Match Made In Hell

[Vortigern]

-------Forgive her? Never! There was far too much blame at her feet for him to even consider forgiving her. He also somewhat recognized the sarcasm in her 'apology'. She was just irritating him more and more. Ordinarily, when someone caused such agitation to him, he could easily rid himself of their company. But her? He would be stuck with her for the next several hours, making these hours feel like days. Months even. "A frail and weak little thing like you, I am surprised you have not been in a similar situation numerous times before." Especially with her riding out on her own which, he was assuming, was not a rarity for her. When she proceeded to insult him but pointing out his inability to protect himself, she had indeed hit a nerve. Then again, when had she not. Everything she said just annoyed him.

-------"You know nothing!" He stated bluntly. He would have her head back home for saying such things. "Had you not been so agitating to my mood and by speaking frivolous words I would have been victorious. But thanks to you, I have to travel back to Camelot on foot." Again with the blame. For he was not going to give it up. She could protect her virtue? That was laughable. He let out a sarcastic short chuckle when she seemed so convinced of this. "I highly doubt that. What happened here today is clear evidence of that. In fact, I am not even sure what was stopping the man from stealing your virtue, since they stole everything else." He said such things, only to further present the dreadful possibility; to keep the risk in her mind. She was hitting his nerves and he was going to try to instill some fear into her. Clearly, she was not afraid of the power he possessed; why not speak of things that were not always in her control.

-------Her next comment made him pause and just stare at her. Had she really just, dared to say that, with, flirtatious implications? Vortigern was disgusted. Now he had nothing against her looks. In fact, though he would never admit it not even to himself, she was rather beautiful. But it was not her physical appearance that made him revolted by her remark. It was the fact that she was so beneath him. She was a noble, he was a royal. He would never even dare imagine such a pairing! And the fact that she was speaking in such a way, practically degrade him, made him even angrier. "It was your words that were distraction, nothing else." He was not about to pay her any sort of compliments. Especially when she kept pushing his mood to become madder. He also knew that he could not say anything for it would contradict his earlier words of her being distraction. Damn her.

-------Another kingdom then. "I envy that kingdom," he grumbled, though ensured it was audible enough for her to hear. He envied them because they were void of her company and he was cursed with it. The fact that she then asked him to slow down made him inwardly smirk as he quickened his pace. It was not the best idea for it was causing him more dizziness by walking so quickly. But it was well worth the pain, and risk of fainting, if it meant directly going against her request. "If you can not keep up, stay behind." He would have no problem with that. Well, he would since he was planning to take advantage of her familiarity of this land. But now there was no need to tell her that. He just continued to walk quickly, blinking rapidly as he tried to walk in a steady line.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was a lot of things, she admitted in a way that she was weakened by the fact she was so small, and so ill practised with anything but a bow and her petty little dagger. However, she resented the fact he was calling her weak and frail. She scoffed at him and threw her head to the side angrily, “If you had not been so stubborn and asked my name politely on the road we could have both parted before the bandits were even upon us. We both could still have our possessions if you hadn’t been so stubborn.” Her words were hot and full of anger but she had been mulling it over and she was sure that had been the main problem; she would have been long gone if he hadn’t stopped her on the road, and she would still have her horse.

She was sick of him trying to place the blame on her. If he had just let her past on the road then none of this would have happened. But of course his pride had caused him to enquire her name, she would have questioned his motives at first, but as they got further into the conversation she began to realise he had stopped her merely because he could. “This is not my fault, your words were as irritating to me as mine were to you.” She pointed out, her voice quietening with her anger as she struggled to control it. She was tired of him bouncing all the blame back on her, it was not all her fault and he had to take some of the blame at least.

Caitrin knew she shouldn’t let his words bother her, but she knew that his words rung true. If the danger of the bandits leaving with nothing had been such a threat she was sure the man who had her up against the tree would have pressed his interests further. He had had his large, clumsy hands all over her skin, and it had disgusted her. “Well he did not take it.” She protested. She doubted she was in any danger with this Prince, in terms of her virtue.

A small sense of satisfaction was felt as the Prince fell silent for a few moments after her flirtatious comment. At court many men were at the mercy of her flirts, though she never let it past that; most men were put off by her teasing anyway. She raised her eyes at his comment and shrugged softly, watching him and then casting her eyes from him as she replied, “If you say so.”

“Mercia.” She said quickly, almost blurting it out and then recollected herself, “The Kingdom I was sent from was Mercia.” She didn’t care much what he knew about her because it didn’t matter how much he knew about her, she was sure she would learn enough about him to make up for it on the long walk. Lord she wasn’t looking forwards to the walk. As she began to step forwards she stumbled and only just managed to steady herself; she felt ill and her head was killing her. Annoyingly, she noticed he quickened his pace and she tried to walk a bit quicker but stumbled again and only kept herself upright by holding onto a tree. Surely his head was still ailing him as well? How could he walk so quickly. “Fine, I know my way back anyway.” It was worrying her how late in the afternoon it was, she knew a shortcut to the city but even that would take them hours and she was sure it couldn’t be managed before nightfall.

[Vortigern]

-------Did she just call him stubborn...twice?! He knew he should not be appalled by her insults towards him, but he was. She was getting worse and worse rather than learning to control her tongue. "How dare you!" He snapped. He had more than enough of her angry words, of her criticism, of her sarcasm. Of her! "Had you just answered my question, as anyone beneath me should, then we would not be in this mess!" Yes, beneath him. He was beneath him and he was going to remind her of that every chance he got. She was nothing; a noblewoman. One who if killed by the bandits, would be of little consequence! To him anyone. Who knew about her family. Maybe they would learn to control their children better.

-------"Do not dare place the blame on me. You should do as you are commanded!" He added, refusing to allow her to speak to him in such a way. It had not his fault that she refused to give her name. And he would not make it so. He was blameless from all that had happened. Her words were true and he hated that they were. Her words were irritating to him, and it was worse that she knew that for it only encouraged her to keep agitating him. "You should know better than to irritate me. But you lack intelligence just as you lack strength." He had no problem with basically calling her stupid. Now if it was the other way around, he would have a problem. He shouldn't have poked her. He should have just let her lay there, and left her vulnerable. Oh wait, that's right. She was of use to him. A damper on his thoughts of revenge.

-------When she confirmed that he did not take it, Vortigern decided to push the subject. "Pity. Perhaps it would have taught you some humility." Yes; she had pushed him as far to say that maybe getting raped would have taught her something. Though he did not personally engage in this behavior, did not mean others shared this distaste. At least this made up for how annoyed he'd been by her, flirtation. Ugh. Her flirtation. How completely ignorant of her. She thought she was so worthy as to flirt with him. He had just said she was beneath him and he would stick to that! Nothing would ever change his perception when it came to ranks and their importance. So he ignored her comment. Though the anger was clear on his face, so he avoided looking at her.

