Dancing In The Moonlight (Rowan, Iwan, Roslyn)

[Dristan de Archer]

Dristan wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, but he had come too far to turn back now and that was that. This had seemed like such a good idea at the time, and he supposed it still was, but he had spent rather a lot of time getting lost in the dark. He had never really been to the d’Auber estate; he had begrudgingly asked his cousin for directions. She’d only given him directions of course when she had been completely satisfied that she knew what he was up to. He’d told her of course, Caitrin had a way of knowing when he was lying, probably because all in all Dristan wasn’t an incredibly good liar. She’d wished him luck in-between giving him looks, and so he had followed her directions to the word. Well, he’d forgotten bits an ended up improvising so it had taken him a bit longer than it should have done. It would have been easier of course if he had made at least a bit of this journey in day light, but he’d still been deciding whether this would be a good idea at sundown. In truth he had only made such a point of coming now because Caitrin knew, and he’d feel like an idiot if he’d made all the fuss about directions for nothing. Actually, that was a lie, he just wanted to see Rowan again, and he could pretend otherwise, and blame everyone else, but that was the complete truth of the matter.

He was, intrigued by Rowan in a way, she was like a breath of fresh air, and she was the only woman that had really made an impression on him in a long time. She was far from the only thing that had occupied his thoughts since coming back to Camelot, but she was the only woman who had occupied his thoughts in that manner. He kept on having to push thoughts of Melodie out of his mind, because this wasn’t about her anymore, this was about discovering more about Rowan, and trying to make her happy in the meantime. She did have the most beautiful smile. There was the worry of course at the back of his mind that this was one sided, and that he had misread her completely. Dristan was usually quite good at reading people, but he didn’t want to assume anything with Rowan; she was far too unconventional for that.

He really hoped this was the right manor, and this wasn’t Caitrin’s idea of a sick and twisted joke. The last thing he needed was to be waking up noble families across the kingdom while he searched for the d’Auber household, given how he was going to be waking them up. He had his lute on his back, and taking a deep breath he took it out of its case and took it in one hand. Dristan then walked around the manor slowly, taking a care not to be seen. Right, this would work so much better if he knew which window Rowan would be behind. Gulping, he decided to go out on a whim, and took a rock in his hands and hurled it towards the nearest balcony. After a few moments he threw another rock, deciding that if this didn’t work then he would move on and try the next one. However, this time the balcony door opened, and though Dristan could barely make out the figure, he was sure it was a woman. He knew Rowan only had brothers, so he felt quite confident. Dristan began to strum on his lute, the same tune he had first played for her, and felt a smile forming on his lips; she would know it was him, he was sure she could.

Tagged: Rowan d’Auber, Iwan d’Auber, Roslyn d’Auber
Timeline: Series 4-5 gap
Location: The d’Auber estate
Time of Day: Late Evening[/color][/size]

[Lady Roslyn]

Roslyn was having trouble sleeping. This was the third night’s sleep that had suffered, and she was starting to tire of it. She never slept well when she was away from home, and this was no exception, but there was something else, and she was sure of it. Usually she tossed and turned for a while, but she always got off to sleep in the end. This time she was struggling to sleep altogether, and she had started feeling sick in the mornings. Roslyn turned over and pressed her lips together, trying to convince her body she was tired enough to sleep. Iwan had gotten off to sleep easily enough, well, they were at his home so she supposed it was easier for him. His elder brother was ill, so they had volunteered to keep the estate in order for a week or so while he recovered. Well, Iwan was doing most of the work, as was his way. She was just looking after the house, though there wasn’t even much to do there. Aside from Rowan there wasn’t a mistress of the house, so the servants were just used to getting on with it. Roslyn felt quite bored here, but she hadn’t spoken to Iwan about it. After all, they would be going back home soon, so there was no use in complaining. Plus, the lack of sleep and sickness had been occupying her thoughts somewhat.

Tentatively, Roslyn placed a hand on her stomach and breathed out slowly. She had been married for a few months now, and she had been expecting this, but now the prospect was a daunting one. Roslyn did want this of course, she wanted to give Iwan a son to follow in his footsteps. She was sure that any children they had would be so loved, and they would never be made to feel like they weren’t wanted. Iwan stirred in his sleep behind her, and he brushed against her softly, causing the smile on her face to widen slightly. There was no point in worrying him with this just yet, she wasn’t completely sure, and he had enough to worry about at the moment what with the estate to look after. She wasn’t quite sure how Iwan would react if she were with child, but the more she thought about it the more she liked the idea.

