Stubbornness Can Only Get You So Far

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin enjoyed a challenge, it made the art of flirting a lot more interesting. When the man gave in after a few teases it was incredibly boring, and just showed he had no imagination. She was sure that Richard did not desire her, well not yet anyway, and he showed no willingness to react to her teases, he could at least give her something to work with couldn’t he?

An overexaggered sigh left Caitrin’s mouth as Richard told her he was not there to have fun. Honestly, why was he making this so difficult? Caitrin knew many men at court who would have given half their fortunes to be in this intimate situation with her, and this man was just wasting their time together by being serious; annoyingly so. “Why are you being so serious?” She asked him, furrowing her brow at him.

Caitrin was satisfied, smugly so, as she caught Richard’s gaze wander to her chest. Every man had a weak point, it was just finding it and exploiting it. Usually Caitrin could only do this through words, after all, it was unseemly to lay your hands upon nobles at court after such a short acquaintance and Caitrin didn’t want to get a name for herself, she did after all eventually have to find a husband. She pressed her lips together as Richard looked away from her, it didn’t matter that he was now looking away, he had looked in the first place and that was the important thing. It showed Caitrin that he could act as high and mighty as he wanted but at the end of the day he was just like any other man, he probably just wasn’t used to a beautiful woman beside him.

Caitrin now sat up next to Richard, pulling up the shoulder of her dress which had slipped down as she had been lying on the bed; bloody thing, she would have to tighten the hem when she finally got back home. She looked back to Richard, whose gaze seemed fixed on the floor; well that was hardly interesting was it? Caitrin leaned closer towards Richard and bit her lip softly, just because she could, “We’ll be sitting for a long time.” She pointed out, her eyes slightly widening as she cocked her head at Richard. She lifted a finger and ran it down the top part of his arm, lifting it as she reached his elbow; it was only a small touch, she just wanted to see how he would react.

All of this, in Caitrin’s eyes, was a waste of time anyway. She would not be persuaded to go back with Richard because she had already decided that, and once Caitrin had made her mind up about something it was usually hard to shift her from her way of thinking. Once her finger had been lifted from the fabric of Richard’s shirt she stared in front of her before pressing her lips together, “I’m still not going anywhere with you, just so you know.” Even if he did bend to her flirts she still wouldn’t go anywhere with him, why should she?

Notes: Nope she still hasn’t seen the one shot, clearly

[Richard de Calys]

Why was he being serious? Wasn't it obvious why? He'd only been explaining exactly that since he'd first spoken to her. "You know why." He replied, rather irritated. It was no wonder she was ignoring him, he was starting to repeat himself, but there was nothing else he could say. She was just being impossible.

Oh God. How had he even gotten himself into this situation? That was a stupid question. He knew how. He'd been being an idiot and Caitrin had - was still being highly inappropriate and very, very unladylike. He just wanted to leave now, and he would have done if that didn't mean losing his money and possibly damaging his reputation. How anyone put up with women he would never know, thankfully he wouldn't have to. Not in that way anyway. This was not the first time since meeting Caitrin that he was reminded how much better and simpler men were, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

He shuffled further away from her, feeling very self-conscious and wondering where the hell his confidence had gone. He could do with it right now, so obviously it was nowhere to be seen. Typical.

His hands were clasped together and rested on his lap, and that was where they were going to stay, unless he needed to run away of course. His thumbs tapped against each other as he tried to think about anything other than how uncomfortable he was feeling. Surely she would get bored soon? She would realise that her flirting and teasing wasn't working? God he hoped so. He'd never been in a situation like this with a woman before, he had no idea what to do.

And now she was touching him. Physical contact. Why was this happening? His hands tightened, because clearly that was going to help the situation. "I'd appreciate it if you could, erm, keep your hands to yourself." He shuffled further away again, he was running out of bed. This was not going to end well.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin of course knew Richard was only being so serious with her because he had a job to do, and that job included her which was why she presumed he hadn’t left yet. Just because she knew these things didn’t mean she couldn’t still have fun with Richard, after all if he wasn’t just going to leave her alone they were going to be alone for some time; why waste a morning sitting and talking when action could be taken? “I do, but that doesn’t mean I can’t change it.” She winked at him again; his reaction was quite a fun one to deal with and she was telling the truth. He was being serious because of the job, but she could make him see that to be less serious would just be more fun, perhaps then he’d give up this fanciful nonsense about getting her back to her Uncle’s as well; which she was certain would never happen.