-------When she said she was from Mercia, Vortigern said something. He thought about this, not caring enough to question what brought a Mercian to Camelot. "Well then Mercia must have rejoiced in your departure. And I am sure they still are doing so." Then again, that gave her too much credit. But oh well. He just didn't like her. Clearly. When he noticed she had stopped walking he stopped too, turning to see what had kept her. Was she going to fall over and die? No. She had just stopped, the support of a tree keeping her up. Well great. This isn't what he wanted at all; he did not want to admit that he actually required what little intellect she had. He had some pride left after all. And he did not want to say anything that could be taken as a compliment. Hell no. "You do realize that those bandits were not the only of their kind. More will approach and these ones may indeed take more than just the necklace you wore." Meaning, her virtue. He was trying to motivate her to keep walking, because it was in his best interest; not because he cared about her.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin didn't even flinch as he snapped at her. Did he think he was the first to speak to her in such a way? Unfortunatly her temprament meant that she was more than used to being snapped at like that; her father had used that tone with her from a very young age. She kept her eyes on him and shrugged softly, she beleived she was in the right, she had been right to correct his manners. Even a Prince should respect nobles with some manners, "Well you were being rude!" She protested angrily. She noticed he was once again mentioning she was beneath him; she knew she was a rather obscure noblewoman but that just made her more determined to stand her ground.

She should do as she was commanded? Had this man learned nothing about her in their conversation? She shook her head and her lips curled into a small sort of smile, "I will not do as I am commanded by any man, I will do as I will." She was being deadly serious, she hadn't got this far in her life by aimlessly obeying every man which came into her life. "Well if you are as intellegent as you make out then surely you should not have allowed yourself to become distracted in the heat of battle?" She challenged, as she was sure she was not far from shaking with anger; being called stupid was not something she appreciated. Caitrin prided herself on her intellegence, perhaps her judgement with this situation had been a bit out, but she had learned sorcery so that meant that she had a degree of intellegence. This man was ignorant of that though.

Caitrin couldn't help shuddering at his words, because they were entwined with the memories of that mans hands upon her skin. She wasn't unused to male attention, but she was unsued to it being so foreward. There was the risk that the man could have had her virtue there and then; the Prince certainly wouldn't have helped her would he? "Who knows what losing my virtue would do." She replied quietly, but also added a small hint of flirtation because she had to joke about the situation because the thought of being taken by force was a horrible concept she didn't really want to even consider.

She gave a soft laugh as he spoke about Mercia, and how they must be glad to be rid of her. He wasn't aware how truthful his words are and she nodded softly, "Well my family certainly were, but I was glad to see the back of them." She had certainly been glad to leave the care of her father, the man had never held any love for her and she had therefore never had any love to offer him.

Caitrin expected him to just carry on walking and just leave her on the road. Maybe she could just rest here for a while and continue in the morning; she honestly couldn't care less at the moment. She closed her eyes for a moment, willing strength to come back to her legs and she looked up at the Prince and furrowed her brows; why hadn't he left yet? She listened to him and groaned because she knew he was right. Pure stubborness, and her determination, caused her to push herself from the tree and she walked over to him, slightly wobbling but managed to find a pace which worked for her. She looked up at the Prince who was waiting for her, "I don't think my virtue's been discussed this much within a conversation before." She said softly and managed a small smile in reference to his comment about more bandits wanting more than her necklace. She began to walk slowly alongside the Prince and looked up at him, "Will you perhaps finally tell me your name?" She asked him, bored of refering to him in her head as 'the Prince'.

[Vortigern]

-------Who cares if he was being rude! "I am entitled to be rude if I so wish, for it is within my right!" He was allowed to do anything he pleased and she should not be arguing with him for it. "And you, you have no rights. None that exceed mine." None that were above his. She ought to keep in mind where she stood on the social ladder. She would forever be under him and she had better be well aware of this! But , it was clear that she was not. It was clear from the very first sentence she said to him that she cared little about the respect one was expected to give. She seemed to be one of those 'only give respect to those who deserve it' type of people. He hated that mindset. For it undermined his authority. Royals should not have to earn respect; as he had just stated, they were automatically entitled to it the moment they were born.

-------And her next words just continued to prove how annoyingly defiant she was. She was clearly not going to heed to his command. Unfortunately. "Then one day, you will lose your head for it." If only they were in Sorelia; how he longed to see her behind bars and then that march up to the executioners block! But he could do nothing of the sort here. Not when there was another king who held authority. Maybe he would have to find a way to get her to 'visit' Sorelia, so that she fully understood who he was and how people feared him; how they trembled at the sound of his name! The thought was so much more tempting when she suggested that he was not intelligent for he had let himself get distracted. "I will not make that mistake next time." He mumbled because, well because he had no retort for that. First he was arguing that she was a distraction, now how could he argue that she was not? Even he was not so contradicting in his words.

-------"Besides, I have seen and been in battle. And that hardly constituted as a battle." He added, just to inflate his ego. Just to make it sound as if he had fought, and survived greater things than a mere bandit attack. It could have been something life changing for her, had her virtue actually been taken. A subject of conversation that he was not going to sway from. When she questioned, he assumed rhetorically, what her losing her virtue could do...well, he had many answers to that. So he replied in a rather nonchalant, and extremely smug tone of voice. "It could have done many things. It could have produced a bastard child which would have forever shamed you and your entire family." His tone was a bit too casual when speaking of such things, but he probably would not had the outcome been different; had her fear come true.

-------It took the fun out of criticizing her if she expressed her delight in leaving. He had no idea why she had departed away from them. Part of him wanted to ask, but that would make it seem as if he actually...cared. "You lift the curse of one group of relatives only to then curse another. I sympathize with them. For your company only for mere minutes has been unbearable." To say the least. "I can not imagine being forced in your presence for a longer duration of time." And hopefully, he would not have to which is why he they needed to get back to the city as soon as possible. Good! She was moving again. Though she appeared unsteady, and was close enough in his reach, he did not aid her. He just turned and kept walking, expecting her to take her rightful place: behind him.

-------"Well then we should not keep discussing such worthless things." he insulted, at the remark of her virtue not being this frequent in conversation. As he made clear before, her virtue meant very little to him; she meant very little to him. And then she asked his name. She asked for his name. "I will grant you the privilege of knowing my name when I so choose." It really was not a big deal. He just did not want to meet with any of her requests. He perceived it as a way that would make her feel as if she had some control, and he would be quickly losing his control. So he waited several moments before revealing the information. "I am Prince Vortigern of Sorelia." A formal title, to remind her of his rank and authority. Not that he had made it an easy subject to forget or ignore during the course of their conversation. He tended to throw it in every chance he got, and would not cease doing so.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin couldn't believe he was being so stubborn. She had never met a nobleman like him, she was used to being the more stubborn and strong willed in a conversation but this Prince really was something else. Did he expect her to be bothered he was a Prince? She was only attacking him with words, though he had deserved some form of physical attack after he had tried to buy his way from the bandits by offering her up. If he couldn't handle her jests then what sort of a man was he? "This is my home, and you will respect my rights as a noblewoman of Camelot." She said bluntly and confidently, she might be a Prince but he had no business in speaking to her like she was one of his servants.

Lose her head? She raised an eye brow, where on earth was this man from where he thought that you could sever a womans head from her body because of her defiance. Caitrin didn't plan to be too overly stubborn with whatever husband she chose to take to her bed. If she cared for them, and they respected her, she would be more compliant of their will; she would never marry anyone like the man in front of her. "I don't know where your from, but I do not expect to be sent to the block whilst in Camelot for challenging my family with my wit; they encourage it." Her Uncle was incredibly respectful of her wit, and though he tired of it sometimes, he often told her that he would prefer her to have wit than to be like every other noblewoman in court; quiet, boring and obedient.