None of this was helping her sleep of course and she turned over again, this time she was facing her husband. She raised her hand and brushed a few hairs back off his face gently. She really did love him, and she didn’t have any regrets where he was concerned, he just made her happy, and that was all she had ever wanted. Roslyn jumped as a loud thud echoed through the bed chambers. It didn’t wake Iwan, and probably wouldn’t have bothered Roslyn either if she had actually been asleep. A part of her wanted to go and see what it was, but she knew it was probably nothing. Roslyn was just about to try and settle when there was another thud on the balcony. Biting her lip, she pushed herself out of bed, and grabbed her shawl to wrap around her shoulders. Slowly she made her way to the balcony and opened the door, not really sure what she was expecting to see. There was no one out on the balcony of course. She was about to turn back inside to go to bed, when there was a sudden burst of music from below the balcony. The sleep deprivation was obviously getting to her. Peering down she could see someone there; who on earth was playing music at her? Stepping backwards her back hit the door to the balcony noisily, and she put her head inside the door, and whispered, “Iwan? Iwan wake up.” She just needed to make sure she wasn’t being driven to the brink of insanity, and if this man was real then Iwan would get rid of him anyway.

[Deleted]

Iwan wasn’t a particularly heavy sleeper – one never knew when Camelot was going to be under attack, although one could probably bet that it would be at night when one was trying to get a decent night’s rest. Consequently, it didn’t take much to wake him so when he heard something thudding he was already awake, but in the comfort of his own home – and a home that had Rowan and Ciaran so God knows what they were up to but they probably had something to do with the noise – he didn’t stir. It wouldn’t be anything of interest. Or at least that’s what he’d thought until he heard his wife’s voice and...was that music? Alright, it might be something. He sat up and rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand. “What is it?” He asked as he climbed out of the bed and walked over to where she was stood, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Why was there music outside the window? If this was Ciaran trying to annoy him then he wouldn’t be happy. His hand left Roslyn’s shoulder to run through his hair before he stepped through the door and out onto the balcony. It wasn’t Ciaran. In the darkness he couldn’t see exactly who it was, but he could see the outline of what Iwan deemed rather stupid hair, so he knew it wasn’t his brother. So who the hell was it and why were they playing music outside his window? Were they mad? He cleared his throat. “Excuse me,” he began, trying to mask his irritation, “What on earth are you doing? And why are you doing it outside my window?”

[Dristan de Archer]

As Dristan continued to strum on his lute, his confidence began to grow. He had already worried this whole idea to death, so the fact that he hadn’t been attacked yet meant that it was only going well. Dristan had half expected not to make it here in the first place, so the fact he was now here, and below Rowan’s window meant that it was all going his way. He was sure Rowan would love this; she had enjoyed the tunes he had played for her so far. Dristan kept looking up towards the balcony, hoping to get some reaction. From what he knew of Rowan so far, she wouldn’t stay quiet for long. He began to stride a little, changing from foot to foot as he continued to strum loudly on his lute. Rowan’s family was far from Dristan’s mind; he was too busy concentrating on the tune he was currently playing. He really should have done this during the day, as at the moment he felt like he was playing to a brick wall. He couldn’t even see the reaction on Rowan’s face; he could picture the smile that she had worn for him the other day. Perhaps he could convince her to come down off the balcony after a while; there was less risk of waking up her entire family that way.

He still wasn’t getting anything, so Dristan walked backwards to see if he could make out Rowan on the balcony. It was too dark for him to make out a face, but the thing which worried Dristan was that there wasn’t one figure out on the balcony; there were two. Dristan felt quite numb for a moment, but his fingers carried on plucking away at the strings, watching the pair on the balcony. As his eyes adjusted he wasn’t sure whether Rowan was on the balcony or not. Dristan pressed his lips together and panicked slightly. If this wasn’t Rowan, then he might be at the wrong manor after all. This wasn’t exactly going to plan, but his fingers were still moving across the lute in a gentle manner.