Caitrin wondered how far she could push Richard before he cracked one way or the other. She had already caught him glancing at her chest so she knew that he wasn’t completely immune to her. However, that could have just been a moment of weakness, which was not unheard of, and she might just push him to leaving her alone if she continued her advances. If he cracked in the other way then she would just take it from there; she didn’t mind either way.

Caitrin watched, slightly amused as Richard started to shuffle away from her. His denial was admirable but he could hardly run from her forever could he? Plus he was only edging further up the bed towards her pillows, and he was running out of room. She shuffled up with him, only letting out a small smirk and half a laugh escape her lips as he asked her to keep her hands to herself. Now that was just asking for more wasn’t it? Well it was in Caitrin’s eyes and that was all that mattered really wasn’t it?

She shuffled up the bed as well, but instead of sitting on the bed she swung her legs up so that she was sitting fully on the bed next to Richard, rather than dangling her legs off the side of it. She raised her hand again and traced small circles at the top of his shoulder, letting one finger brush the exposed flesh of his neck before drawing back slightly, “Have you not learnt yet that I probably won’t do anything you ask?” She raised an eye brow, now moving her hand back to the flesh on his neck, brushing the backs of her fingers against the warm skin and gave him a grin as she continued her work. “Things could get a lot more interesting.” She mused, now finding the small strands of hair at the back of his neck and fiddled with them, “If you just stopped being so serious for five minutes.”

[Richard de Calys]

Richard was desperately trying to ignore her touching him. Women had touched him before, of course they had, but in those circumstances he'd always had somewhere to run away to, and James was always there laughing. This situation was distinctly escape-less. He was running out of bed and wondering why the hell he'd thought sitting down would be a good idea. Ah, yes. Because he'd been certain that nothing was going to happen, nothing he couldn't have handled, anyway. How wrong he had been. He definitely wasn't handling this. It was quite the opposite. Richard de Calys, Duke of Cantia, was not handling being touched by a girl. It was all horrible uncomfortable and horrible embarrassing and he really wished he could be anywhere else.

He no longer cared about the money because no matter how much he was offered it would not be enough to warrant this situation. No, now it had become a matter of pride. He was not going to allow himself to continue like this. It was pathetic. It wasn't him.

"Things will not get a lot more interesting, I assure you." He forced out, almost stuttering on a few of the words and one hand raised because he liked talking with his hands and it was just about the only thing he could do correctly right now. He had always been a flamboyant man, only now he was rather constricted and nervous and everything he prided himself on not being. Bloody women. "This is not ladylike behaviour!" He tried shuffling further away, but ended up sandwiched between Caitrin and the wall, not a position he had been trying to get into. Brilliant. How exactly was he going to get out of this one?

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin just wasn’t getting through to Richard was she? Surely he already knew she was incredibly unladylike? She’d run away in the middle of the night by herself, sought some sort of refuge in a tavern surrounded by no one but drunks and she had led him up to her room; if he didn’t know by now that Caitrin de Archer was incredibly unladylike then he never would. He had nowhere to go now, well apart from standing up, but that would prove that she had spooked him so perhaps his pride was keeping him seated. Surely this couldn’t be worth the money, but the more she could shift the focus onto her and him, the less focus would be on him trying to force her to return back to her Uncle’s home prematurely. That was the plan she was going with anyway.

She extended one of her legs, letting it rise slightly from the ground so that the hem of her dress inched down her hose until it had settled to just on her knee. She didn’t look at Richard, for she was sure she already knew what his reaction would be. Now he knew exactly what tone her suggestions were taking. She let her leg, and exposed hose, rest there for a few moments before becoming bored with that little game and she turned her attentions back to Richard. She crossed one leg over the other and leaned closer towards Richard, putting one hand over his thighs so it rested on his waist, so the arm was consequently now stretched across him.

Caitrin could not say she felt any real physical attraction to the man, she never usually did with men like these, but his reaction was so much fun that she found it hard to resist the urge to tease him. With the hand on his hip she managed to turn his body at least to face her. She inched herself towards him so their legs were side by side and she inched her head towards his; so close she could feel his quick breath upon her skin. She couldn’t make up her mind whether his breathing was quick because of her womanly charms, or because he genuinely felt uncomfortable in this situation. It didn’t matter which of those it was, Caitrin was having fun either way. She had Richard right where she wanted him anyway, “Now Richard...” She used her other hand to steady herself on the bed and used the hand at his waist to keep him there, just for a few moments, “Are you going to lighten up, or will I have to implore some other methods to force you to?”