She was satisfied his answer was mumbled because that meant that she had stopped him retorting angrily at her. She wore a small, smug little grin because she felt some sort of acomplishment with making him produce a response which wasn't meant to provoke her. However, as he mentioned that she could have got herself with a bastard child she pressed her eyes together and gave a small shudder. She couldn't imagine herself being pregnant, obviously one day she would probably get herself with child, but she couldn't see herself being a mother. It was an odd state of mind, but for the moment she just couldn't see it. "I could have," She agreed mildly, "But I did not, so no harm has been done." She pressed her hands together and grinned up at him.

Caitrin couldn't help but laugh as the man said he found her company unbearable. She had a string of suitors back at court who tried to catch her eye just to spend a short time in this company. She didn't care much though, "Don't worry, the feeling is mutual." She informed him irritably, "The sooner we get back to Camelot the better."

Caitrin didn't feel her virtue was a worthless thing. She didn't particulary value it as much as she supposed a lot of women at court did, but when it had been that badly threatened she thought it was slightly important. "I don't believe my virtue is, as you put it, a 'worthless thing'" And that was all she could think to say to him because that was all that needed saying on that topic really.

Of course he wasn't going to give her his name, that would have been too easy wouldn't it? She was still walking quite slowly behind him, irritated that this in a way showed him in control of the group. She was still trying to focus on just keeping her balance and stumbled again and stopped as her head started throbbing again. If he was trying to be smart and prove a point by going so fast it was certainly working! Caitrin didn't want to ask him to slow down again because she had too much pride to do that. Instead she just stubbornly followed him along the road, aware that the sun was gaining on them, and that soon it would be evening. He finally volunteered his name and Caitrin bowed her head more out of instinct than anything. So he was from Sorelia? She made a mental note to never visit anywhere near there. Caitrin had never actually been there and now certainly never would, especially if this man was going to be King. "I can't say I've ever had the pleasure of visiting, or indeed ever will." She said confidently, folding her arms across her body and pressing her lips together. She recognised this place, "If we turn right at the next fork in the road it leads us down a quicker route to Camelot." She said very matter-of-factly. There was also a small village on the way, which would probably be useful if the night did catch up on them on their walk.

[Vortigern]

-------Wait, now she was telling him to respect her?! Oh god that was laughable. He scoffed at the mere suggestion. He owed her nothing, least of all respect. Since when did they live in a world where noblewoman demanded respect from a prince? Kingdoms were not based on foundation of this! And if she believed to have such demands met, then she was far more delusional than he initially thought. "You are not home," he said, his voice clearly angry, though this time, it was a calm sort of anger. He could feel it boiling inside him though. "You are from Mercia." Not that he would have respected her if they were in Mercia. He just felt like pointing that out. "You are in a foreign land, and even still, you mean nothing. You have no rights. You are insignificant." He was not even saying it to simply insult her. He was saying it as if it were an indisputable fact. "I will show you nothing and you have no right to make demands here!" Now, he was just plain mad.

-------Her family encouraged such behavior? Such disrespect? "Then I will speak to your family about your outrageous behavior. If they shares your opinion in speaking out of line to royalty, then they lack intellect even more than you." He obviously did not know her family, but that did not mean he would refrain from insulting them. Especially if they were relatives of this outspoken, and infuriating woman. At least that much was true; she had not actually been impregnated "Just because this is the first time you have come so close, does not mean it will be the last." He just wanted to present that opportunity. Not so much about the pregnant thing, but more so the idea of being raped by a 'brutish man'. She had said the first thing that he could actually agree with: the sooner we get back to Camelot, the better. Yes. It was perhaps the first words she spoken that displayed a semblance of intelligence. But he would not agree nor disagree. He merely remained silent. Each step moving closer to Camelot and therefore, further away from her.

-------She was doing it again: debating with him. Then again, when had she ever not. "Well then you should not think. Because clearly, you know nothing." He did not care what she thought, for he knew he was right. And the sooner she acknowledged that, the less they would disagree upon. Vortigern would have thought that his head injury was causing him to hallucinate. For, did she just bow her head? Finally! She was learning! But once again, he remained silent despite this gesture. He should not be pleased that she was doing something that she should have done a long time ago. It was a much overdue sign of respect and the established authority that he had. As the subject of his kingdom continued to arise, he continued to think of how different their interactions would be. "You would not dare visit," he began to tell her. "For if you did, you would learn of things that would make you regret every criticism you have made towards me." Because in Sorelia, he instilled the fear in people; he did not tolerate any insults from them. He did not even tolerate a dirty look.

-------Wonderful. Now he was taking directions from her. Granted, that was the reason he was bearing her company right now. But it still annoyed him that she was telling him where to go. It was a pride thing of course. Even worse, he would have to actually follow the directions. His stubbornness made him not want to, but rationality forced him to follow her instruction. After all, surely she wanted to get home as soon as possible as well. If he started walking down a certain path and she did not follow, then he would know she had tried to trick him. So when the next fork in the road came, he turned right. Wanting to turn left, but no. He went right. And it had better be right!

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitirn didn’t appreciate his scoff at her words, she knew she had rights to some respect at least. In Mercia her family was well respected, here her Uncle was on good terms with the King, so surely that brought with it a degree of respect? She supposed that she had not shown him any respect so perhaps he was merely returning the favour to her. “This is my home now, I’ve lived in Camelot for years.” This man knew little about her apart from the bare facts, he did not know how hard it had been being sent from one Kingdom to another to live with relatives she had only met once; then again he probably didn’t care either. “It is not a foreign land! I live here; would you have given me any respect had we have met in Mercia?” She could feel his temper rising but she really didn’t care, “I have every right to demand respect, I receive respect by the Royal’s in Camelot, yet you have shown me none from the first word you spoke to me.”

Caitrin would like to see this man try a battle of wits with her Uncle, Lord Rouland. Rouland wasn’t a fighter, but his intellect and wit far made up for what he lacked in physical strength. She would actually pay to see this arrogant Prince try to better her Uncle with words, because he would fail miserably. “Be my guest, I’m sure my Uncle would be most interested by your views.” A hint of sarcasm found its way out of her words but her Uncle was always encouraging her to not bend to the will of others and to have a backbone; like a real de Archer.

He was right, irritatingly, and after the days events Caitrin would certainly be taking her Uncle’s guards with her whenever she chose to ride out. At least she could trust them, and they would probably be more use in a fight than this fool had been. “I expect I will have to become pregnant one day, though I will ensure it is not at the hand of some idiot bandit.” And with that she fell silent for a few moments, trying to brush the memories of that man’s hand upon her skin. It had scared her in a way to see how much her size had disabled her in the fight, as she could have come off a lot worse than having a throbbing head and a cut at her throat.

Caitrin was surprised he did not jump up with his words to agree with her that the sooner they got to Camelot the better. As they walked along the road Caitrin was starting to get more and more concerned that night was gaining upon them; she didn’t care much for slumming it out in the middle of the forest in the dark. “Are you saying then that my virtue means nothing?” She challenged but she supposed she already knew the answer to it, and rather regretted wasting the breath answering the question. As he spoke of how she would not dare to visit his homeland she gave a shrug, she wasn’t going to take back any of the insults and remarks she had made at him because she was sure she would never visit there. Therefore there would be no reason for her to take back anything would there? “You are mistaken, I will regret nothing as I am sure I will never visit Sorelia.”

