Aren't You a Damsel in Distress...? [Roslyn]

[Deleted]

Sir Iwan was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a sociable creature. This was why he enjoyed such tasks as this - tasks that the more...well...Gwaine-ish knights would only complain about. It was boring, they would say, and really, does it need doing quite so often? Couldn't we all just go to the tavern instead? Not Iwan though, he understood the importance of surveying the land regularly. How else would anyone know if anything was amiss? For once though, Iwan wasn't complaining that he seemed to be the only person to actually enjoy this and was therefore the only one who volunteered. He liked being by himself, just enjoying the land, enjoying the kingdom he protected so fiercely. It was a rather nice day, something he was grateful for. Even he would find it difficult to enjoy such a task in the rain. But today was quite pleasant - sunny and warm and at present he was protected from the breeze by the hills. Not that he needed much protection, as it happened the breeze was as gentle and pleasant as the rest of the weather.

He had on his person a small flask full of water - regardless of what Gwaine said whenever he saw it - a map of the area and a metal stylus so he could make any changes if necessary. He was, unsurprisingly, fully equipped for the job at hand, but, also unsurprisingly, terribly unequipped should he need to deviate from the plan. But, another thing he was, was confident that such an event would not occur. Camelot seemed to be surviving for the moment and so he could think of nothing so important to make him leave his post and have to save anyone. For the moment at least, all his concentration was on the map in his hand and the ground under his feet.

Of course, what he hadn't accounted for was the possibility that when he followed the path as it bent around a not terribly impressive, but still horse-obscuring hill, he would find the hill had, indeed, obscured from his view a horse. He stopped and just looked at the animal. Well this was...interesting. As he slowly approached he saw that the hose was not alone, but was accompanied by a young woman. A damsel in distress, perhaps? As a knight of Camelot, he did pride himself that he knew a damsel, and a distressed one at that, when he happened to find one and her horse. He cleared his throat and tried to look impressive. "Excuse me. My lady," he cleared his throat again because the woman hadn't seemed to acknowledge him, "Can I be of some assistance?"


Tagged: Lady Roslyn
Timeline: During the series 3-4 gap

[Lady Roslyn]

Well this was just bloody fabulous wasn’t it? Here she was, thinking that a ride out by herself would be the right thing to do, and that nothing could possibly go wrong. Why on earth did nothing ever seem to go her way? Well, mostly anyway. Even Roslyn wasn’t so much of a cynic to suggest that nothing ever went her way. She sighed out and looked at her horse. The stupid animal had got herself wound up in mud, and of course they were in the middle of nowhere. Roslyn hadn’t seen any village or town on her ride up here, the countryside was quite vague and desolate. She wasn’t of course riding for the beauty, she had been out on a ride to just gather her thoughts and get away from her sewing for an hour or so, and now she’d even failed in doing that. She’d been trying to half pull and dig the horse out of the mud now for the best part of half an hour, and she hadn’t got anywhere. The horse had practically given up, and now Roslyn’s hem was caked in mud, and her cloak was probably ruined. This was all going incredibly well wasn’t it?

Even if Roslyn did get the horse out, she’d never hear the end of this from her father, he’d know exactly what had happened, or at least along the lines of what had happened. No doubt with his never ending wit he would have a thing or two to say about it. Well, Roslyn couldn’t care less what he had t say, or what his opinion on the matter was. She just wanted to get home before the day turned to night. It was only early afternoon, but the horse was stuck tight, and she was having no luck of moving it so far. “Come on you stupid animal.” She hissed at the mare, who just whined at her, and tried feebly to move a limb.

The man’s voice took her off guard and she jumped slightly and flushed. Fabulous, just what she needed A knight of Camelot. She looked at him, and wondered if he was one of the knights that Arthur had stupidly awarded titles to without a thought of status or anything. Roslyn flung her hair back and wiped her muddy hands together and stepped away from the horse, looking on at the knight, “What on earth made you think I was in need of assistance, sire?” She continued to rub her hands together to no avail and suppressed the urge to groan, “I would not want to delay whatever task you are on, I can handle my affairs on my own, thank you.” And that should have been the end of it, or at least Roslyn hoped. She took a step back towards the mare and looked down at her hooves, wondering how deep the mud went. She could probably dig her out, it would just take a while.

[Deleted]

Iwan looked at the woman, not quite sure how he should proceed. Couldn't she see that he was a knight of Camelot and therefore obliged to save the day? It was rather unladylike of her. He was ruining the day's plan already merely by talking to her, the least she could do was not look so...well, she looked rather irritated. She clearly couldn't move the horse by herself, otherwise she would have done so, and yet she was refusing his help. So she was stubborn. How annoying. It would be easier - for all concerned parties - if Iwan just shrugged and left her to it. That was what he wanted to do. But alas, Iwan was a gentleman. His sense of propriety would not allow him to continue on his way knowing this woman was struggling.