Caitrin wasn't even sure why she was going this far, she had no intention of lying with the man and had a dagger at her bedside to ensure it wouldn't get that far if he had a sudden change of heart. She had never gone this far with a man, willingly or knowingly at least, she resisted the urge to shudder as he came across her thoughts. Vortigern had caused her nothing but grief and the only solace she could gain from their meeting was that she had not fallen pregnant; he had not robbed her of her freedom. Since then however the world had looked a little different in Caitrin's eyes, it was almost a harsher world that she now saw. No one had cared to bother or ask her of what had occurred on the road, and she doubted anyone ever would. Half of her wanted to just tell Richard to get out, that same feeling of dirtiness was starting to sweep over her as it had done a few months ago. However she did not, as she knew she would push Richard away when the time was right, she was more hoping now to scare him off with her actions, or at least get him and his ideas about taking her back to Camelot as far away from her as possible.

Notes: No idea about the last bit, she just went a bit wobbly

[Richard de Calys]

If there was one thing that unnerved Richard to the point of turning him into a bumbling fool it was women making unwanted advances. Somehow it always managed to happen to him. How did it always happen to him? Clearly he had a manner about him that shouted “Ladies! Please throw yourselves at me!” There was nothing about him that he could see as being particularly appealing to the opposite sex, but then what was appealing to the opposite sex was more than a mystery to him. It was something he wanted very much nothing to do with. Right now, however, that seemed to be out of the question. Whether Caitrin was actually making an advance or just having fun at his expense he didn’t know, or really care, he just wanted it to stop.

He was trying very hard to reach his happy place. It was filled with money and hats and cloaks and definitely no women, and especially no legs or undergarments. Failing that he just stared wide eyed at the wall and hoped she would get bored.

Oh God she was touching him again. Why, why would she do that? He was obviously showing signs on not wanting to be touched. This was just absurd. "I am not going to lighten up." He said and removed her hand from his person. Why was she not taking a hint? All he wanted to do was take her back to her uncle, was that really such a hardship for her? "And you are not going to find some other method." He knew fully well that his words weren't going to stop her. She seemed to be the only person in the world who was imune to them, a fact which was frustrating in itself, but made even worse by the circumstance. He just wanted to be left alone. She was invading his personal space and he didn't like it one bit.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin merely grinned at Richard as he removed her hand but she allowed it to just be set at a distance he felt comfortable with. It felt like Richard was spinning the same words and it was starting to become slightly dull. His words were relatively the same as well. Caitrin had never had this much trouble with a man before and it was slightly off putting. What was the point in trying to seduce a man who just refused to let her away with anything? It was so much harder to motivate herself as well when she was not physically attracted to the man. Of course that could sometimes be overlooked, but not in this case, not when Richard was annoying her this much. “You really do need to lighten up.” She said again, trying hard not to laugh because it was true. Ok, perhaps he did not need to lighten up in the way she was describing, and perhaps he never would, but he did need to lighten up because he was so serious all the time.

Caitrin was quickly becoming bored with Richard. She enjoyed it when men made it a little difficult sometimes, but Richard was just making the whole affair boring. He had only given one inclination of being interested in her, and that had seemed to vanish as quickly as it came so what good was that? She frowned a little bit, this wasn’t working really was it? She had hoped to either scare him off or have at least a slight bit of enjoyment from him, but she was succeeding in neither and it was irritating her. “Fine.” She replied almost angrily at Richard’s latter words and looked straight ahead of her, if he wanted to be completely stubborn and refuse her then she was not going to play his game any longer.

She got up off the bed, leaving Richard by himself and she stood up by the foot of the bed, leaning and bending herself slightly over the bed frame on the end of the bed and looked on seriously at Richard for a moment. He had not mentioned her Uncle in quite a while, then again he had been busy trying to half fight her off so perhaps he had almost forgotten his mission in coming here. It was a long shot, but what else did Caitrin have to go off? She was still adamant in the mindset that she was not going anywhere with this man as she did not like to be dictated to, and she would return to her Uncle’s when she pleased. She had enough money with her to allow her that freedom anyway. “Can I suggest then that you leave?” She asked, but it wasn’t really a question, it was a command, “Sooner rather than later.” She gestured towards the door, she wanted him to know that she honestly wasn’t going anywhere with him. Caitrin did not mention her Uncle because perhaps Richard would jump at the opportunity to just leave her alone after that ordeal, and she could slip away without him noticing.