Caitrin’s walking was starting to steady, though the pain in the side of her head was still ailing her. She felt woozy and just wanted to stop walking, but she didn’t want to say that to Vortigern because that would just be another thing to shove in her face wouldn’t it? She slightly quickened the pace of her walk as they approached the fork in the road, and grinned up at him as he did indeed turn right. She had of course been expecting him to make things difficult and to turn left. The right turning was a bit more of a forest path, but it was quicker than turning left so it would have to do. “It seems my intellect might be advantageous to you, this is the quickest route back to Camelot.” She declared confidently. Caitrin was still hanging back behind Vortigern because he was going too quickly for her; she knew her way back anyway so it was of little consequence. She remained quiet for part of the walk, trying to keep herself steadied until she finally thought to pipe up, “Night will soon be upon us.” She pointed out, they were probably around an hour or two away from being engulfed in total darkness, but the walk to Camelot would take a lot longer than that.

[Vortigern]

-------Vortigern placed great relevance on the blood that ran through a person's veins. It was why nobles would never be nobles. Whether they were adopted by royalty, or married into it, they would never actually be royalty. It was all a show for societal purposes. So now, Caitrin could say that her home was Camelot, but she would always be a foreigner, based on Vortigern's logic. "You have Mercian blood running through you. You will therefore, never be a noblewoman of Camelot. It is merely what you call yourself for the sake of convenience." Why did he care? He did not. He said it for the sake of disagreeing. Because it seemed that she held pride in calling Camelot her home. God knows why. When she questioned whether she would have given her respect in Mercia, well, he already knew the answer to that. "I would not have considered you a liar." A harsh word to use but in Mercia, would she not call herself a Mercian noblewoman? And apparently in Camelot, though not born of this land, she called herself a Camelotian noblewoman. How...untrue.

-------Did the Royal Pendragon family actually pay her respect? Clearly, they were soft then. Morgana must be for she was a woman. Arthur, well from what he had heard he sounded less and less like a man [as his emotions, such as with Lady Vivian] seemed to play a dominant role in his judgment. And Uther, well, Vortigern had to say that his harsh policies and sternness actually gave hope to this kingdom. "You think yourself far greater than what you actually are." She was just a noblewoman! A nobody! "I care not that you are respected by the Pendragon family. You display no respect to others who are entitled to it. That is what I have observed." Of course he was generalizing it from this one experience, but what did he care about other royal families who supposedly respected her. Who knows if she was even telling the truth. She could just be lying to support her own claim. She would not be the first who has done so.

-------Her uncle; is that who she resided with then? Why was she sarcastic? Her uncle should be honored if Vortigern decided to pay her measly little estate a visit. "If ever I decide to waste my breath in conversing with those unworthy of my company, then I will most certainly pay your uncle a visit." Meaning, probably never. He would never make that selected effort. If he happened to see the man in court, that was a different matter. Right now though, he would not make long term plans. Right now, he just needed to get back to Camelot and ultimately, Soleria. When she spoke of a future pregnancy, Vortigern gave an abrupt, ridiculing chuckle. "It will be at the hand of some poor bastard who is tortured by your binding company." As Vortigern said earlier, he pitied the man who would one day be called her husband. As for the matter of her virtue, a question she posed that Vortigern had a far too simple answer to. "I am saying that you mean nothing." Bluntly stated. Her virtue was worthless; she, to him, was worthless.

-------His words spoken of annoyance with her only intensified when she said that he was mistaken. He was a prince; he was never mistaken! "Do not tell me I am wrong!" He snapped. He despised anyone who accused him of such a thing. "Whether you visit or not, you will come to learn of who I am, and what I am capable of." He knew his father would not approve of this; trying to tarnish the royal Solerian family name. But then again, his reputation was no secret back home. If anything, he wanted it to spread. He wanted it to be less of a secret. So that by the time he was king, whenever that may be, everyone would fear the name Vortigern. And he sure as hell was not doing a successful job in implementing this fear, based on her smug little grin she gave him. Due to his compliance with her instruction no doubt. Damn her! "You have no intellect," he quickly countered. Not wanting to give her that benefit. "You simply have familiarity with the land. There is a difference." Because, she had lived here for years and he had not. He refused to let anyone believe that made her more intelligent than him!

-------Once again, she was sadly right. Night would indeed come upon them. What then? Could they continue to travel with darkened skies and more risks of dangerous encounters? But what was the alternative, make camp? Stop at an inn? There was not a chance he was paying for her stay if she had no coin on her. He had few in his pocket...but the bigger problem was him having to remain in a dingy little shack for the night. "You think I am not aware of that?" He spat out, continuing to use her as an outlet for his agitation. He heard a loud thundering sound. Thundering?! He looked up at the gray skies. Oh great! Just what they needed! A thunderstorm! Rain! How could things possibly get any worse. Maybe they he could find shelter before the rains started. Right now, it was just thunder and a sound of what had yet to come. Fan-bloody-tastic.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin didn’t believe she was a liar. How was it lying to say that her home was now in Camelot, as it was where she resided. “Are you trying to say I can never call Camelot my home, merely because of the blood I hold?” She scoffed, just because she was from Mercia didn’t mean that she could never be considered a noblewoman of Camelot. “This is my home, and I intend to stay here. I was a Merican noblewoman, but now I am a noblewoman at the court of Camelot.” She didn’t believe it was convenience, even if she had to return to Mercia she would consider herself a Camelotian noblewoman, even though the relations between the two nations was still uncertain. “I am not a liar.” She finished off, throwing her eyes away from him and looking at the path ahead. Did he have to question absolutely everything she said?

Caitrin was always welcome at the court of Camelot, and it was something she prided herself upon. She remembered she had been presented, and even dined, with the King in her first few weeks of residence in Camelot. She was of course entirely loyal to the Pendragons, and Arthur was a close friend of hers. She didn’t flinch as he shouted that she thought herself more important than she actually was. Did he know how large her dowry was? How much she was set to inherit? She knew she was a cut above the average noblewoman, and if he couldn’t see that then that was his problem. “I show respect to those who deserve it, so far you have given me no cause to show you an ounce of respect.” She half spat back at him; she had given Arthur respect from the first moment she had met him because he had earned that respect, this man had been nothing but rude and she didn’t appreciate it.

Caitrin had to stop herself laughing as he spoke in such a negative way about her Uncle. Honestly he would not last two moments in Rouland’s company if he was as rude as he was to him as he was being to her. Then again she guessed that Vortigern was perhaps more happy in male company than female company, for conversing anyway. “Then we shall both look forwards to your company.” She accompanied her words with a short smirk because she knew that he would probably never even think about her, or her family, when they got back to Camelot so it was an empty threat. He probably had more important things to do than chase up her Uncle and explain his niece’s behaviour.

She didn’t flinch as he snapped at her, why on earth would she? She was quite enjoying winding him up because she knew which words to use to get him hot under the collar and so far it was working. “What are you capable of?” She asked him and watched him carefully, her hand twitching in case he was going to suddenly pounce at her. No, she was sure he could control his anger more than that. However she managed a faint smile, “Perhaps you will learn what I am capable of as well.” Her tease was soft, and showed that her more flirtatious side was still there; she knew it wouldn’t lighten the mood but at least she could try.

Caitrin shrugged, a familiarity with the land also meant that she knew the land well, which meant she was intelligent as she remembered the layout of the land. She shrugged, “You would probably be lost if it were not for me, and you could do well to remember it.” Caitrin didn’t grin up at him, but the smug way she carried herself told him exactly how smug she actually was.