He was still just looking at her, standing rather awkwardly because the realisation that he was in a rather secluded place with only a young woman (and her horse) had just dawned on him, and with it had come a desperate desire to no longer be in such an...inproper circumtance. Last time he was alone with a woman in the middle of nowhere (as well as there being two horses) some rather...unsavoury events took place. Or at least Iwan would call them unsavoury, to everyone else they were very much savoury. His fists started clenching and unclenching of their own accord, despite the fact that he was trying to remain casual about the whole thing. Once again, his body was betraying his brain.

"Well...you appear to be unable to move your horse," he replied before putting a first against his mouth and clearing his throat. In the process he looked down and saw the mud on the hem of her dress. "And it appears you have been trying for some time." His hand returned to his side, but stayed as a fist. He waited for a reply, but the woman's attention was back on her horse. Well this was going awfully well. If only there were in some sort of life or death situation, he'd be able to cope with that, he'd been far too busy trying not to die and there'd be no room for awkwardness. Life or death situations were surprisingly efficient tension breakers, a horse stuck in mud, however, was not.

[Lady Roslyn]

Well how predictable was this really? A knight who had to be oh so noble and stay and help the fair maiden in distress. Well, Roslyn was anything but a fair maiden in distress, and she didn’t appreciate the way the man was looking at her as if she was just a helpless woman. All she had was a little problem that she was sure she would be able to deal with if she didn’t just have herself and her hands to get her out of this predicament. She would be able to get out of this, she was sure of that, all she needed to do was to think, and that would be so much easier without this silly knight watching her. Couldn’t he take no for an answer? Clearly not.

This really wasn’t how Roslyn had planned to spend her afternoon, she spent plenty of time fending men off at court, but then she was always in company. At the moment she was in close proximity with a man she didn’t really want to be here at all. Well, he was well spoken, so perhaps she could cling onto the hope that he wasn’t one of these silly peasant knights that they were all just supposed to put their trust in. That was something, but it didn’t make the situation that much more bearable. Instead she turned her attentions back to her horse, and began to try and shift some of the mud with a stick and her hands. Her horse was shifting, so that was something, but she just kept sinking, Jesu, she was going to be here all day at this rate!

Roslyn just looked up at the man with raised eye brows as he spoke again. Clearly he had no intentions of just leaving her alone. She sighed out softly, and pressed her lips into a grin, “Is that what they made you a knight for? Your observational skills?” She gave a soft chuckle before looking back to her horse again and trying to shift it’s hooves. The mare wasn’t helping at all, which wasn’t really that surprising. Nothing seemed to be going Roslyn’s way today, and that was embodied in this whole situation. “Tell me my Lord, how many horses have you dug out of mud before? To give you such confidence in this situation?” She had an eye brow raised at him. Of course Roslyn had done this before, but she had always had help in the past, but he didn’t need to know that of course. Because she had help in the past didn’t mean that she couldn’t do it herself this time.

[Deleted]

Stubborn and angry, what a delightful combination. If he weren't a gentleman, Iwan would be more than tempted to just leave her to it. She obviously wasn't going to accept his help gladly, and even if he did manage to assist her he doubted she would be grateful. It was a good thing his actions wouldn't be done for gratitude. Well, it was going to take a lot more than a little stubborness to prevent him from saving the day. It was what he was there for and besides, he'd already gone off-plan. The least he could do would be to go off-plan for a reason other than wasting time being told he wasn't needed.

He pressed his lips firmly together in response to her question. It was no secret that he was proud of his status as a knight and did not like it to be questioned, especially now that Arthur had been only too keen to dispense with tradition and let anyone receive such an honour. His mind bitterly conjured images of those such knights - men of low birth, men who weren't even of Camelot. It was shocking, but what was even more shocking was the fact that Iwan seemed to be the only one to think so. Knights, true knights, such as Sir Leon seemed to think it perfectly acceptable to share his banner with a Glouchedonian and a peasant. Iwan did not share this comraderie. As far as he was concerned the honour of becoming a knight should reserved for true Camelotians of noble blood - not whoever Arthur happened to be friends with at the time. This was the fate of the kingdom, and it was being left to whoever wandered in and looked good with a sword.

Needless to say, Iwan didn't much care for her question, but was fully prepared to answer it with a rather length reply about just how he became a knight. Well, if she was going to make comments then what was he supposed to do but answer? Besides, he was annoyed now. He was only trying to help. "No, my lady, they made me a knight because after years of training I earned such an honour." He replied, purposefully keeping his arms stiff by his side, fists clenched and trying not to continue in his annoyance. He should be telling himself not be bothered by such a comment, but he was sick of people who didn't know him thinking he was one of those knights. It was insulting to say the least. "As for digging out horses, I am no stranger to the situation." There was a definite tone in his voice that he was trying to get rid of. "Surely my help is preferable to struggling by yourself?"