[Richard de Calys]

Oh gosh. That had actually worked. Well, of course it had worked, he was Richard de Calys after all. It seemed Caitrin had finally become bored of her stupid games and was now going to leave him alone. Now he could properly focus on the matter at hand, returning her to her uncle.

As soon as she stood up he felt a lot better. She was at a safe distance now, no touching whatsoever. This was much better, this was something Richard was good at. He could sit and talk for hours and not actually say anything, and no, that wasn't because he was one of those inane people who seem to think that conversation was the be all and end all of life. It was because he had perfected the art of words and could use them as he pleased, as long as Caitrin stayed over there.

Now that he was no longer feeling horribly uncomfortable, and the tiniest bit scared of her, he was definitely a lot more confident with the situation. She had had her fun and nothing had come of it, so chances were it would not happen again. With a renewed confidence he swung his legs onto the bed and arranged himself so he was sitting cross-legged. He wasn't going anywhere without her, no matter how much she protested. "You can suggest away." He just grinned at her, there was nothing like no longer being molested to raise your spirits. "And we both know you're very good at that, but I'm afraid it won't work. I want my money, so I'm not leaving without you."

[Caitrin de Archer]

It had been a long shot at best to expect Richard to just leave her alone, and forget about her Uncle. She stood up, now no longer leaning on the bed and crossed her arms, tipping her head to one side so that her hair shifted to run down her left shoulder. Now how on earth was she going to handle this one? Caitrin pressed her lips together and studied Richard, she was still furious that he hadn’t bent to any of her advances. She couldn’t be losing her touch, no, he was just too stubborn to accept his own feelings she was sure of it. How could it have been her fault?

She honestly had no idea where to go from here, her dagger was in the bedside table next to Richard, but she did not want to get too close to him again, she of course did not know what he was capable of. She raised her eye brow at his words, had he not realised by now that she wasn’t going anywhere with him. They could sit here and argue about it until they were both blue in the face but even if she had to live in this room with him until he gave up his quest, she was adamant she was going nowhere with him.

Even Richards grin was starting to frustrate Caitrin, it had an air of smugness about it. She ran a hand through her hair thoughtfully but raised one eye brow at Richard, and crossed her arms once more. “You cannot make me go with you.” She replied angrily, now leaning slightly towards him, as if to emphasise the certainty in her words, “And I am not going anywhere with you, so you will not get your money. You’re wasting my time and yours by being here.” Perhaps reasoning with him like that would make him see sense. Surely he could be getting his money by being elsewhere, bothering someone else?

[Richard de Calys]

It seemed they were both as stubborn as each other and now that Caitrin had stopped molesting him he was more at liberty to take control of the situation. When they were downstairs he had remembered a sleeping draught he had on his person that had been intended for another customer, but it was easy enough to acquire and this was an emergency. The only problem he faced now was how to use it... An idea came into his head, one that was promptly punched in the face and sent away from his brain. There was no way he was going that.

Nothing else was coming to him. Usually he had an abundance of ideas. There was something seriously wrong with him today. It was probably her fault. Any other day and he wouldn't even be contemplating the idea in his head right now, but then any other day he wouldn't be stuck in some woman's bed chamber. Desperate times did call for desperate measures.

He couldn't believe he was seriously thinking this was a good idea, but it was either that or they just sat there until one of them eventually gave in to the other. That could take years. It was this or nothing, and even if the plan did go horribly wrong he might be able to think of something else - if he was still alive.

With a sigh he nodded and looked up at Caitrin, "You're right. I am wasting my time." This had better bloody work. "So you must be right about the other thing too. Maybe I do need to lighten up." He raised his eyebrows in what he thought was a suggestive manner, he'd never done anything suggestive in his life, and especially not in front of a woman, but it was either this or lose money. "What was that idea of yours again?"

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin wished Richard would just leave her alone, what was it with her and taverns, and stubborn men? In her head she was already forming a plan, perhaps she could leave the tavern and head somewhere else. It would be easy enough to slip away from Richard wouldn’t it? She wasn’t sure where she would head next, perhaps further into the northern lands under a different name to throw Richard off for a while at least, unless of course Richard trailed her like a dog at her heels. She honestly could not stand him following her anywhere.