He was snapping at her again, honestly she was only trying to help. She wrapped her arms about her as a chill had descended through the forest and she gave a small shiver. The night was gaining on them, it had been a valid point so she didn’t reply to him because that would only fuel his anger. She looked up quickly as she heard a ripple of thunder and her eyes widened. Rain? Oh great! She was stuck in the middle of nowhere with the most arrogant Prince in the region and now it was going to rain. A dark raincloud had emerged and she could see it through the trees in the forest and she felt the first drop on her nose and wrinkled it slightly. Well so much for getting out of the rain. She began to walk a bit quicker, her arms still wrapped around her waist, “There is a village up ahead, we can shelter there from the rain.” She pointed out as another drop of rain was felt against her hair; this was really the last thing she needed.

[Vortigern]

-------He was tired of talking. And yet, he could not just let her get away with all she said. Had they been anywhere else, it would have been far easier to escape her company. But here, he was trapped. Thanks to her, he was getting a glimpse of what hell was like. "I am saying that you will never be a true noblewoman of Camelot." Blunt; to the point; blatantly stated. "You will always be a Mercian noblewoman, and to say otherwise is nothing but falsity." You could not escape the ties that your blood bound you to. He was not even sure why he was having this debate. Because he was right and he did not like other people believing otherwise. Yes. That was his reason. "You are many things. A liar is just one among them." None of the words he had for her were flattering. Irritating. Unbearable. Insufferable. Over talkative. Stubborn. Indeed; so many words.

-------"You should show respect to those who are entitled to it. It is not at your liberty to decide who is worthy and who is not worthy of respect." She did not possess that freedom. It was not the way that the world worked. To believe otherwise was just naive. Ah! Naive! Another word to use to describe her. Look forward to his company? "It will not happen any time soon." It was a bit of an assurance, since his visit to her family's estate would not be a pleasant one. "It will take me years to recover from being in your company for this long." He added in a mumbled voice. After this, he never wanted to see her again...at least not for many, many years. And certainly not under such circumstances.

-------What was he capable of. An intriguing question. "You have no idea," he said in a cold and deadly serious voice. If only she knew. She would not have an ounce of 'boldness' that she now displayed. But of course, there was far too much to say to answer it in mere words. He did not even have a weapon on him to make a point. Damn bandits had taken his sword! "If we had been in Sorelia, I would have run you through the moment you defied me." Meaning, the second they had met; the moment she had denied him his command. Oh god. Was she, making suggestive remarks once more? As if she had not managed to provoke him enough! Now she was speaking to him again in this manner? "I doubt you are capable of anything apart from talking too much." And riving a man to madness, but he would not give her too much credit.

-------Her reminder that he would be lost without her...now that just made him raging mad. He did not like anyone telling him that he was incompetent without them. Though she had not used that word, it was implied. There was that assumed insinuation. And he snapped. He abruptly stopped walking, and spun around so that he looked directly at her as he raised his voice saying his next few words. "And you would do well to remember that if it were not for me, you'd be on the ground, stripped of your clothing, or even dead!" His words were shouted with anger, as his expression was filled with it as well. He had not meant to say these words. He had dismissed the fact that he had happened to 'help' her. He did not want to bring attention to that and yet, she had pushed him over the edge. Realizing his words, though not outwardly reaction by his regret in saying them, he just glared at her angrily for a few more moments before turning once more and continuing to walk.

-------The rain slowly began to fall, one drop at a time. But with another roar of thunder, it would not be long until the rain heavily started falling on them. As if he did not look disheveled enough! When she spoke of a village up ahead, Vortigern hated to think that he'd be forced to stay at some inn for the night. But, there was not alternative. It was his only choice at this point. It would be difficult enough to travel in the dark, but to travel in the rain would make it all the more difficult. He could grow ill! And he would not subject himself to that kind of risk. He felt the rain begin to steadily fall, slowly dampening his shirt and hair. "We will do nothing. If there is a village up ahead, you are to find another building from the one I seek shelter in. You will not be in my presence there. Not until morning." He was going to make that very clear right now.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was certain she had not argued with anyone this much before, and with such ferocity. Then again she had never been forced to walk through a forest with a stranger before. There were many firsts to be had apparently today. “Well I believe myself to be a woman of the court of Camelot, seeing as my loyalties are to the Pendragons and not to King Baynard.” She said bluntly, she had no loyalties to Mercia, not even her family demanded any loyalty from her; not anymore. Caitrin raised her eye brows, “Why? What else would you describe me as?”

She was sick of this conversation, and sick of him and his constant arguing; it would drive her insane if he was going to be like this all the way back to Camelot. “And you should not expect respect without giving any cause to receive it. Is this how you truly treat your subjects back in Sorelia? It is a wonder there is anyone still residing there!” Her anger burned though her and she was almost shaking as he spoke about visiting her family, “It will take me just as long to recover being in the presence of one so arrogant and rude.” She pressed a hand to her forehead, she didn’t care how disrespectful she was being to him, he was just making her headache worse.

Caitrin raised an eye brow as he said he would have had her run through, “Surely that is a slightly overdramatic reaction to a woman merely defying you?” In her eyes it was, if a woman spoke out of place she was killed? She wanted to laugh but didn’t, if that had been the philosophy in Mercia she would have been killed years ago, probably about the time she started to talk. She shrugged at his latter comment, she knew what she was capable of, maybe if he was lucky he would find out. “Well that is for me to know and for you to find out.” She pressed her lips together and looked quickly back to him, “Well, that’s if you are lucky enough.”

She hadn’t expected such an abrupt reaction from him as she had pointed out he would be lost without her. It was a perfectly justifiable point as he had said she had a familiarity with the land which implied that he didn’t. Caitrin physically flinched this time as he shouted at her as his words were harsh and cruel without there being any reason to be. She stood strongly up against him as he stared angrily at her, “Well perhaps we both have much to be thankful for in each other.” She did know he had saved her life, but she was helping him get back to Camelot and she deserved some sort of recognition. With that comment, she admitted she was thankful for his actions, no matter what the motivation behind them was.

The rain was starting to get heavier and was soaking her dress and hair. Her arms were still constricted around her though how much warmth she was actually gaining from it was another matter. As her dress began to absorb the rain the dress started to cling to her skin, it was after all only one of her silk dresses. The only consolation was that the village was not too far up ahead, she would probably be soaked by then but at least she could get into the warmth. “There is only one inn in the village,” She snapped back, “If you don’t like the arrangement then you don’t have to stay.” Was all she bluntly replied to him, she wasn’t knocking on everyones door seeing who had a spare room because he was too stubborn to even be in the same building as her. That wasn’t an option anyway, she was sure the inn would have some rooms free, and perhaps she could even get her dress dry during the night. Thoughts of the warmth the inn would bring spurred her on as she walked blindly through the rain towards an increasing flickering light. They couldn’t already be at the village could they? She looked across to Vortigern and pointed towards the large building, “There’s the inn, I’m sure they will give us both accommodation for the evening.”