[Lady Roslyn]

The more Roslyn mentally pleaded with her horse to just help her move out of this situation, the more the horse just stayed still and refused to do anything of use. Well this was bloody perfect wasn’t it? Sighing to herself, Roslyn went to run her hands through her hair until she remembered they were full of mud. She stopped herself and wiped her hands on her cloak, it was ruined anyway so what was the point in trying to preserve it now? She looked back at the man, who was still here. Sighing, she was quickly realising that she wasn’t just going to get rid of him with a few words, perhaps she would have to do something to convince him to leave, like get this stupid horse out of the mud.

Well, she hadn’t really been expecting an answer to her question, as it was more of an insult than anything, but her features softened slightly at his answer. If he had gone through the training and he sounded like he was Camelotian then it made sense to assume that he was one of the knights who had done things the right way, rather than the idiots who ran round in scarlet now who were no better than any old drunken man on the street. Roslyn had heard things about these new knights which made her stomach turn, was nothing sacred and special anymore? Well, clearly not if peasants could rise to be knights, and even make bids to be Queen if the current rumours were to be believed. Roslyn still didn’t believe that Arthur would be that stupid as to marry a commoner. “Are you a noble knight then, my Lord?” She asked rather curiously, her eyes flickering over him. If he wasn’t then she could just make up some pretty words to excuse her impolite words, but she wanted to know really, because she had little time for the peasantry knights, but noble knights were completely different.

Regardless of who he was or what status he was, Roslyn still wanted to cling onto the hope that she could shift her horse on her own, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that this wasn’t going to be the case. She took one last look at the horse and then looked at the man, wondering if he would gloat, or just be irritating in general about the whole situation now she was going to let him into it. “Fine, in which case my Lord, will you assist me in digging my horse out of the mud.” This was going to be interesting to say the least, but she could hardly sit here and make a mockery of the man while he was trying to help her could she? “But I wasn’t struggling, I just hadn’t figured out what to do yet.” She said rather surely and looked across as the man with her lips pressed together, “Forgive me, I should have introduced myself, though I am in no fit state to.” Her hem was disgusting, and that was the long and short of it, “My name is Lady Roslyn Griffin.” She bowed her head slightly, but she couldn’t curtsey comfortably without sinking into the mud herself or slipping over, neither of which was incredibly graceful.

[Deleted]

Of course he was a noble. Was the woman a fool? Evidentally, she was, so Iwan shouldn't be quite so annoyed. Still, he did not much care for being thought of as anything less than nobility. He did not carry himself like a commoner. He folded his arms against his chest, a rather defensive stance considering he was conversing with a woman but he was still annoyed at her assumption. This was another reason why lesser men should not be allowed to become knights. They lowered the standing of everyone else. "Of course I am." He said, his offence clear in his tone. She had actually thought he was a commoner? How was that even possible? "My father was Lord Ector d'Auber." He paused for a moment, eyes flickering to the floor. His father was Lord Ector d'Auber - a great man by anyone's standards, but also a man who did not live to see his second son become a knight. Iwan pressed his lips together, something he often did when he was trying to push aside an unwanted feeling. He did not like to dwell on thoughts of his father, especially not in company such as this.

His hands dropped to his side again and he looked up, almost expectantly at the woman. No doubt she would have something to say about that, or a surprised reaction at least. It seemed, if she was surprised at his answer, she would not be alone in such a feeling. Iwan had not been expecting the woman to admit defeat so easily. Maybe she wasn't as stubborn as he had been giving her credit for. That was more than likely, he wasn't particularly good at understanding people, especially those of the fairer sex. He simply nodded in response before walking over to the horse. He gave her a small, awkward smile then turned his attention to the horse, trying to decide on a plan of action. "Of course," he replied and bent down to get a closer look. Somehow the horse had managed to get its hooves stuck in the mud and the only way he could think to free the animal was to follow her suggestion and dig them out. Hopefully the horse wouldn't become stuck again before it found itself on firmer ground.

At her words he turned his head and looked up at her. Surprisingly, an introduction hadn't occured to him. Usually it would be the first thing on his mind when making an acquaintance. Perhaps it was because he was too busy being annoyed at her assuming he was a commoner, or because she was too busy being stubborn. Whatever the reason, it suddenly seemed absurd that they hadn't engaged in an introduction sooner. He immediately stood up. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Roslyn." The words were automatic - he had yet to fully decide whether this was a pleasure but at the moment he wasn't convinced. Again automatically, he bowed before giving his own name. "Sir Iwan d'Auber." Another small, awkward smile followed before he turned to the horse again, "Now...to the matter at hand."