Dristan wasn’t surprised that the man sounded angry, after all, he was sure that he would be annoyed if someone was playing the lute quite loudly outside his window. Well, he’d be quite excited that someone had an interest in the instrument he loved so much. He’d only be annoyed if they were playing the lute incredibly badly. “Ah yes, sorry I appear to have woken you, it wasn’t my intention I assure you.” So he was rambling, this wasn’t really the right way to go with this was it? “I’m Dristan de Archer, you may have heard of me.” Again this wasn’t really helping; his cousin and father didn’t appear to have done much for the reputation of their family in his absence, “I thought this was Rowan’s window, my deepest apologies.” He was still playing the lute, “If you could just point me in the direction of the right window I’ll be on my way...”

[Deleted]

For a moment or two Iwan just stared down at the man, unsure how exactly he should react – whether anger or confusion was the predominant emotion. At the moment it was probably confusion, his anger could form fully once he understood precisely what was going on. All he knew right now was that there was a bloody de Archer looking for his sister. In the middle of the damn night no less and acting as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world, the sort of thing people did all the time. Maybe the anger was predominant after all. He exhaled slowly. He was going to deal with this rationally. His fists clenched involuntarily and he bit his lip. He just needed to relax...there was no reason to suspect that this “Dristan de Archer” had dishonourable intentions. Except there was every reason to suspect dishonourable intentions, after all, the man was a de Archer. “Dishonourable intentions” was probably the family motto.

“I have not heard of you though I have had...dealings with your family.” He replied, no longer trying to hide his emotions from his tone. He knew all too well how Caitrin de Archer behaved around the opposite sex; no doubt her relative was of the same nature. Well, there was no way he was going to tell the man where his sister was. And why was this man even aware of his sister? Alright, perhaps that was a little over dramatic, Rowan was perfectly capable of speaking with men her age but there was a difference between the odd flirtation at a feast and a man looking for her window. This was exactly why he was always telling Kay she needed a chaperone. But apparently that was him being overprotective. Well, obviously it wasn’t. He shuddered at the thought of what could have happened had Dristan happened upon the right window.

If he could just...what? Was the man insane? He honestly thought Iwan was going to go “Oh yes, of course she’s just over there. Do let me know if you need anything, won’t you? Enjoy.” Maybe he had suffered a blow on the head as a child...that was the only explanation for why he’d be in this current predicament. Yes, Iwan was fully aware that he had done more or less the same thing and turned up underneath Roslyn’s window but he hadn’t had a bloody lute, he’d found the correct window and, most importantly, he’d only done it because Gwaine had made him. They were completely different situations, so he wasn’t being a hypocrite at all.

“And what, pray tell, do you expect to do once you’ve found the correct window?” He asked, eyebrows raised although in the darkness no one would be able to tell. He was fairly sure he didn’t want to know the answer, but he was eager to come to a conclusion about the man before he could be accused of over-reacting. Somehow though, he was rather certain over-reacting would not be a word used to describe his actions.

[Dristan de Archer]

Dristan was now strumming away on his lute out of nerves rather than anything else. He was now more worried that this was going to end in physical injury. It surely should be easier than this to charm a woman? Then again, there were probably better ways to meet the family of the woman who you were trying to charm than waking them up in the middle of the night with music they were probably only marginally enjoying at best. Dristan was still strumming away on his lute, though the tune was getting a lot slower and more drawn out. Each note seemed to last longer, but Dristan supposed that was more owed to the awkward silences that followed the notes rather than the music itself. The lute probably wasn’t helping matters, but they were already awake now so there was no harm in carrying on was there? He tried to smile up at the couple up on the balcony, he was now certain that it wasn’t Rowan up there with the man who currently probably wasn’t that impressed with him. She surely would have said something? She wasn’t the type to just sit back and let things happen around her, Dristan was sure of that.

He was quite disappointed in a way that he hadn’t been mentioned to the lady in questions family, but then again, it wasn’t as if they were engaged or anything near that. He had only played her a few things on his lute, it was hardly cause for alarm on anyone’s account, but Dristan was hoping for something more. It might be a fools hope, but he certainly didn’t want it to be. It was really only Caitrin who knew about Rowan, and probably Griff by default now. Dristan was going to make a point of only telling his father the bare minimum. He would only be included in his life where Dristan saw fit; he was a man now, and he made his own decisions. He plucked a chord on the lute as Iwan mentioned dealing with his family. Great. Perhaps charming women would be easier if he had a more normal family who stuck to conventions. Then again, Dristan was the one out here in the middle of the night with a lute in the pursuit of a woman. Hmm. The man’s tone was not hard to miss, “I’m sure my family did not mean to cause offence.” He grinned, though no one would be able to see that, “We are an eccentric lot, we de Archers.” Dristan was not a subtle person at the best of times, and he wanted to know which of his family he would be grilling in the morning about upsetting this man, “Who exactly have you had ‘dealings’ with my Lord?” He threw in a bit of formality for the effect, but he doubted that anything he could do or say now would be well received.

