dress. “I warn you, I’m not easily impressed.” It was, of course, a lie. Rowan d’Auber was probably the most easily impressed woman in all of Albion but he didn’t know that. And anyway, she wanted something good, not something he played for any random young woman he happened to meet.

She was sure Caitrin had never mentioned Dristan before...maybe she didn’t like him. Not that that was important at the moment, but she would be sure to question her friend about him later. As his cousin she was bound to know plenty about him. The only problem would be Rowan’s complete lack of subtlety, so no doubt Caitrin would know exactly what would have started this sudden interest. Anyway. What her friend would think was hardly important now, especially as Dristan was grinning again and really, people (well, attractive men) should stop grinning at her because it really was very distracting...

He didn’t know what she meant? He was Caitrin’s cousin yet apparently ignorant to what “de Archer funny business” was. Everyone knew Caitrin’s reputation and didn’t she live with her uncle? Rowan was sure she’d mentioned that so most likely Dristan lived with her (unless Lord Rouland was uncle to both of them but whatever). He should know better than most what Rowan meant...unless he was pretending to not know. She narrowed her eyes at him. In her experience people – well, her and Ciaran – only made expressions similar to the one Dristan was currently wearing when they certainly weren’t innocent at all. “Of course you are.” She looked down at him with a raised eyebrow, hands on her hips. “Just as you are “quite at a loss” as to your cousin’s reputation...?”

[Dristan de Archer]

Dristan could not recall knowing Rowan, or even seeing her before he had moved away from Camelot all those years ago. However, thinking on it, he hadn’t had eyes for any woman past Melodie. He paused and pressed his lips together, he didn’t really want his thoughts to stray to her; he’d come to the conclusion that he had to move on years ago, and this wasn’t the time or the place to be thinking of her. Since coming back he had been pushing thoughts of her to the back of his mind, in the hope that they would be totally ignored altogether. He hadn’t come back to Camelot to pine like a lovesick puppy, he had come back because this was his home, and he had wanted to be reconciled with it. All in all, that was going quite well at the moment. He looked down at the daisy chain that was now around his neck, it was hardly manly to say the least, and he grinned down at it. He would hardly be wearing it to all the feasts in Camelot, but it was a...nice thing for now. Dristan had never card much for flowers, but he managed a smile for Rowan and her odd creation, “I’m glad you think so, my Lady.” He gave her a gentle smile, careful not to overdo it.

A tune she could dance to? That was well within Dristan’s capabilities; he had been hoping that she would pick a cheerful theme. Over the years he had done many requests for many different people; women often thought it was romantic for him to play tragedies or lullabies that brought tears to their eyes. Dristan never really understood that, he would rather play music that made people happy rather than weep. He began to play a few notes; trying to decide exactly what song he should play. Something folky, and happy was defiantly on the cards; he was sure she would enjoy that. He quickly strummed through a few seconds of music; it was quite a quick jig, “Something like that?” Dristan was grinning; music was something that came easily to him and it always had. His eyes watched for her reaction, waiting to see if she did like it, he could come up with another tune of course if she didn’t; that was easy enough for him. “Will you grace me with your dancing to accompany my music, my Lady?” He asked with a wild grin, hoping he hadn’t overstepped the mark too much. Rowan seemed quite bold to him, so perhaps she would like to show off her dancing; not that he was going to deny the opportunity to see her figure in action would be a bad thing at all.

Dristan really didn’t have any clue what Rowan was going on in relation to his cousin, Caitrin. He hadn’t really known her that long, but he couldn’t think of anything that would point towards a reputation. Then again, whenever he had seen her she had one child, or two, in her arms, or she had Griff at her beck and call. Dristan hadn’t worked out their relationship just yet, mostly it seemed to be Caitrin declaring things, and Griff just going along with them. They seemed happy enough, but of course there was a small manner of discontent between them all. He knew that the manor had been Caitrin’s home for years now, but it was his inheritance, and not hers, as black and white as that sounded. He would never throw his family out on the street of course; Dristan would never turn away his own family; it hadn’t even been considered. “I really don’t know what you mean my Lady.” He gave a short laugh and held up his hands to profess his innocence, “I am only recently returned to Camelot, and I have only seen my cousin either covered with children or exhausted because of the former.” He inclined his head a little towards Rowan, “But please, enlighten me.” Dristan would be getting the whole story from his cousin later of course, but it wouldn’t hurt to try to probe Rowan for all it was worth. She had brought it up after all.