[Lady Roslyn]

Well, how was Roslyn supposed to know what sort of knight he was? Anyone could fake an accent, and act like they were high and mighty. Very few nowadays seemed to have the title to back any of this up, and that irritated Roslyn an incredible amount, because they could at least have the decency to act how they were supposed to. Surely the citizens of Camelot should have been asked before being forced to put their faith into these peasants? No, of course not, everyone just blindly followed whatever they were told, and though Roslyn did nod where it was needed, and go along with whatever everyone else did, she could see past it. It was not so long ago that peasants were barred from being knights, so why had it changed so much now? “I’m sorry, were you offended?” She asked, as he brought his family name into it. She knew that family, they were quite influential within Camelot, and she knew that much, “And why would that be, my Lord?” Surely all the knights were just fine with the current arrangements as well? After all, most of them were the same, from Roslyn’s experience anyway.

Half of Roslyn, though she knew how noble knights had to be, expected him to just turn around and refuse to help her because of how she’d acted. Well, if he’d chosen that route she would have had a few choice words for him, and she was almost expecting it, but then he started towards her and began to look over the situation. Oh, right then. Well this was fine then wasn’t it? It was only then that Roslyn became incredibly conscious about how she looked, and she just looked down at her muddy skirts, and her hands, and panicked. What on earth would this man think of her? She’d been wallowing here down in the mud like some bloody peasant for the best part of her afternoon. She was glad she had introduced herself as a lady, well, not that anyone of a lower standing could have afforded these garments. There was always a chill when Roslyn thought of the peasantry. She knew how close she had been to being cast out, penniless and alone. But she was still here because she was a survivor. She could play this game.

Roslyn was sure that he was bluffing, why on earth would he think that meeting her was a pleasure? She hadn’t done anything to make this experience pleasurable so far, unless Iwan found pleasure in being insulted, which she doubted. “I’m sure the pleasure is all mine my Lord.” She flashed him a grin and brushed her hands together, trying to get rid of some of the mud there, but nothing was really helping at all. “Well, I’ve been trying to dig her out, but she keeps getting stuck again, nothing seems to help her shift. I daren’t pull her for fear of breaking her leg.” Jesu if she broke the hoses leg and brought her back to her father like that she might as well pack her bags now, “What would you suggest my Lord?” She asked, looking up at him with a grin and a glint in her eyes.

[Deleted]

If Iwan had been feeling nervous in the company of a woman before, he was even worse now. Why was she smiling at him? Wait, no, it wasn't a smile. It was a grin: a smile with a purpose. He knew what grinning meant and he didn't like it. He pressed his lips together and forced his arms by his side. If he just kept his fists from clenching and unclenching everything would be fine. He'd often found that when he wanted to run away, being as still as he possibly could worked miracles. So when Lady Roslyn started grinning and he desperately wanted to be in a less socially awkward situation - preferably one he could cope with - he just stayed as still as he possibly could. If he didn't do anything he couldn't do anything wrong.

Luckily, Lady Roslyn had quickly moved on to the matter at hand and so Iwan was spared the embarrasment of small talk. He'd never mastered that particular art, unsurprisingly, and much to the despair of Ciaran. Oh the hours his little brother had spent trying to teach him how to talk to women. For some reason, he'd thought it would be a really good idea for Iwan to practice on their sister, but that, as anyone would imagine, just made it all the more awkward and unpleasant. Needless to say, the lessons did not continue and so Iwan never learnt how to hold a conversation with a member of the opposite sex unless there was a clear purpose, and absolutely nothing inappropriate.

And so, Iwan was able to ignore her grin and therefore could start moving again. He bent down again to inspect the horses feet. She had done a very good job at getting them stuck. He was quite sure the only way to free the animal would be digging it out and that would require him being in a lot more contact with the mud. How brilliant. This was the price he paid for being chivalrous. Standing up - because he wasn't going to address her from the ground - Iwan pressed his lips together again, only this time it was due to his thought process, rather than his incapability to cope with his present situation. "The only thing I can suggest, as we have nothing of any help, is digging hi-the horse, out by hand." He paused, "I mean, I would do that, of course." He wasn't suggesting she do such a thing, that would never do.

Just before he bent down again, he glanced at her, which was a very big mistake because she was grinning again and this time it was worse. Right, grinning, he could deal with this. He was a knight of Camelot, he was no so easily flustered! Only, well, he was. So he tried to ignore her and, as he kneeled down in the wet mud and began to shift said mud from around the horse's hooves, he strongly resisted the urge to look back up at her just in case she was still grinning and he really wouldn't know what to do.

[Lady Roslyn]

Well, Roslyn was a lot more settled now that she was in proper hands, instead of one of the peasant knights. She really had no time for them. She was from one of the oldest households in Camelot, and despite her rather scandalous past, she had the family name, and that was all she needed at the end of the day. Roslyn looked up at Iwan, see, he had done things properly hadn’t he? It was knights like him that Camelot should be putting their trust in, not silly men who could handle a sword and thought that made them knightly material. However much she approved of Iwan’s status, it didn’t really change the fact she just wanted her horse out of the mud so she could get back home to her father before she was missed. The horse had to get through this intact, that was so brutally important. Roslyn never liked to give her father a reason to be annoyed with her, she just silently played her part, biding her time.