Somehow Dristan had known it wasn’t going to be as simple as just being pointed in the right direction by this man. He guessed this was one of Rowan’s brothers. He began to play a gentler tune on his lute; his hands working of their own accord as his eyes fixed on the balcony above him. He was still holding out that something had to go his way tonight, though that probably wouldn’t happen. No doubt Rowan would think he was an idiot for getting the window’s mixed up as well, and then he would get the ridicule from home on top of all of that... Dristan cocked his head to the side and looked up at the man, “I have a song to play for her, I thought she might appreciate it.” His tone was quite soft, but inside he felt like an idiot; he should have waited until morning, even if it had meant calling upon the house, “Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to? It would be nice to put a name to a...” Well he couldn’t say face as he couldn’t see his face, “A voice.”

[Rowan d'Auber]

Rowan was annoyed. It was one of those nights where she simply couldn't sleep. The more she tried, the more annoyed she became and then she couldn't sleep at all. She must have been lying here for hours...just lying there...eyes closed and nothing happening. After deciding she wasn't comfortable, she'd ended up moving every five minutes because nothing was comfortable. How she envied everyone else right now - Ciaran, Kay, Iwan, Roslyn...they were all blissfully unconscious. What was she doing? Shifting. And she was going to be tired tomorrow, and Iwan was going to comment which would obviously be the most helpful thing he could do. Urgh. It was utterly ridiculous that she should still be awake.

She let out a frustrated sigh before sitting up. She just needed to do something to wear herself out. As she climbed out of bed she heard a strange thudding noise before...was that music...? For a second she thought it was Dristan, and her mind began to race. He'd come to serenade her outside her window. How romantic! But as quickly as the thought entered her mind it ran away again. The music was too far away to be outside her window. So someone else was being serenaded. Well. This wasn't improving her mood at all. Feeling more than a little put out, she made her way over to her window to see what was going on.

As she peered into the darkness she could just about see a figure, who, judging from this distance between them and her must have been outside Iwan's window. Who the hell would want to play music outside Iwan's window? The only reason she could think of was someone trying to attract Roslyn's attention...well...this could be getting more interesting. Iwan could do with a scandal, finally he'd have something interesting about him. She probably shouldn't be smirking quite so much as she stepped out onto the balcony but this was the most exciting thing to happen for weeks. Roslyn had a secret admirer! Rowan had just known she couldn't really be as boring as she acted.

Wait...that was Dristan. Her face fell and all rationality hastily left. What was he doing outside their window? Right then. He was going to regret that, albeit it not for long. Of course, it never crossed her mind that maybe her first thought was correct and Dristan had, in fact, been looking for her. As far as she was aware he'd never been to her home before, so it was possible he'd ended up outside the wrong window. But Rowan had never been one to assess a situation properly, especially when her emotions were getting involved. So instead of making her presence known and asking Dristan what on earth was going she left the balcony, left her room and stormed into Iwan and Roslyn's...

[Deleted]

Did Dristan really think it was appropriate to continue playing that damn lute? All it did was prove Iwan correct, or at least he thought it proved him correct. He’d assumed Dristan was just like all the other de Archers, and so far Dristan’s conduct was doing nothing to argue against Iwan’s prejudices. It was probably a good thing his wife was there, otherwise Iwan would have been guilty of more than a few ungentlemanly actions. As it happened, he was forced to just stand there with an incredibly unimpressed expression, especially at the man’s comments about his family. Did not mean to cause offence? Caitrin practically assaulted him. And what about the offence being caused now? Clearly the man was an idiot, so there was something else to add to the never ending list of reasons why Iwan did not approve. This was probably not helped by the description of Dristan’s family as “eccentric”. So he was one of those types, then. Eccentricity was only to be applauded in tiny, ancient women, not pretentious nobleman.