She had been expecting him to carry on in his stubborn manner, to continue arguing with her because she was quickly learning that that was his way and she was hardly going to change that, no matter how hard she tried. Then Caitrin got a bit of a shock. Was he trying to be suggestive towards her? She was still leaning over the end of the bed but she now straightened up, leaning against the bed post with one eye brow raised at him; was he serious? That had been a quick change if he was. Caitrin’s mind was leaping, there had to be a catch surely, why would he suddenly change his ways with her so quickly?

Caitrin mentally slapped herself, wasn’t this what she had wanted in the first place? To provoke some sort of reaction from him? She smirked back at Richard and slowly moved back to the bed. Plus, if Richard was having her on then she would call his bluff soon enough anyway. She shifted herself back onto the bed so that her entire body was on it, and she sat with her legs extended from her; resting on the bed and opposite where Richard was sat. She ruffled her hand through her hair, her head tipping to the side as she used her alluring eyes to hint suggestion. “Ideas like that need to be shown, rather than spoken about.” She leant slightly towards Richard, pressing her lips together into a grin, “Would you like me to show you?”

[Richard de Calys]

Right. Richard could cope with this because this time he was in control and he had a plan and it would be over soon and damn it this was getting ridiculous. What was she going to do? Nothing he wouldn't be able to stop her doing. He just had to play along until he could get thr draught out of his pocket...and somehow into her mouth. Well this couldn't possibly go wrong.

He'd managed to convince Caitrin that this was his intention, or maybe she was just playing along, seeing how far he would go. Well, he didn't have to go very far, he was planning on her being unconscious before that happened.

She'd joined him on the bed, that was a start. Drugging her with the sleeping draught would probably prove more effective if he wasn't trying to throw it across the room. The hardest part now was convincing her that he'd had a change of heart and that he welcomed such advances. This could either be the most convincing lie he'd ever told, or it could go horribly wrong. It seemed with Richard there was barely any middle ground, and he doubted there was much with Caitrin either.

This time when she extended her leg he let his eyes linger, he wasn't sure exactly how long ones eyes should linger for, so he continued for a few seconds more than he thought he should, just to be on the safe side. If he was going to give off the impression of...such things then he needed to remember that everything was in the details. He readjusted himself so he was sat in a similar position to her, shuffling closer and matching her grin. "Well I've always been a visual learner." He replied whilst trying to remember just where in his clothing the draught had been hidden.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was not sure what had caused the sudden change of heart. Perhaps it was because of her rejection, she’d never really come across it before, but her sister had once told her that some men found it attractive when you rejected them. Richard hadn’t stuck her as that sort of man, but perhaps he was; who knew. He did however seem to be playing a very convicting game. If he was bluffing then it would be interesting to see just how far he went along with her advances before he gave it up and left her in peace. Or it would go the other way of course and she would deal with that in the appropriate way.

As she saw Richard’s eyes drop to her slightly exposed hose she extended her leg slightly more outwards to let some more of the garment become available to Richard’s eyes. He was not proving unwilling, and she could only play off that. The change in his stature still had her slightly suspicious, even if her rejection had changed something within him, surely it could not have been such a quick change? She decided however to keep playing along with it, what harm would it do anyway? She could still remain cautious of Richard anyway. From what he had seen he was unarmed, so she was fine for the time being.

Richard matched her position, so Caitrin shuffled slightly towards him wondering where to go with this next. She raised a hand to run it down Richards arm, watching the arm before looking back to the man with a grin on her face. “Well, allow me to teach then.” Slowly she shifted herself once more so she was now sat to the side of Richard, rather than right in front of him. For a few moments she took her eyes off him as she straightened out the skirts of her dress which had become hitched as she moved around the bed. When she was quite done she focussed back on Richard with a grin, raising one eye brow and trying to look as alluring as she possibly could. “Where was I? Ah, yes.” The same hand was raised to Richard’s face, and stroked down his cheek slightly, with an air of control about the situation, wondering again how far he was prepared to take this.

[Richard de Calys]

Hmm. Alright. So far, so good. It was not a position he would choose to be into, but it was one he was actually manage to cope with. This could only be progress. Less than ten minutes ago he'd wanted to run away, now he was trying to convince Caitrin that running away was the last thing on his mind. He thought he was doing quite a fine job, what Caitrin thought was quite a mystery, but she didn't appear to be aware that his intentions were not what they seemed. Or, if she did, she was rather good at hiding it.