Roslyn couldn’t really understand how the horse had managed to get itself this stuck. It was completely ridiculous. She took a quick walk around the horse, as if to conjure some solution from the air, but nothing was coming to her. She hadn’t really been in this situation before, and no one had ever taught her how to deal with things like this. Her thoughts quickly strayed to Iwan, who seemed to be reasoning out the situation as well. Jesu, she couldn’t help but think he must have thought she was completely useless, and that she had no regard for her appearance. This dress and cloak were all but ruined, and her hands were still muddy. She brushed them against each other again and pulled a face at her own appearance. Her mood wasn’t really improving, the sooner she left the better.

Digging the horse out seemed like the logical solution, and though Roslyn was usually completely averse to getting her hands dirty, even in the literal sense, she almost felt like she should on this occasion. After all, she wasn’t really going to get any muddier than she already was, was she? “I can help, two hands are better than one.” She came up alongside Iwan and just grinned at him, “Wouldn’t you agree?” Roslyn certainly thought so, but she wasn’t really going to give him much more than that, instead she just settled on grinning at him.

Then an idea struck Roslyn, which would probably help them get the horse out of the mud a lot quicker. “What if we got some flat wood, so the horse could stand on that when we’ve dug her out of the mud, rather than her just sinking in again?” Once she’d suggested it she almost wished she hadn’t, it was probably a stupid suggestion, having no experience of these matters, she’d just said what she supposed would be common sense. There was no point in digging the horse out of the mud just for her to become stuck again. She flashed him a small smile, not really sure what to think of this meeting just yet, Roslyn wasn’t one to let her feelings run away with the situation and this was no exception.

[Deleted]

Were the situation different Iwan would agree that yes, two pairs of hands are better than one, but if he were to agree he would be suggesting that Roslyn help. He was perfectly capable of rescuing the horse by himself, and, well, she was covered in enough mud already. “In some circumstances,” he nodded, feeling unnerved by her grinning again, “but not in this one.” There, that was obvious, wasn’t it? He wasn’t expecting her to do anything, that would hardly be the chivalrous thing to do. His chivalry was something he prided himself on and so he wasn’t going to let some muddy woman take it away from him. Besides, she might do it the wrong way and end up making more work for him. There was a reason why he liked to do most things by himself, that way he could be assured it would be a job well done.

He was actually rather surprised that she had suggested something that made rather a lot of sense. It made him wonder why she hadn’t thought of it before, then he wouldn’t be needed. He looked around them, trying to see whether there was actually anything suitable for the task. That could ruin the plan somewhat. “A sound idea.” He said, and because he’d only just got onto his knees again, he just shifted where he was on the ground to see if there was any wood to be found. Unfortunately, his current position didn’t give him the best view and so he was forced to stand up again. His knees were starting to ache slightly at the constant bending, but he was just going to ignore that. “Wait here and I’ll go and find some. I shan’t be long.”

[Lady Roslyn]

Roslyn was quite taken aback for a few reasons when he refused her help. Just because she hadn’t managed to dig the horse out so far didn’t mean that she was completely incapable of doing so. Did he really think she was that useless? Or was this him trying to say that digging the horse out of the mud was a man’s job, and should be kept as such? Roslyn wasn’t sure but she just stood there for a moment, in all the mud and squalor and found herself folding her arms, “I can help you know.” She pointed out. She didn’t want him to write her off as being useless, because what sort of impression would that leave? Roslyn was already muddy, her hair was out of place and her cloak was ruined, she didn’t want Iwan to think she couldn’t even at least help getting her horse out of the mud as well. She still had her pride after all.

She was quite surprised he was agreeing with her, because it was the first time in this conversation that anything had just been straightforward and simple. She gave a small smile of triumph which quickly evaporated as Iwan then declared that he would go off and find the wood by himself. What was it with this man? Roslyn half rushed forwards to his side, “I’ll come with you.” She wasn’t asking his permission, it was a statement more than anything. No one was going to steal the horse, if they hadn’t been able to get the mare out already then no way would anyone be able to do it before they got back, “I want to help, this is my horse after all.” She hadn’t agreed to let him help just to be swept aside and Roslyn wanted him to know that. Roslyn could probably help find wood, it couldn’t be that hard a task, or she could go and find the wood and Iwan could stay here and try to dig the horse out of the mud. Either way she wasn’t just going to stand around doing nothing.

[Deleted]

Why was she so insistent on helping him? Iwan would do perfectly fine on his own - better even, as he wouldn't be distracted by Roslyn doing everything the wrong way. Besides, she didn't look like the sort to want to get her hands dirty. Yes, they were dirty at the moment, as was her dress, but she didn't look pleased about it. See - he was actually doing her a favour, he was being a gentleman, but she was too annoying to realise that. Why was it that Iwan always seemed to find the most irritating of people? He couldn't ever meet someone who liked social norms, could he? No, they all had to be "unique" and "individual". Iwan didn't approve at all.