Before he said anything else, he turned his head to give his wife a look, one which would convey all his irritation and see what she was making of all of this at the same time. Roslyn was of similar temperament; no doubt she would be equally unimpressed, especially at the tone of the man’s voice when he said “my lord”. Perhaps he was genuinely trying to be polite, but Iwan took his tone to be less than respectful. He wasn’t going to be giving him the benefit of the doubt at all. He turned back to the man to answer him, although really it was none of his business who he’d had “dealings” with, and it hardly mattered at present. “Caitrin.” He replied in a tone that suggested the finality of that particular conversation. He didn’t particularly want to go into details about his meeting with the woman, especially not in front of his wife.

This was just getting better and better. Dristan couldn’t possibly wait until a more appropriate time to play this song? Like...after marriage? (Not that Iwan was in any way saying that his sister ought to marry the man, Jesu no, he was just making the point that such things were hardly suitable.) “I doubt my sister would appreciate anything from you.” That was definitely wishful thinking on his part. Unfortunately, Rowan happened to be exactly the sort to have her head turned by such...lewd behaviour. Although Iwan would much prefer to not be in this situation at all, he could only be thankful that Dristan had happened upon his window and not Rowan’s, or Kay’s for that matter. The last thing his elder brother needed was a random man playing the lute in the middle of the night. He chose not to think about what would happen if Ciaran had been the one woken up...nothing Iwan would approve of.

Now he wanted to know Iwan’s name? Well at least he’d finally learnt some manners – some being the operative word. Hopefully once Dristan discovered Iwan’s position, he’d remember the meaning of respect, or better still, sod off. “I am Iwan d’Auber, Sir Iwan d’Auber.” He automatically turned slightly towards Roslyn, it was now habit to introduce her at the same time but he had a feeling now might be one of those times she’d prefer to either stay completely out of it, or not having anyone speak for her, even if it was just an introduction.

[Lady Roslyn]

Roslyn wasn’t impressed one bit with how this whole situation was turning out. She was keeping in the background for now, she didn’t feel the need to add anything to what her husband was saying; he seemed to be handling this incredibly well after all. She’d probably only get in the way. Roslyn was occasionally stealing glances down at the man, though she couldn’t really make him out, all she could really focus on was the music coming from his lute. She probably would have appreciated the music if this was in a more conventional setting, but it was the middle of the night, so really why would anyone think that it was a good idea to be standing underneath a window playing a lute?! This was of course completely different to when Iwan had been below her window of course, he had come to talk to her, and he had done it properly. He hadn’t brought a lute, and he hadn’t woken up her family in the process. Roslyn folded her arms, sure that her husband was as unimpressed as she was with this on the whole.

Of course the man was a de Archer. Roslyn turned her nose up slightly instinctively and pressed her lips together; hard. She knew all about Caitrin de Archer; it was hard to miss the way she was really, especially with the men in court. She could only guess what a de Archer would want with Rowan, but she knew that she didn’t like the intentions right away. No doubt Caitrin’s streak was actually a family trait, no matter how this man was related to Caitrin, she was sure that he was probably the same. No doubt that song was actually a euphemism for...something. Roslyn shuddered a little at the thought, she didn’t know Rowan as much as she wished she did, but she knew that she shouldn’t have to be exposed to the behaviour of this idiot man. No doubt he was actually stalking her. Roslyn stepped a little further forwards, after all she was not afraid of this man, she wanted to look down upon him, as this was her family, and if he was trying to compromise it then he could... well he could just forget about it right this second!

Dristan had finally gotten around to asking her husband’s name, it hadn’t slipped Roslyn’s notice that the man had a complete lack of manners. He had already surpassed a minor irritation in Roslyn’s eyes. The only reason she hadn’t said anything yet was mainly because Iwan seemed to be handling this well enough, and he was the one who had an actual reason to be annoyed with the de Archers. She had never asked him what had happened with Caitrin, but she was sure he had not taken too much notice of her stupid, seductive manner. No doubt he put her in her place, just as she deserved. Roslyn inclined her head towards Iwan as he finally turned round to face her. She hadn’t been worried for a moment that he had forgotten about her in his annoyance at Dristan, he knew that if she felt the need to say something then she would. Now she did feel the need to speak, and introduce herself, “I am Lady Roslyn d’Auber.” Once again she inclined her head, though she knew the man couldn’t see it. Roslyn was now at the front of the balcony, looking down at Dristan, “My Lord husband is right, his sister would not enjoy your performance, especially at this time of night.” She cast a quick glance back to Iwan before moving back to his side, she had said what she wanted to; there was no point in repeating her husbands words for the sake of it, hopefully Dristan would get the message, and leave.