[/color]

[Vortigern]

-------Whether she saw herself as one or not, it did not make it so. And clearly, her perception was skewed "And how lucky the Pendragons are," he said sarcastically. "To have a subject who's loyalty is so fickle." To leave the loyalty of the king who's kingdom she had grown up in, or for however long she had spent her life there for, to another kingdom who's sovereign automatically gained her loyalty. Strange. He knew there must be a story there but again, asking would make it seem like he cared. Her open ended question of what else he would describe her as left far too many answers. He doubted he could sum up the anger she had him feel. He tried to think back on what his mental list had been. "Overly talkative. Stubborn. Rude. Naive. Weak. Unintelligent." Oh wow, this was fun! "Insufferable. Oblivious. Infuriating." He paused there, knowing it could go on for hours. "And before you even attempt to say anything, do not return the favor." Meaning, he did not want her to start listing off his own qualities. For he knew that she would have many words to offer as well.

-------Now she was telling him that he should not treat his subjects like this? Who the hell was she to say such a thing! "You know nothing of how to rule. Do not speak of things that surpass your mental capacity." Which meant that she should not speak of anything at all. Why was he eve bothering having a conversation with someone so inferior to him? It was not worth the effort, and it was only making him more angry. An enraged expression filled his features when she called him arrogant and rude. He knew that something was terribly wrong when he was growing used to these insults from her. This was not good at all! He should not be accustomed to being spoken in this way. He had no words to offer, only a look of outrage. When she spoke of 'over dramatic reasons' he just subtly shook his head. "If you believe that, then you do not know me at all." Because he would kill anyone and anything that so much as looked to him the wrong way.

-------He inwardly cringed when she went on with her, playfulness. He could not stand it. "The only way I would be lucky, is if those bandits returned and this time, took you with them." But he would be without a guide. However, if they were starting to make their way towards a village that was becoming clearer in the near distance, then perhaps he would not need her after all. He could just gain direction from them. That was indeed a possibility! He could leave in the morning without her and journey back to the city, in peace and quiet. Be thankful to each other? Never! She should be thankful to him! He owed her nothing, not even gratitude. "Stop presuming so much. I owe you no gratitude. You fulfilled your duty as a noble to a royal by telling me which direction to go in. It was your obligation, not a favor that merits appreciation." What he did for her...no. He would never speak of it. He would not let his anger get the better of him again.

-------As the rain fell heavier and the wind picked up, he closed a few of the buttons on his black vest he wore over top his white blouse. It was not much for warmth, but the leather was thick enough to at least provide him with some. Only one inn?! Bloody hell! He would have to be in the same building as her after all. It would be more difficult to leave her in the morning. Difficult, but surely not impossible. "I will be staying there," he confirmed. Him, not they. "You still are not permitted to be in my company however." Yes that's right; he was forbidding it! Thank god the inn was not further and that they have arrived for the rain positively drenched him! "Stay a few paces behind me. And wait several moments before following me inside." Because nobles were expected to trail behind royalty and just because they may not look like nobles or royalty, did not mean they should not act it. And with those words, creaked open the door and wandered into their only option for shelter.

[Caitrin de Archer]

“My loyalty is not fickle, I give my loyalty to the sovereign of the kingdom I reside in, as is proper!” Caitrin wanted to laugh as he described her in all the negative ways he could muster in such a short space of time. She did fall silent as he told her not to return the favour, the words she had to describe him were neither ladylike or to be heard within civilised conversation, if this conversation could be called that. “You missed out beautiful, but I’ll forgive you for that one.”

The more she spoke to him the more her anger rose, had she been this angry before? She doubted it, after all no one had ever challenged her this much. Her father had used to just shout at her and then disappear into his study and leave her to shout at the door, which she had grown tired of. “According to you everything is beyond my mental capacity, what would you have me speak of? Presumably nothing.” She said quickly and then felt a chill run down her spine as he spoke of her not knowing him as she wondered what exactly he was capable of. “I’m not sure I want to get to know you.” She said bluntly.

A small, knowing smile found her lips and she gave a shrug up at Vortigern at his words, “Suit yourself.” She pressed her lips together and gave another shiver and looked up ahead as the village was coming into full focus. Well that was something at least, her head was still throbbing and although she had rid herself of her disorientation her head still hurt. She wondered if Vortigern’s head was still hurting him, even if it was he wasn’t showing it. “I didn’t have to show you the way, I could have just gone and left you.” She said quickly, even though she knew he would have probably just followed her or got directions from someone else.

Thank god they had finally reached the inn. Then again it wouldn’t have mattered if they had stayed out in the rain any longer as she was already soaked to the bone. Her dress was clinging onto her slender frame and she had to pull up the shoulder of her dress as it slipped with the constant rain. She was still holding herself, her hair messily strewn about her shoulders; that too was completely drenched. At least they were at the inn now, perhaps the warmth would mean she would evade catching a cold. She listened to him and was starting to get annoyed, why was he stood out here in the rain arguing with her when they could be inside getting warm? “I don’t need your permission to be in your company.” She said bluntly as in a way she was enjoying their arguing, and plus she could not seek shelter anywhere else so it was obvious they were going to have to share each others company for a while longer. He opened the door to the inn, and despite his words she followed quickly behind him and shut the door behind her, “I wasn’t staying out in the rain a second longer; not for anyone.” She excused herself and was relieved to find that the inn was indeed quite warm. Night was only about to fall so the inn was still quite lively. Heads turned as the soaked pair entered and Caitrin went straight to the bar to see if there were any rooms available. There was no one at the bar so she called out behind it, “Anyone there?”

“Be with you in a tick!” Came the reply and Caitrin was satisfied with that and she hugged her soaked dress again and looked back to Vortigern, shivering slightly, she noticed he was about as soaked as she was and gave a small smile which was given on the verge of laughter,

“It seems we are to share each other’s company for a while longer.”

[Vortigern]

-------It seemed that they were just going to continue to disagree, just as they did on every single subject their conversation consisted of. Her rightful home and loyalty was no exception. "You do not know the first thing about what is proper," he mumbled and left it at that. His head was already still throbbing from the injury and all this talk was just making it far worse. When she described herself as beautiful, he said nothing. His silence was not an agreement, nor was it a disagreement. He was a man after all and her beauty was not something that he needed to dispute. However, if she kept this up then he would start targeting her physicality rather than just her personality. Though whatever insult he gave that would suggest she was less than beautiful, would indeed be a lie. Of course, she did not need to know this. His thoughts were not concocted from the kindness of his heart; it was mere fact.

-------What would he have her speak of? He did not even need to answer this question for she provided an answer for herself. Nothing; exactly; nothing at all! "Then why don't you try that and speak of nothing!" He said irritably. How more peaceful this walk would be if she was not gibbering away about nonsensical things. He did not care if she didn't want to get to know him. Unfortunately, he had inevitably gotten to know her far more than he would have ever wanted. "I would have found my way back, with or without your instruction!" And he had to believe that, for a man filled with pride did not often rely on directions from another; especially not from a woman.

-------He wasn't sure why he expected her to actually listen to him, for once. But her clear defiance only made him madder. Was there a limit to his rage? Apparently not for she just kept increasing his level of it. At some point, he was going to explode. When they entered, he paused, taking notice of their surroundings. It was dreadful! The only benefit of this was that it held warmth that he already felt consuming him, and a roof that prevented the rain from falling on him. That was it. Everything else was horrible. It was dingy. Small. Clearly a place where the lower class people stayed. He was far above this; so much better than where the path had now led him to! He never entered such places seeking refuge in Sorelia. When he came into such buildings back home, it was often to carry out a punishment or threat. Or just to see the terrified look on people's faces at his presence. But here, the gazes that rested on the soaking wet pair was slight confusion and then lack of care. They should be bowing their heads!