His hands were clenching and unclenching again. How could he tell her to just stop trying to interfere without sounding rude? Once again, he found his manners were becoming his downfall. If he was another knight, if he was Gwaine, he'd just be telling her to shut up - actually, no, if he was Gwaine he'd be behaving in a very inappropriate manner. Perhaps Gwaine wasn't the best example. Whatever, the details didn't matter. The fact was that he was going to have to be rude in order to be chivalrous. Life was so difficult sometimes. "I'm not saying you cannot," he began, pressing his hands against his thighs to stop them moving, "But...well...you are a woman and I am a man and it is my job to get you out of this predicament." The last part of that ended up coming out rather rushed, and his voice had become far too high for his liking. This was what happened when he was stressed. It wasn't a nice feeling.

Iwan inwardly groaned. She wasn't behaving as she should be at all. What was wrong with this woman? Didn't she want his help? Well, if she didn't that was fine...but he would end up helping her anyway because that was what was expected of him but that really wasn't the point. He would help her begrudgingly and half-heartedly and probably a second time because the first time wouldn't be quite up to standards - it being done begrudgingly and half-heartedly. But, and this was very important, he would be making his point. "There is really no need." He said firmly. Couldn't she just stay here and wait? Was that too difficult? Obviously the answer was yes, yes it was. How excellent for them both.

[Lady Roslyn]

Roslyn was glad at least that it was a mild day. The rain which had made the path so muddy and unworkable had stopped the night before, and now it was actually quite dry. She wasn’t sure she would have been able to stand being in this situation in the cold and rain. It probably would have ended badly for her, the horse and most especially Iwan. Roslyn wasn’t in the best of moods anyway. She knew she was a woman, and it wasn’t like she was asking to have lessons with a sword or something barbaric like that. She was offering a little help. Roslyn knew when she was married she would be under the thumb of her husband, should she ever find one, so she wanted to enjoy her life before that time. Men like Iwan who thought they were being all noble in refusing her help really annoyed her.

He had probably been brought up thinking that all men were better than women, when in actual fact a lot of women were better than men. More than would probably be admitted. Not so long ago they had all been subjected to the rule of Morgana Pendragon, and no one would have aired such views at court then; they would have lost their head before they had time to regret their words. “I am not asking anything unreasonable, it is my horse, I wish to help you get it out of the mud.” She said with a calmness which struck her as odd. By now she should be seething. “We will be finished here a lot sooner if you let me help.” She pointed out reasonably, surely he would want to be gone from here as quickly as she would?

Why did he want to disagree with everything she suggested? Well, apart from collecting the wood, she supposed. Roslyn would have frowned, but she already looked ridiculous enough without making it worse. This wasn’t how she wanted to appear in front of knights or nobles, in the physical sense, so it wouldn’t do to act like a sulky child either would it? “I would like to help, and I probably shouldn’t be out here on my own.” She pointed out reasonably, “So both problems would be solved if I go with you.” Surely Iwan couldn’t justify leaving a young woman on her own in the middle of the forest?

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Lady Roslyn was not behaving as a lady should, and so Iwan was quite unsure what he was supposed to do. As he had previously pointed out: he was a knight, he should be saving the day, whereas she should be allowing him to do so and then being grateful. This, what was happening now, definitely wasn’t supposed to be happening. It was quite against convention and Iwan didn’t like it one bit. Just once it would be nice to find someone who actually appreciated doing things the proper way, how easy life would be, instead it was a constant struggle as he tried, in complete vain, to uphold society’s traditions.

His fists were clenching and unclenching again, or rather they were clenching, attempting to unclench and then he'd get annoyed again and his fingers would sink back into his palms. His nails were beginning to dig into his skin. Damn girl. It was utterly ridiculous that anyone should provoke such irritation. It was indescribably ridiculous that such provocation should come from a woman. What was so wrong with just allowing him to do it? He wanted to say that the task certainly wouldn't be achieved sooner with both of them because he was sure Roslyn could only be a hindrance. She would only get in the way or do everything incorrectly and then he'd have to repeat the whole process, only doing it the right way. But, alas, he had to be polite because that was the gentlemanly thing to do, and being gentlemanly was the whole point. “I’m sure you can help.” He lied, hopefully convincingly. Iwan had never been the greatest liar in the world.

She would...come with him? That wasn’t the plan. That wasn’t the plan at all. Iwan just looked at her, trying to see how determined she looked. What was it with him and finding unbelievably stubborn women? It really was a talent. “Oh fine.” He sighed, forcing his hands against the sides of his legs because obviously if he kept his hands and arms from moving then everything would be fine. “But do as I tell you and don’t get in the way.” So he’d given up on being polite, but he was annoyed and she was not helping at all so it was entirely justified.