Now, this was the tricky bit. He didn't actually know what to do now. His instincts were telling him to just go with it. He didn't like that plan. Just going with it was always a last resort that happened when all of his plans had failed. It didn't happen very often. Right now, however, he didn't even know how to plan anything. We're just going with it then, he thought dryly and put an arm around her waist, resulting in them being pressed further together. Brilliant. What next?

He needed to somehow get her into a position where he could administer the sleeping draught. The only problem was how to do that without her suspicions being aroused. This would be a lot easier if he actually knew what to do with women. Well this was embarrassing. "So..." he smirked, letting his eyes rest where they really didn't want to be. "Teach me what happens next."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin watched as he placed an arm around her waist, finally she had got some form of physical reaction out of him, despite it only being a minor one. Perhaps it had been forced, in truth Caitrin had no idea, she was still trying to figure Richard out. She smiled up at him, almost encouragingly and slipped a hand around his shoulders and started running her fingers down his back gently. Sometimes the more tender touch worked wonders. “Have you done this before?” She asked casually, watching her hand and then letting her eyes flicker back up to lock in his gaze. Caitrin was serious with her question, it would be interesting and probably amusing to hear his answer.

At his challenge, Caitrin raised her eye brows slightly at him and pressed her lips together. He was really just asking for whatever she gave him now; which wouldn’t be a great deal she imagined. She bit her bottom lip, expecting a further physical reaction from him. He had put his hand around her waist yes, but any fool in the foregate could do that. He puzzled her slightly, perhaps he was just one of those men who found it hard to do anything physically; great. Well this would be something to amuse herself with for the time being anyway until she fully got rid of him. She wasn’t sure how she was going to dispel him from her life just yet but she was working on some form of plan. “As you wish.” She replied gently and inched her head towards his and placed a small kiss at the bottom of his neck. She didn’t go for his lips, well not just yet anyway.

If he were prepared to go any further then he would surely show it now. Caitrin drew back from Richard and shifted out of his rather awkward embrace. Turning back to him, she ran a finger across his cheek and let it linger there for a few moments before giving him a soft wink. She then shifted so that she was behind him and stretched herself out, her head on her pillow and her right leg pushing upwards on the bed as the left one just lay flat on it. She arched her head across to Richard and bither bottom lip, “Do you still want to learn?”

[Richard de Calys]

Well, that was a nice and awkward question, and one Richard would rather not answer. No, he hadn't done this before. Usually whoever he was meant to be finding wasn't quite so...inappropriate. And even if they were, he wouldn't be going along with it. Either way, he'd never been in this position with a woman before, no matter what the context. How different was this going to be? Hmm. Stupid question. But it wasn't going to come to that anyway so it didn't matter. He just needed to convince Caitrin that he was quite in his element to dissuade any suspicions his actions may have aroused.

Ah, the lip biting was back it seemed, only this time he wasn't in a position to tell her to stop. Instead, he cocked his head and smirked. It seemed the plan was working, which was making him feel a lot better. He knew what he was doing, and why he was doing it and was starting to feel more in control. He just needed to keep up the pretence for a few more minutes, just while he worked out how to get the sleeping draught from his pocket. That shouldn't be too difficult. Slight-of-hand was one of his expertise, after all.

Caitrin, it seemed, was determined to make his job even easier. He had been trying to think of how he was going to get her to drink the sleeping draught, and then she provided him with the answer. Usually, he would be on the verge of a panic attack if he ended up on a bed with a woman lying down so suggestively. Right now, however, he was starting to see the advantages of just such a position. Rather awkwardly he shifted his body, joining her, but lying on his side, one elbow bent, fist pressed against his temple. So far, so good. But now for the tricky part.

Annoyingly, there was only one way he could think of to distract her while he got the small vial out of his pocket. This was not going to be an enjoyable experience, but one that he was going to have to endure if he wanted his money, and there was no way he was not going to get his money after this. If he managed to get Caitrin back to her uncle he definitely deserved it. Tenatatively he leant forwards, closed his eyes, thought of the money, and kissed her.

It was not an altogether unpleasant experience, but that could have been because his mind was more focussed on something his else. His hand reached into his pocket, found the small silver vial and using his thumb flicked it open. He was still kissing her, which was weird, but he could almost hear the chink of coins so it didn't matter.