-------And as if it was not worse enough, he heard that nagging voice once more, saying that she would not have waited outside for anyone. He slightly turned his head, his eyes still looking at the pitiful crowd in the inn. "Stop talking!" He demanded in a harsh whisper. Now that they were here, he needed to enact the second part of their plan: distance himself from her as much as possible. He too went to the bar, finding not only the insides of this place atrocious, but also the service. He opened a couple of the buttons, allowing his shirt underneath to start drying. He would have to wear the same clothing tomorrow too. Disgusting! A voice told him that they would be with them shortly. He let out an annoyed sigh of impatience. Caitrin was talking again! "What did I say about talking?" He asked, irritated. And just in case there was any confusion...he answered his own question. "Don't."

-------Just as these words were spoken a round, peasantly looking woman came into view. This was what Vortigern would have to deal with? A woman who was not even bowing down to him? While he knew he was the authority here, he did not trust anyone in this inn. If they found out he was a prince...well, it would damage his reputation if word were to get out that he spent the night at a commoner's inn. How humiliating! "Now, what can I do for ye two?" Her voice was overly friendly. Vortigern couldn't stand it. Because everyone was so beneath him, he did not even want to speak to him. He should not even be sharing the same air as them! But he'll be damned if he trusted Caitrin to handle this. "I require room for the night." He spoke only for himself. Caitrin could make her own arrangements when he was done. To show that he was not just randomly asking, he reached into his pocket and placed a few coins on the table. He did not have much right now. To think; a prince of a great kingdom barley had a few coins. Yes; how utterly humiliating this was!

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin had had enough of this whole situation. It was obvious they were never going to reach any sort of compromise anytime soon, they had managed to disagree on every topic the other had thrown into the conversation. No, this wasn’t a conversation, it was a series of disagreements from which neither of them had come out particularly well from, she felt like they were right back where they had started. Neither of them had gained much from the conversation, a few facts about each other and a lot of rage but little else. She tucked some of her freshly soaked hair behind her ear and looked up briefly at the dark rain clouds which had covered them; giving the illusion of the night. She didn’t answer his comment about her not knowing what is proper because they would disagree on it, and it was pointless arguing when she knew they would reach no compromise.

His silence on the topic of her beauty did not go unnoticed and she looked at him almost expectantly, expecting him to make some comment but nothing came from his lips. She was almost disappointed but she let it slide, they had the whole evening for her to tease and flirt with him. She scoffed as he told her to try and speak of nothing and she shook her head, “That’d just be boring.” Caitrin pointed out, no way was she letting him off hat easily. Caitrin was unconvinced that the Prince would have found his way back to Camelot on his own. After all, he had waited for her on the road and if he had really known his way back then he would have just gone. She doubted that he had waited because he cared about her, no she was sure he had just wanted her directions. “Why was it then that you waited for me on the road? If you knew you could find your way back?”

Her words were of little consequence she supposed, because she had directed the pair of them to this inn at least. It was cosy to put it nicely, she had certainly stayed in worse. The last time she had stayed in an inn she had been travelling from Mercia to Camelot and she had just stayed in the inn room all evening while her father’s men had got drunk in the tavern which her room had been above. She hadn’t got much sleep then, and she supposed she would not get much sleep here either if Vortigern had anything to do with it. She noticed that this inn too had a small tavern, perhaps a drink would help her get off to a good nights sleep; she would need all the help she got.

Caitrin looked up at Vortigern as he turned his head to her and whispered harshly at him, telling her to be quiet. Although she did actually comply and fell silent for a few moments she wanted to laugh, it felt like he had been waiting to say that for quite a while; probably since they met actually. “If you ask nicely I might comply.” She said quietly and noticed as he opened a few buttons on his shirt. She watched him, looking up at him finally, she wouldn’t deny he was a good looking man, though of course she was never going to tell him that, her ego was probably large enough already.

She watched as he conversed with the inn keepers wife, or at least she assumed she was and gave a small huff of impatience as he asked for a room. The woman looked at Caitrin and then back at Vortigern and smiled,

“You are in luck, we only have one room left, so you can take that for you and your,” She was speaking to Vortigern but was looking at Caitrin and the woman obviously had no idea how to describe the young woman, “Fiancée to rest for the night.” The woman looked pleased and busied herself looking for the key. Caitrin let out a small laugh but didn’t say anything because Vortigern’s retort would probably be more amusing than hers. In the short term she was simply horrified at the prospect of spending the night in a room with Vortigern and she wouldn’t if she had anything to do with it,

“Are there no other rooms?” Caitrin cut in and the woman shook her head and held up the key in-between Vortigern and Caitrin,

“No, there is one room left; take it or leave it.”

[Vortigern]

-------He didn't answer her question pertaining to why he had kept her company if he could find his way back. He did not respond, because he had no answer. He had thought about killing her, and what had been stopping him, the most dominant reason, was so that she would instruct the way back. The shortest route back that is. But to admit this, was not something he was willing to do. So the question remained unanswered but unfortunately, she probably knew what the most logical answer was to that, which was why she had asked it. The last thing he needed was more wound to his pride; it was a surprise that he had any left.

Going back to thoughts of wanting to kill her...she again, countered his command. Saying that if he 'asked nicely' she would listen. This was like the name thing all over again. He had asked, no, he had commanded that she tell him her name and she had told him to ask properly. Had she learned nothing?! No. Clearly she had not, and neither had he. He just rolled his eyes, once again ignoring her. Or rather, using all the strength in his body to stop himself from allowing his anger towards her to just unleash itself. He just had to wait a few more moments before they could be separated...just a few more moments...just...

-------"You are in luck, we only have one room left, so you can take that for you and your." Wait, what? No! This could not be! It was unlucky enough to be cursed by her company, then by bandits, then by rain, and now this?! It was her! It was all her fault! Before he had run into Caitrin, everything had been perfectly fine! She was bloody cursed! Vortigern opened his mouth to say something, to object somehow, but when the woman finished her sentence, no words came out. "Fiancée to rest for the night." His what? Vortigern would strip naked and run down the streets before the thought even presented itself in his mind. Fiancee? With...her! What an utterly horrifying thought! He was not sure what his expression was for it was indeed the first time he had been rendered speechless. Not because he did not care enough to response, but because there were no words to describe how disgusted he was right now.

When the key was placed at the table, Vortigern quickly snapped out of his state of... shock... disgust... whatever the word for it was, and snatched up the key. He was not sure what to say for it seemed he was at an impasse. On the one hand, he never wanted anyone to think that she was his fiancee! But on the other hand, his reputation would only get more damaged if it got out that he spent the night in an inn with a strange woman. And, in addition to that, those who knew him knew that he was not engaged. Which meant, there would be less chance of them finding out about this. But, how could he even pretend to be engaged to her. Holding the key out in his hand, he forced a strained smile. "Thank you," he said, not hiding a bit of that bitter sarcasm in his voice. He was not thankful, for anything! What kind of inn was this where they only had one room? Ridiculous!