[Lady Roslyn]

Roslyn was surprised that Iwan wasn’t letting her help out. After all, though he might have been one of the knights who had actually done everything right in terms of rising through the ranks, most of the knights now seemed to have lost a certain sense of chivalry. However, Iwan was applying it to the point of annoyance. It was very nice and well that he wanted to treat her like a delicate flower, and someone who shouldn’t have to lift a finger (and most of the time she would agree with him) but she wanted to get home as quickly as possible, and that involved helping out. Two bodies were better than one, and she was already muddy and her dress and cloak were ruined. If there was a time to treat her like a lady it certainly wasn’t now. She didn’t look like one in the slightest.

She could tell this wasn’t going down well with Iwan at all. He probably thought he was doing a good job of hiding his emotions, but she could tell that this all didn’t sit well with him, and far from put Roslyn off, it just amused her. She hadn’t met anyone quite like him before, and she wasn’t sure whether she liked it or not yet. Perhaps she would like it in a more conventional setting, but there was no point in him being so chivalrous in this situation. “Really?” she said, more out of surprise than anything at his sudden change of opinion. After all, he’d spent most of the conversation telling her that he didn’t need her help, and that she couldn’t help.

Well, she had finally got her own way. Sort of. Roslyn hadn’t meant to wind Iwan up, but it seemed just being her usual self had done the trick in that respect. Well, if he weren’t so picky it wouldn’t be a problem. It wasn’t like she was being completely unreasonable and challenging him to a duel, or anything like that was it? Roslyn looked up at Iwan with a gentle smile, “Are you this nice all the time? Or am I just lucky to catch you in this mood?” Well, she was going to just do as he asked, but she didn’t appreciate being talked down to.

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Well...no, not really, Iwan was only being polite. He wasn't sure she could help, he was sure she'd get in the way, hence why he'd been trying to stop such action taking place. If he really did think she could he wouldn't have been so adament about stopping her. Obviously. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, that would be rude and Iwan d'Auber was a perfect gentleman, after all. If only it didn't get him into so many unwanted situations. But, that was neither here nor there at the moment. He gave Roslyn a small smile, but a forced one nonetheless. "Yes, really." He lied. For someone who strove to be the perfect gentleman he probably shouldn't be lying so much, but it seemed this was one of those rare occassions were lying was not only the best course of action, but the only course of action. "I wouldn't have said so otherwise." This wasn't a complete lie, or rather it was, but there was still some small element of truth. Usually, usually Iwan didn't say things unless they were true, so it was still an acceptable thing to say.

Iwan was automatically made suspicious by her smiling. In his experience, women only smiled when they wanted something. Rowan did it all the time. She'd want something from him but knew perfectly well it wouldn't be something he wanted to do, but she'd smile sweetly and then threaten him with violence, but still, his point stood. Smiling women were not to be trusted. Hmm. Well, she didn't want something - apart from "helping" with the horse anyway - but she was being rude. Iwan didn't much appreciate it. He'd been trying rather hard to be polite, which given the circumstances should have earnt him some appreciation - whereas she clearly wasn't. "You're lucky I'm here to help you with the horse." He replied, the irritation annoyingly obvious in his tone. "But yes, I am always this nice."

[Lady Roslyn]

Roslyn didn’t really understand Iwan that much. Granted, she had only just met him, but usually she was quite a good judge of character and could normally work someone out, but Iwan was quite different. Usually, she wouldn’t be that bothered, and her intrigue never came into it, but she was out here on her own with Iwan, so she had to get along with him. To do that, she felt like she had to know him in some sense. Well, he was obviously quite a proud man, and set a lot of store by the old written laws of the knighthood. Roslyn respected that in a way, there were too many knights who perhaps now did not know their place in society. That was preferred to the knights who had honour bestowed on them without the proper way of doing things. The rituals and training had been the same way since Camelot had been founded; why had it changed now? Roslyn had only met a few of the new knights, but she didn’t much care for them. “Well then, I’m glad to be of service my Lord.” She inclined her head towards him, a grin never leaving her lips. Iwan intrigued her somewhat, and he was already proving quite fun to be around, not that much he was doing was fun, but jesting with him and gaining his reactions was priceless.

She was sure that she could have got the horse free eventually, so though Iwan had a point it was a hollow one at best. That wasn’t to say she didn’t appreciate his help, but still, “It isn’t very chivalrous to remind me how grateful to be, my Lord.” She pointed out with as innocent an expression as she could muster. She was enjoying this, and strangely she was enjoying Iwan’s company as well. Well, at least she knew this little mood wasn’t being put on for her, that was something at least. Roslyn just proceeded to follow Iwan while they looked for some wood for the horse to stand on, “Well, at least I know I’m not being treated differently.” She said with a quiet smirk on her face. Right, well the next thing was the wood really wasn’t it? “Do you have any idea where to look for the wood?” It was hard not to sound sarcastic, as they were in the middle of a forest, but it was a valid question as well of course.