[Dristan de Archer]

Dristan was trying to think how to salvage this situation, and his brain was really giving him nothing. He was going to try nonetheless, as it wasn’t in Dristan’s nature to just give up. However, he had already made up his mind to have serious words with his cousin when he got home. She had told him about her reputation, but now he wanted details. If she was going to be dragged into every conversation then he had a right to know why. He didn’t want all the details of course, he just wanted to know who she had annoyed, and if he could avoid them. “I’m sure that whatever she did, she didn’t mean it.” That was completely the wrong thing to say, but unfortunately he couldn’t unsay it, so he had to just run with it. His hands plucked at the strings of his lute, trying to think of something to say, “She’s not as bad as she was, she has a husband and a children now. The children are really quite nice. They don’t speak much...” Well they were babies, so of course they didn’t speak. Why was he even bringing this up? This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Dristan fell silent and just began to fiddle with the strings of the lute, the melody which was coming out of the instrument wasn’t his best, but he was slightly stressed so this was as good as it was going to get.

Really, Dristan was hoping that the fact he had said that all he was interested in was playing Rowan a song would be in his favour. That was obviously not the case. What else did Dristan have to do to prove that all he really wanted to do was to play Rowan a song? Yes of course he wanted to do other things as well, but in time, he wasn’t like his cousin in that respect, no Dristan had patience. He’d probably have an easier time of proving this to Iwan as he would at making his lute physically talk to him. All he had really wanted to was to play Rowan a song, and to make her smile, instead he’d just created a massive disastrous situation, and he felt like a complete fool. “She enjoyed the other songs I played for her.” Dristan protested; he knew Rowan would enjoy his music, as she had done before, “I know she will enjoy this one.” He said a little more forcefully, he might be a bag of nerves, but underneath it all there was still that confidence which told him that he was right in his argument, and that Rowan would appreciate the melody he had in mind for her. He just had to be allowed the chance to prove it.

Sir Iwan was it? A knight, how great was that? Dristan’s father had wanted him to be a knight once, long ago. He’d done all the sword fighting, and archery, and of course he still kept practising, but he preferred his lute so much more. Unfortunately they didn’t bestow knighthoods for excellent finger work on the lute, so he remained a simple Lord, but a Lord nonetheless. Though the years away in Caerleon’s kingdom had dampened his pride somewhat, as he had been working like a peasant for most of his time, he still had that bite of noble pride, and so a part of him was starting to get annoyed by Iwan’s attitude. True, he had woke him up in the middle of the night whilst trying to serenade his sister, but it was hardly a reason for him to be so rude about it all. He honestly was just trying to play his melody, that was it. He was getting annoyed at the fact Iwan seemed to be basing him off his cousins behaviour. No matter what Caitrin had done with her life it was her life, and not Dristan’s. For Jesu’s sake, he had only known her for a month or so, so they could hardly be compared, as if they were the same person. He was about to answer when the Lady who he had spotted first of all stepped forwards and spoke; she defiantly wasn’t Rowan then. “It is nice to meet you Sir Iwan, and Lady Roslyn.” He bowed, though it hardly mattered; they couldn’t see either way. “I will be on my way, rest assured, just as soon as I’ve played this melody for Rowan.”

[Deleted]

Iwan found himself torn between wanting to contradict Dristan’s words and not wanting to talk about it at all. Usually, when conversing with a noble, he’d be doing his utmost to appear polite and good-natured. He hated being thought of as impolite and prided himself on his manners. However, under circumstances such as this, he could be allowed to be thought of as impolite as he wished. He was the one being inconvenienced, and even if he wasn’t, Dristan’s actions were far from appropriate. If he wished to speak to Rowan so badly he should do so in the proper manner. A manner which in no way involved attempting to stand outside her window in the middle of the night.