-------"She will not be joining me in the room," he said, speaking for Caitrin to the innkeeper. "She has been harassing me during this entire journey. So can assist you down here and earn her own stay at your inn. She can even assist others should they require any services." Yes; he was implying she was a prostitute of sorts; that she would make herself a whore. Of course, the inn keeper may not exactly clue in to what he meant, but he sure as hell hoped Caitrin understood what he was implying. Besides, what did Vortigern care. She was not spending the night in the same room as him! Her company during the evening had been bad enough! It would only worsen at night when he would be trying to sleep and she would probably just keep talking endlessly.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was becoming bored at Vortigan’s lack of speech. She would even go so far as to say that she had preferred it when they were arguing to the state they were in now. He didn’t return her comment about asking nicely, perhaps he had learned it was better to not argue with her; now if he had learned that in the first place then they would not be in this predicament. Her heart thudded for a moment as she quickly wondered what on earth her Uncle would be thinking right now, she often returned late from her rides but she was never absent until morning. Then again he knew she was not stupid, so he would not send out a search party for her; it was too costly anyway.

Caitrin let out another short laugh and had to stifle it with her hand. Her hands were still moist from the rain but it served its purpose as her laughter was muffled. How on earth could this woman ever think she would commit herself to a man such as this one? Then again, she hadn’t just spent what felt like forever walking down the road with him. The fact Vortigern remained silent just made the situation funnier, was he not saying anything because he was in that much shock? Or perhaps it had saved him the embarrassment of explaining why he was at an inn with a random woman. She didn’t even bother lurching for the key because she knew that even if she grabbed it he would have it off her soon enough. Instead she became preoccupied with her state of dress; she felt disgusting. Her silk dress was soaked right through and she swore you could see her skin underneath it in places; fabulous.

The inn keepers wife obviously didn’t know what to make of the couple. Caitrin’s face had turned horrendously red, half out of embarrassment he had implied such a thing, and the other half was just pure anger. Caitrin couldn’t speak for a moment she was that angry, she stepped up to Vortigern and with her eyes still on him her hands went to a small slit in the back of her skirt and she produced a small coin purse. Ah, now he hadn’t thought of that had he? She was perfectly capable of paying her own way. The purse was quite full and she took out a few coins and half slammed them down on the counter, “I can pay for my own room thank you very much.” She half snarled at him and the inn keeper’s wife remained very still for a moment, “I shall be sleeping in the room whether you like it or not.” Her head had started hurting again, she wasn’t going to forsake her bed for some stuck up Prince anyway. She drew up to him now, her voice so angry all she managed was a whisper, “I assume you won’t be needing any of my ‘services’ tonight before we sleep?” The innkeepers wife was still watching the pair, and for Caitrin that made it even worse,

“I have my own women who do that,” She mused, “Keep your fiancée to yourself.” Laughing she took the coins and left the bar to god knows where. Caitrin watched her go and then turned back to Vortigern who annoyingly had possession of the key. It was still quite early in the evening and Caitrin didn’t feel much like sleeping yet, but she decided to wait to see what Vortigern was going to do because she wasn’t going to get left down here and locked out of her own room, especially now seeing as she had paid half towards it.

[Vortigern]

-------Vortigern watched as she suddenly produced a coin purse. Where the hell had that come from?! He angrily watched her as she slammed it on the table. Great. So he could not find ways for her to 'earn her stay' here after all. A slight damper on his further attempt to get rid of her. But, he still held the key. Which meant that she could pay all the money that she wanted, or had, but he still held the key. Of course, he knew that she would somehow find a way to weasel herself into the room and that certainty annoyed him even more. "Good. Pay for your own room then." Meaning, not the room he was holding the key to; not his room. Since when did he care about being 'fair'. Just because she paid for part of it, did not mean he was going to willingly grant her entrance to it.

-------When she questioned needing her 'services', his face wrinkled a bit in disgust. "Save your, services for men more on your social level." His eyes scanned around the room, the tavern portion of it. There was one man in particular who was staring at them. Correction: he was staring at her. Or leering was the right word rather. He looked perhaps early 40s; had the qualities of a brutish, and undoubtedly crude man. And he was giving Caitrin a perverted grin. "Like him," he suggested, his eyes staying on the stranger so that Caitrin would see him too. "I am sure he would not mind sharing his room with you," he added in a slightly amused voice. He would leave her down here and she could defend herself against such a man.

-------Even the innkeeper seemed to be against him for he was letting him 'keep his fiancee to himself.' As if that was a favor, when really it was a threat. She was cursed with unluckiness! When the innkeeper finally left, Vortigern clutched the key in his hand. "I am going to my room. You will stay behind. Find another place to sleep since you paid so handsomely for it." He turned towards the stairs, but praised before taking the first step. He looked towards the man who was still watching her far too carefully, and spoke to him. He could not believe he was actually going to talk to such a, lowly looking man. "Buy her a drink. She is seeking company tonight." And of course the man seemed all too happy to comply.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin’s mood wasn’t being helped by his remark and she huffed angrily, “There are no other rooms, or are you deaf as well as rude?” Her blunt reply would probably just annoy him, oh well, perhaps that was what she wanted to do because he was certainly annoying her. She wished she had just grabbed the key now and run up to the room and left him sitting in the bar by himself, then he would be the one having to seek other accommodation. However, Caitrin had no intention of seeking another room to share, because she had now paid half of the room and she was bloody well going to sleep in it.

His reaction to her words was almost laughable. Someone on her social level? She forgot men only slept with women who were of the same status as themselves; oh wait... She doubted that Vortigern would pass up the opportunity, not necessarily with her but with some other woman if he had the chance; he was only a man after all. “You’ll never know what you’ve missed.” She said softly with a small wink and then looked back to Vortigern who wasn’t looking at her, but was looking around the room. Caitrin followed his gaze to a man who was staring at her intently. She looked down at her soaked dress which was doing little good at hiding anything really and then looked back to the man who was looking at her in a lustful sort of way. She shuddered, he reminded her of the man who had her pinned against the tree earlier in the day, and that was hardly a situation she wanted to return to.

Wait! He couldn’t just leave her there in the middle of the inn without the room key! Caitrin didn’t have time to protest before he had already strolled confidently in the direction of their room. She followed him, naturally but stopped as he spoke to the man; she didn’t want to go anywhere near him. However, she heard everything Vortigern said to him and before she could follow him up the stairs the man had blocked her path,

“Can I get you a drink?” He asked, leering down at her chest which was now heaving up and down; she had already been in this situation once and didn’t fancy doing it again. She shook her head,

“No, I was just going after my fiancé.” She explained and tried to move past him but of course it wasn’t going to be that easy. He raised a hand, much like the man in the forest had, and ran it along her cheek and Caitrin trembled for a moment before remembering herself. She quickly drew her dagger from her belt and poked it into the mans stomach; she wasn’t stabbing him, she was just making him aware of the weapon, “Perhaps you didn’t hear me. Me and my fiancé were just on our way to our room.” She smiled sweetly and the man put his hands up and let her past and she replaced the dagger at her belt. She hitched up her skirts and ran up the stairs as quickly as she could, then following Vortigern up the stairs; she caught up with him in relative ease. “The room which you are going to is mine as well.” She pointed out, her heart was still racing from the encounter with the man, and her head had started throbbing again, “I will find no other place to sleep tonight, if you don’t like it then you can sleep in his room.” She gestured down the stairs to where she assumed the man who had been eyeing her up was stood. Then she just stood opposite Vortigern, with her hands on her hips, waiting for whatever he was going to do next.