After a few moments he pulled away, their lips were only a few centimetres apart but it was enough. He tipped the vial ever so slightly, allowing a few drops to fall into her mouth. That should be enough. Now it was just a matter of waiting for it to take effect.

[Caitrin de Archer]

In a way, Caitrin was glad that Richard did not leave her hanging and did think to join her lying down. After all, she had been straining her neck looking up at him, and at this angle it was a lot easier to keep an eye on him. She looked across to him, quite annoyed he had not answered either of her questions. Perhaps he hadn’t done anything like this before and was trying to hide his own embarrassment. That was typical really, men never liked to admit that they were inexperienced at anything, especially anything to do with a woman. Richard wasn’t going to be any exception was he?

Caitrin’s mind went slightly blank as Richard began to lean towards her. She felt his lips press against hers and for a moment she didn’t do anything; she was in fact quite shocked. Something in her head ticked into place and she thought to kiss him back, if just to keep up the pretence. She still wasn’t sure how far she was going to let this, or indeed how far he was going to take it, but there was no harm in having a bit of fun along the way was there?

Caitrin felt Richard draw back from her and she blinked a few times, mouth slightly ajar, as she looked back at him. Well, she certainly hadn’t been expecting him to do that. She had almost given up hope of getting any sort of physical reaction from him as he had hardly been willing to give her any sort of reaction before. As she was considering him, she began to get an odd taste in her mouth. She furrowed her brows and sat up as the taste almost spread about her mouth and she pressed her lips together trying to figure out what it was. She looked down at Richard and found herself having to concentrate a lot more than she would usually do to focus on him.

She put a hand to her forehead; she was starting to feel slightly faint. But she had only just got up, how could that be right? For now she forgot all about Richard and his strange mannerisms and began to get worried. She blinked a few times and the room began to spin and she felt slightly queasy. What the hell was going on? Something clicked within her head and she tried to turn around to face Richard but somehow that was too much effort, “What have you done to me?” She managed to say, but even that felt strained and she put her hand to her head again, trying to steady herself. If he was going to answer her then Caitrin probably would not have heard him as soon after she had spoken she closed her eyes and felt herself just fall back into the bed once more; unconscious.

[Richard de Calys]

Nothing here has been stolen from Neil Gaiman...

In response to Caitrin's question Richard just grinned at her with a sense of satisfaction. There. He knew everything would go to plan, he was Richard de Calys after all. Leaving her asleep on the bed, he stood up and stretched. He supposed it was actually a good thing she had been behaved the way she had, otherwise it would have just been endless stubbornnes, and neither of them would have got anywhere. As it was, Richard was now fully in control of the situation - an an unconscious Caitrin - and quite pleased about it.

His next task would be to start taking her back to her uncle. He supposed he could just carry her, she wouldn't be out that long, but by the time she did regain consciousness they would be far enough that there wouldn't be any choice but to continue. Another thought occured to him. What he needed was a string of some kind, ah! Sometimes his job was a life saver. Inside his pocket was a thin chain - procured for a favourite customer of his, and one that wouldn't mind Richard testing the merchandise. It was, however, no ordinary chain, and once an end had been tied to each of their wrists there was no way Caitrin was going to be able to run off. He didn't exactly know how he would get it off again, but he was sure to think of something later.

Once they were tied together he picked up the sleeping woman and carried her towards the door. It was a rather awkward operation - trying to open the door with only one hand and a woman in his arms, but he perservered and eventually the task was done. He had had more than his fair share of unpicking doorlocks after all.

He had thought, in his naivety, that going down the servants' way would be easier, as he would not have to go through the main room downstairs and answer no doubt endless questions about what he was doing. He had, however, forgotten that such a passage was not built for the purposes he needed. Another awkward task lay before him, and one that took a lot longer than he had wanted. Still, it meant he was outside without being spotted by anyone and that was the main thing.

Right. So far so good. Richard continued to carry Caitrin as far as the stables before setting her down in order to ready a horse. He chose what he thought was hers, leaving his own - which had been stolen yesterday - to the tavern owner. When the horse was ready he managed to slump Caitrin over it's back, climb on himself, and then adjusted both their positions to make it easier and far more comfortable. He'd never ridden with another person on his horse before, but he supposed it was a good deal easier when the passenger was awake. Even so, there was nothing he could do now, so, with an enormous sense of accomplishment he left the stables.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin didn’t feel incredibly like herself, and that was the nice way of putting it. She felt like she was in some sort of daydream, or a sort of trance. She was just going along with it for now, it was almost comforting even though something was niggling in the back of her mind, telling her that all was not well. She ignored that for the moment, she was just content with staying in this relatively safe state of mind. Nothing but darkness consumed her thoughts, and in those few moments while she was in her little daydream, she didn’t have a care in the world.