He ran a hand over his face. Why could Dristan not just leave? His amoral plan hand, thankfully, not come to fruition. It was bad enough that such a thing had been attempted, but now he was refusing to leave, and worse, converse with Iwan as though this was nothing out of the ordinary. He would never have had such impudence. And he certainly wouldn’t have stood in front of Roslyn’s father and told him how much she had enjoyed his efforts at wooing her (and please, Jesu, let “songs” not be a euphemism). How did Dristan expect this would help in any way? Was he hoping Iwan would just change his mind? Ah well, now that he knew Dristan had played songs for his sister before – his younger, naive and vulnerable sister – he would then be perfectly fine such a thing happening now? “She might enjoy it perfectly well,” Iwan began, trying to be reasonable because despite the situation and despite his annoyance he was, first and foremost, a Knight of Camelot and so politeness and reasonability were well-rehearsed. “At a more...suitable time.” Or, better still, not at all.

Dristan was making it increasingly more difficult for Iwan to keep his composure. Any other man – well, any other respectable man – would have apologised and left, or rather not turned up at all. It was quite absurd that Dristan should be standing here and refusing to leave them alone. He took another deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. This was an utterly ridiculous situation, Dristan was an utterly ridiculous man and he just wanted to go back to sleep. “Then you shall stand out there all night. My sister is asleep and will not be woken for you.”

[Rowan d'Auber]

Rowan should probably have knocked before walking - or rather storming - into the room but she have knocked when it was just Iwan's room and she was finding it an annoying habit to have to pick up. However, in her current state she would have burst in anyway, regardless of whether she usually knocked or not because quite frankly she was annoyed. And she wanted everyone to know about it. She stopped soon after entering the room, almost still in the doorway, arms folded tightly against her chest and a very unimpressed expression on her face. No doubt Iwan would say something about her just barging in, but she didn't care. She was going to remain exactly where she stood until someone told her what on earth was going on.

"Rowan!" Iwan had jumped slightly at her sudden entrance and was now looking at her with a mixture of surprise and irritation. As far as he was aware, she had no idea that Dristan was outside and so he was determined to keep it that way. "What are you doing still awake? And you can't just walk in here whenever you please."

What was she doing awake? She thought it was perfectly obvious what she was doing awake. Someone was making it rather difficult for her to sleep, and, what was worse, said someone wasn't doing so intentionally. Unfortunately, she couldn't voice such an opinion in front of Iwan. If she did, he'd probably march her straight out of the room and give her a lecture about the evils of young men. Just because he would never stand outside someone's window in the middle of the night didn't mean those that did should be thought of as amoral and ungentlemanly - not that she was defending Dristan, she just hadn't started her internal rant about his actions yet.

She was probably going to have to be more subtle about it - which was not one of her strengths, and she was going to have to hide her annoyance, something else she wasn't particularly good at. "I...I heard a strange noise," she began, loosening her arms slightly. "And then your voice." She narrowed her eyes at her brother, "Is there something going on?" Of course there was something going on - they could all still hear that damned lute because obviously that would help the situation - but she wanted to hear it from Iwan so she could be annoyed without his lecturing and judgement.

[Dristan de Archer]

Dristan was rather glad that the topic of his family had been swiftly dropped by Iwan. He would defiantly be having some form of family meeting when he got in, or rather in the morning. He wanted to know exactly what he had missed out on while they had all been in Camelot annoying the other noble families while he had been off in Caerleon’s kingdom; he especially wanted to hear Caitrin’s take on things, and what she had been up to. She had clearly upset Iwan, and Lady Roslyn wasn’t jumping to her defence so there was probably no love lost between the pair either. Though he hated to think it, he couldn’t possibly imagine how this situation could actually get any worse. He pressed his lips together, wondering whether it would have been better if he had just run off as soon as Iwan had started speaking to him. Then again if he had said anything to Rowan about a lute playing man wandering about in the middle of the night she would probably know it was him and that wouldn’t have earned him any favours either.

He was still playing the lute of course, but that was more out of habit than him actually concentrating on any particular tune or melody. However, he was impressing himself with the fact that the tune he was producing was actually quite good. He’d have to write it down, not now obviously, but at some point in the future. Dristan felt quite hopeful when Iwan said that his sister would probably enjoy the melody, though the tone that the words were delivered in didn’t allow him too much hope. Dristan didn’t enjoy being patronised, especially by a man who was very obviously already looking down on him because of his family name. Sure, he had woken him up in the middle of the night with the intent of actually charming his sister, but really, it could be worse. “I think you’ll find Lady Rowan likes my music no matter what the time of day is.” He defended quickly, though he was leaving a lot to rest on the hope that Rowan was going to back him up with his viewpoint. Dristan knew that she enjoyed his music, so hopefully she would be the one person to actually defend him. If not then this would all be quite embarrassing.