[Rowan d'Auber]

Anyone who knew Rowan would know her fondness for dancing. She had what Iwan referred to as a rather annoying habit of dancing around the house whenever a good mood found her, which, for someone with her optimism was often quite a lot of the time. She was by no means the most graceful or most talented dancers at court, but she was certainly among the most enthusiastic. And yet, despite the temptation (and the demand he played something she could dance to), Rowan stayed still. There were very few times when her actions were caused by a desire to impress, or were related to someone else in any form – in fact she could count every occasion on one hand. But for some reason she didn’t want to dance for Dristan no matter how well he was playing. She was attempting to be cool and aloof – attempting being the operative word.

She tilted her head and tried to keep a straight face but there was a hint of a smile. “I will not.” She declared and then folded her arms across her chest as if to put an end to the conversation. Not only was she an enthusiastic dancer (apart from at the moment, of course) but she was one of the most stubborn women in Camelot. She wouldn’t be dancing for Dristan no matter what he said or what he played. She had decided. If he was that determined to see her dance he could find her whenever there was a feast in the castle.

Rowan was fairly certain Dristan knew exactly what she meant, regardless of how long he’d been in the kingdom. The whole of Albion probably knew about Caitrin de Archer’s reputation. She blushed a little at Dristan’s request. Enlightening him would involve talking about...certain things. Certain things that should definitely not be discussed in the presence of a man, especially a man who was for all intents and purposes a complete stranger. No doubt Dristan would be surprised to find her quite so prudish, people often did, but in actual fact she wasn’t prudish at all, or rather not in certain company she wasn’t. If it was Ciaran then she’d have no qualms about discussing such things, but Dristan was different. She was trying to behave like a lady. “I am sure you can imagine.” She replied, shifting slightly, “And if you cannot you shouldn’t be told.”

[Dristan de Archer]

Dristan had already made his mind up that he quite liked this woman, and so he grinned at her, and watched her as she spoke. She had an air about her which fascinated Dristan, she wasn’t aware of her beauty, or how enchanting he was, which was refreshing as most noblewomen he had come across in his time were all too aware of that fact. He smiled a little at the thought and the looked up at her again, wondering where to take this conversation now she had declined his offer of a solo dance. He pouted, unable to hide his disappointment, “What about, if we danced together?” He asked, a little radically he admitted, but still, it might even shock her into saying yes, “I could sing the music to you.” That was one of his finer lines, but he felt like this woman would be worth the work, even if they merely became friends. She had a charm about her which Dristan absolutely loved. He smiled, and carried on strumming on his lute; he was playing a gentle melody, and one which he thought she would appreciate. What kind of woman wouldn’t want to be serenaded like this? To Dristan, it didn’t make sense that Rowan should be anything but putty in his hands, but he was enjoying the challenge rather than shying away from it.

He was still strumming on his lute as he considered her words. Dristan couldn’t tear his eyes off Rowan, and that was the best compliment that he could give her. He could be quite a fickle person, and even when he was in the sweetest bed of roses, he would still look for the next flower to grab his attention. However, this was something new to Dristan, and it wasn’t a sensation which he wanted to be rid of either. He smiled sweetly at Rowan, of course he knew of his cousins reputation; she had been quite straight with him. However, he was also right in saying that he only ever saw her nowadays covered in children. She might have been a player in her younger days, but now she was a mother, and a wife, and Dristan wasn’t sure he wanted this reputation of hers continued, especially as the children got older. He would do his best to dispel such rumours, and while he figured that Rowan was merely being flirtatious, and daring, it still got to him a little bit, that this reputation had been forged, and his cousin had to live with that. She made no indication it bothered her, but it bothered him. “Well, perhaps you will see how much runs in the family in time.” He winked and then stopped strumming for a moment, “Though I can safely say my dear cousin has put her reputation behind her for the meantime.” Another pause, “She is a loving mother.” Dristan was fiercely loyal to his family, and Caitrin was his favourite cousin, and he didn’t want any scandal attached to her children, not now and not ever.