She groaned softly, or at least she assumed she groaned, or was she still dreaming? Caitrin, then knowing her day dream to be coming to some sort of relative end, began to try and focus on what was going on. She was moving, only softly but she could feel herself moving almost effortlessly. Hang on, why was she moving anywhere? Slight panic struck through her, but she didn’t muster the energy just yet to open her eyes, she still felt incredibly drowsy.

Caitrin began to try and piece things together in her mind, surely that would help? She groaned again and tried to shift herself and found that she was being held in place somehow. Her panic was growing and she opened her eyes, instantly regretting it as the high afternoon sun shone brightly in her eyes and she blinked a few times so that she could focus. She then realised that she was leaning on someone, and presumably it was their arm which was keeping her upright. As she focussed on the scenery in front of her she was satisfied she had been right about one thing; she was moving. She was on horseback. Caitrin furrowed her eye brows, that was ridiculous, why was she on horseback? Surely she was still dreaming?

And then it hit her.

Her eyes flew upwards and she knew whose face would be there before she focussed on him and straight away she became incredibly annoyed. She pulled her head from where it had been resting on his chest, just to check she had been right, and unfortunately she had been. There he was, Richard de Calys in his general smug like attitude. Her head flew around in the different directions, trying to figure out where they were. The sun was already falling in the sky so she was sure it was later in the afternoon, but she had met Richard in the morning hadn’t she? Great, they were probably miles from the inn; oh wasn’t this fantastic!

Caitrin looked back up to Richard and simply glared at him for a moment, “What the hell did you do?” She snapped at him and looked around at her surroundings once more, “And where are we?” She knew they were on their way back to Camelot, which just overall worsened Caitrin’s mood. She raised her hand to run through her hair but paused as she caught a glint of silver and just stared at it for a moment. It was like a small silver chain, but it was wrapped around her wrist, and as she followed the trail of silver back to the other end, sure enough it was wrapped around Richard’s wrist. Straight away she used her free hand to try and remove it. Her finger nails dug into the silver and she tried to pull it over her slender wrist, but it just wouldn’t budge.

She was sure Richard would be enjoying all of this, and that just annoyed her even more, if that were even possible. She held the wrist up which had the chain on it and stared seriously at Richard, gesturing to the chain. “So not content with kidnapping me, you thought you would tie me up as well?” She asked angrily and threw her arm back down to the side in her annoyance. Well wasn’t this going to be fun? They had a long ride ahead of them, and she got to spend the entire time tied to Richard; fantastic.

Notes: Jumped it forwards to kind of late afternoon, so we can see where we can go with that one, seeing as Camelot's a 3 day ride away... ^_^

[Richard de Calys]

Hmm. She was awake then. That was annoying. Richard had been enjoying the peace and quiet Caitrin’s unconscious state had brought with it. No doubt she would be angry, and, alright, he could hardly blame her for that, but if she hadn’t been so damn stubborn he would not have had resort to such matters. Her predicament was entirely her own fault.

“There’s no use trying to get it off.” He replied simply, half watching her attempts to free herself from the chain. He didn’t know exactly where he was going, so half of his concentration was focused on their surroundings, the other half was far too busy being pleased with himself. “As for “what the hell I did” I think that’s quite obvious.” He would have gestured to their surroundings with his hands, but he was holding the reigns and half supporting Caitrin. Hand gestures would have been so much better though. It was a sad time indeed when they were not possible. “I told you, I’m taking you back to your uncle.”

He had thought that much would have been obvious. Maybe she was suffering from some sort of memory loss – perhaps a side effect from the draught. Hmm. He quickly dismissed that idea, after all, she seemed perfectly at ease, or alright, not at ease but whatever, with him, so memory loss probably wasn’t something he had to worry about. Although it could have been useful. Next time he’d have a better plan. One that involved Caitrin quite time for a lot longer.

“I tied you up because otherwise you’d run away,” he raised a questioning eyebrow, “wouldn’t you?” Of course she would, he would have in her position. Even so, he wanted his damn money and he was going to get it. “Now will you stop moving so much, otherwise I’ll make you walk behind; the chain will stretch.”