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Considering the circumstances, and the fact that Lady Roslyn was extremely annoying and grinning at him, Iwan thought he was doing rather well at restraining himself. If she were a man he would have left her by now, or at least seriously given leaving some consideration. If she was a fellow knight he definitely would have left, if she were a male noble he’d probably be making more of an effort and if she were a male peasant? Well, he would help but he wouldn’t be making any effort to be anything other than civil. Unfortunately, she was none of these things. She was a young, well-born woman and really trying his patience. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if she wasn’t aware of this, but judging by her grin and her general attitude it was quite obvious that she was enjoying annoying him. Why was it always him who found these women? Wasn’t there anyone else in Camelot to annoy? They should go and find Gwaine, he’d actually enjoy their company and then they could sit and be annoying together and Iwan could get on with important things.

Of service? Iwan was quite sure Lady Roslyn knew she was being nothing of the sort. If she’d just let him get on with the task at hand, instead of doing all that interfering he could have had it done by now, and gone back to his surveying and not have to stand here forcing himself to be polite. Damn that...damned woman. The sooner he was finished, the better. “Hmm.” It wasn’t the best answer by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn’t not polite...or alright, it could be seen as impolite, but it was better than just ignoring her and he didn’t trust himself to not say anything worse.

No, it wasn’t very chivalrous but she wasn’t behaving the way she was supposed to be either, and really, he had managed quite an impressive amount of time in her company before becoming un-chivalrous, or less-chivalrous. He was still helping her after all. Iwan wanted to say it wasn’t very ladylike for her to need her ingratitude pointing out, but that would not help matters and just prove her point. That was the last thing he wanted to do, so he bit the inside of his lip, clenched his lips and took a moment to try and push the frustration away from himself. It didn’t really work but he was determined she would not annoy him any further. He was a grown man, a knight for goodness’ sake. It should take more than a silly noblewoman to rattle him. “You’re right. I apologise.” He was actually surprised at how sincere he sounded...maybe his lying skills were improving.

Did he have any ideas as to where to look for wood...? Oh this was going to take an age. This is why she should just stay there. They hadn’t even left yet and already she was being a complete hindrance. “Well...might I suggest where the trees are?” He asked, with a slight eyebrow raise. So he was talking to her in the same way as he would speak to someone such as Gwaine or Merlin when they were being particularly idiotic, but it was just so damned hard trying to be gentleman in her presence. He didn’t like it one bit.

[Lady Roslyn]

Roslyn was glad at least that Iwan had taken her words the right way. Some men saw innuendos and double meanings in things that weren’t meant to be taken in such a way. Iwan however seemed to be quite proper, and things like that probably hadn’t entered his head. They shouldn’t really have been in Roslyn’s thoughts as well but she was too wise in the ways of the court to be ignorant of such things. She might be quite proper, but it didn’t mean that the other men at court were, and she would rather be used to their teases and innuendos than find herself embarrassed, or even at the centre of such foolery. With the introduction of these new knights such things were no longer a prestige to being a knight of Camelot, or at least that was what Roslyn felt. Now there were commoners allowed to mingle with the high aristocracy and she didn’t like it one bit. You were born in a singular status, and now that was being challenged. She couldn’t understand why; things were the way they were for a reason.

She couldn’t really think of what to say to him, so she just continued to smile, as that seemed like it was winding him up. She couldn’t understand why her smiling bothered him, as a knight he was probably used to female attention. All the knights always seemed to have women trailing after them, she could see why she supposed, and she did always have her eye out. She was a woman after all, and she did need a husband when she eventually found a man she found pleasing to her. A lot of the nobility in Camelot had allowed its standards to drop in the last few years and because of that the standards of eligible bachelors had dropped with it. She had not seen Sir Iwan much at court, and she had already decided she would be keeping an eye out for him.

For now she just accompanied Iwan on their hunt for bark, or something at least that the horse could rest on to prevent it to slipping further into the mud. She was quite shocked when he apologised, but she supposed that was him showing that he was actually chivalrous. “Apology accepted, my Lord.” She inclined her head towards him, as she had no real stomach to carry on this argument, and he was helping her get her horse out of the mud so she couldn’t complain too much. Now they just had to focus on actually getting said horse out of the mud sometime today. She was starting to feel a little cold with the drying mud on her skirts. This had been one of her favourite dresses, and now she ruined it. Fabulous. At his answer, she rolled her eyes to him and folded her arms. Well obviously they would be looking for wood near trees, was he taking pleasure in seeming so know it all? “I meant which trees in particular.” Her tone was cool and calm, not allowing herself to become too annoyed by Iwan, “I don’t appreciate your tone, my Lord.” She quipped, and instantly regretted it. She had still been trying to show herself as a proper noblewoman, but she was now slowly ruining that image.