Dristan sighed, this wasn’t getting him anywhere, and though he didn’t want to be annoyed by Iwan’s behaviour, as a lot of it was understandable, he felt like he was being lectured and that was starting to grind at his nerves. He had been nothing but truthful, and he hadn’t tried to hide anything, so that should have helped him. If the roles had been reversed, and someone had woken up Dristan’s family in this kind of way then they would have laughed at him, and pushed him outside rather than lecturing the woman trying to charm him. Actually, that was a ridiculous idea. He frowned at his own thoughts, and decided that he needed to actually concentrate for more than two minutes at a time on the situation at hand. “I’ll still be here in the morning then, do you want the music to be a little more soothing if you’re going back to bed?” He grinned, no doubt Iwan had already made his mind up about him, so he wasn’t going to pander to him now anyway.

He continued to play his lute of course, and he strummed it a little louder just to irritate Iwan a little, and he stepped back so he could get a better look at the balcony. His eyes were quite adjusted to the darkness now, so he could make out Sir Iwan and Lady Roslyn, and he was put out to see neither of them were looking down at him anymore, they were looking back into the house. Frowning, Dristan quietened his playing, and became aware that there was another voice being thrown into the mix. He smiled, hoping that this was a case of being third time lucky, “Is someone else up there?” He called hopefully and began to play the tune he had played for Rowan the first time he had met her.

[Deleted]

Iwan was starting to lose patience with the man - not that he had a particularly large amount of patience anyway. The most frustrating thing was that he couldn't just be completely angry with the man without making himself into a hypocrite. At least he could feel better in the knowledge that when he found himself outside someone's window in the middle of the night it had been the correct window, and he hadn't woken every other person in the household at the same time. Anyway. That, despite how frustrating it was because Iwan couldn't take the moral high ground, was not as important as the fact that Dristan was still here. And still playing that damn lyre.

Unsurprisingly, Iwan wasn't impressed Dristan's words. Maybe his sister would appreciate Dristan's music, but she certainly wouldn't appreciate it in the middle of the night...or, knowing his sister, she probably would but that was not the point. Iwan was her older brother and as such it was his responsibility to keep men like Dristan away from her window. Luckily, Dristan was managing that part well enough by himself. Iwan glanced at Roslyn, wondering what she thought of all of this. When it came to matters of propriety, he and his wife were often of the same opinion. She seemed equally annoyed so he turned his attention back to the intruder. "What makes you think you know anything about what my sister likes?" He was probably going to regret asking, but it was too late now.

Everything Dristan was saying was just serving to make Iwan more determined that Rowan would be staying as far away from the man as possible. Dristan was clearly in the habit of charming any woman he came into contact with, well, he certainly wouldn't be charming Rowan. Iwan was quite determined. He could always get a few of the servants to escort him away...actually no, the fewer people who knew about this the better. Besides, Iwan was perfectly capable of dealing with the man. "If you are still here tomorrow - and I strongly advise you are not - I will personally ensure you are not on the premises again."

Rowan always had dreadful timing but this was ridiculous. If Dristan kept making that awful music she was going to look out the window and see him. How Iwan was supposed to keep her from doing something stupid with Dristan there? This was the problem. If she wasn't so reckless, so prone to throwing herself into dangerous situations then Iwan wouldn't be worried about Dristan's presence. He'd trust Rowan enough to get rid of him herself and everything would be fine. Unfortunately, Rowan was not going to be telling him to go away if she saw him. "There's nothing going on." Even if Iwan could lie, his sister wouldn't have been convinced in the slightest. "Go back to bed."

"There clearly is something going on." Rowan raised her eyebrows at him. Before she could try to ask him again she heard Dristan's voice. She already knew that he was down there, but Iwan didn't know she did, so she tried to look confused and surprised at hearing the musician's voice. "Is that...Dristan?"

"No. Go back to bed." Iwan snapped. He looked over to Roslyn, again to see what she was making of all this before once more walking over to the balcony to speak to Dristan. "That is none of your concern. Now go away."