Stubbornness Can Only Get You So Far

[Caitrin de Archer]

It was safe to say that Caitrin didn't feel tired at all. The prospect of getting to spend some time in her own company was also appealing, she wouldn't have to look at Richard's stupid smug face then. Bitterness from him getting her this far still ripped through her, she couldn't believe she had been taken in by her little act. It was her weakness yes, but still, her wits should have been sharper. Well she wouldn't be making that mistake again. For the moment, Caitrin de Archer, in a revolutionary spark of thought, decided she had had quite enough of men for the time being. They were fun to tease yes, but often she was too close to the flame, and when that happened she just got burnt.

She rolled her eyes as Richard told her not to run off. The thought was at the forefront of her mind of course, and he obviously knew that too. She could get to other places from here, she could find something to make it work, she didn't have to do this on Richard's terms. "Do you not trust me?" She asked with a wink, as if nothing in her psyche had changed. She wasn't going to give the game away too easily. She had one other way of trying to get this stupid silver chain off her wrist. Though she couldn't try it near Richard.

As he lay down on top of his cloak Caitrin began to walk aimlessly into the dark of the forest. Her eyes were already well adjusted as night had not quite fallen yet; some of the light from the sunset still remained. She was walking slower than usual, as she wasn't sure just how far the chain would stretch. After all, it had to stop at some point didn't it? Otherwise it would just be ridiculous. She had not really gone far from where Richard was lying, but she lent down and started to pick up some bits of dry wood. As she did, she looked over her shoulder to make sure Richard wasn't there. She couldn't see him so she assumed he had just gone to sleep. Instead she now looked at the chain dangling from her wrist and whispered, her eyes flashing. To say she was disappointed was an understatement. Nothing happened and for a moment Caitrin felt incredibly annoyed.

Picking up one of the bits of wood, in a rather crude way she even tried to hack at the chain. Richard's smug words ran through her mind, that the chain would not break and she would not be able to shift it. One again her nails dug into the silver at her wrist and there was almost a desperation there. There had to be some way of getting this chain off her! She was quite distracted from finding the firewood at the moment, and she sat herself down, crossing her legs and her eyes focusing on the silver chain. This was ridiculous, it was a stupid chain, how could it be this difficult to get off?

[Richard de Calys]

Surely Caitrin already knew the answer to that question? Well, of couse she did, otherwise she wouldn't have that look on her face. He rolled his yes, tempted to just ignore her. His reply would only incur another bout of teasing, and he wasn't sure if he had the energy for that. Still, he folded his arms and raised his eyebrows and just looked at her for a second or two. "I trust you to do many things, Caitrin de Archer. Staying here of your own accord is not one." With that he lay down and tried to make himself comfortable, which was no easy task. No matter how many times he did it, he simply couldn't get used to sleeping outside. He had, after all, spent the majority of his life sleeping on the softest mattresses in Cantia. Slightly damp mud hardly compared.

When he had shifted and wriggled for a satisfactory amount of time and just accepted the fact that he was going to ache in the morning he said goodnight to Caitrin and reminded her to wake him up when she wanted him to take over. He closed his eyes and listened to her footsteps as she presumably went to get firewood. She could very well be trying to escape, but the chain was still joining them together and Richard had every confidence that it would continue to do so. He felt it pull ever so slightly as she became further and further away, but it showed no signs of letting him down.

The trick, Richard had discovered, to feigning sleep was to keep your mind occupied. It certainly wouldn't do for him to actually fall alseep, so he had no intentions of doing so. Instead he allowed his mind to occupy itself with thoughts that would definitely keep him awake. He was reminded of Caitrin's words, of her incredulity that he didn't need anyone. Well, that wasn't strictly true. There was a time in his life when he had definitely needed someone, and perhaps he still did. He certainly still thought about them, irritatingly so. It was not in his nature to become so attached to people. But he was certainly attached to one person in particular, whom it was unlikely he would see again, or at least not in the near future. He rolled over. While he did need to think about something, he didn't want to think about this. He was happy with his life. He was fine. And besides, it would never have worked anyway so there was no point in dwelling on it. Only now he couldn't stop. He was Richard de Calys, and this was ridiculous.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin could not help but give Richard a small smirk at his words, he did know her quite well then, even after a day. She would much rather, even now, return on her own terms rather than Richard's. Why should she want to stay with him after all? His contract with her Uncle had nothing to do with her, and him not getting paid would not affect her in the slightest. However, as much as she was trying to run off and attempt to get back by herself, it wasn't going exactly to plan. The stupid chain would still not come off her wrist.

Her nails were starting to chip where she had been digging at the silver and she sighed exasperatedly. Even her magic wouldn't work on the chain. Even though her sorcery wasn't incredibly powerful when compared with the magic of other sorcerers, it should have at least left a mark shouldn't it? Caitrin ran a hand through her hair; this was getting her nowhere really was it? Cursing Richard, and the chain, she began to pick up the firewood again. She could always think of another way to get the chain off in front of a warm fire anyway.

Once she figured she had enough dry wood she began to make her way back to Richard. She wasn't going to start the fire too close to him because she too wanted distance from her forced companion. She set the firewood down a few paces away from him and picked up two stones, well, she didn't want to make this too obvious did she? Turning her back to Richard, she whispered into the wood and a gentle flame lit up which caught on rather quickly. Satisfied that it wouldn't look too suspicious Caitrin just set herself down beside the fire and began to warm her hands on the quickening fire. The blanket of night had now set in fully and she looked around her, unable to see past what the fire now lit up. Even the horse was now lying down. Caitrin however couldn't have felt less tired if she tried. Really she had done a small amount over the whole of the day excepting her incident with Richard.

Caitrin pulled her cloak around her shoulders, even with the burning fire it was still quite cold. She looked over at Richard who was just lay asleep. Great, so she was bored, completely awake and with nothing to do. Caitrin began to poke the fire gently with a stick to make sure it stayed alight. Her mind began to wander as she just stared at the flames. Her earlier thoughts, of having enough of men, were still in the forefront of her mind. Although she enjoyed her teases and flirts it never seemed to lead to anything but trouble, or disappointment. And to be frank, Caitrin was just tired of it. She wasn't a romantic, no she was anything but, but she needed a challenge in a way. Men were becoming too alike in her eyes; they were all after one thing. She just needed something, or someone different to come along. As the flames crackled in front of her eyes she sighed softly; what was the likelyhood of her ever getting what she wanted?

[Richard de Calys]

So there isn't much to this post but we've sort of got to a point where they're both doing their own thing. So, I propose we skip forwards to the morning.

Richard heard Caitrin return to the clearing, so he shifted slightly, still pretending to be asleep. He could hear her lighting a fire, so presumably she wasn't planning on running off. Well, whether she was planning to or not it wouldn't make a difference. They were still connected to each other by the chain. Whether Caitrin liked it or not, she was staying put and she was staying with Richard. It was likely, therefore, that this was going to be a rather boring night. He would go to sleep, but that would be leaving himself vulnerable, and while he was sure Caitrin wasn't going to do anything, he didn't like feeling vulnerable no matter what the circumstances were. It was in his nature to be on guard the majority of the time, anything could happen.

He was already freezing, only as he was pretending to be asleep he couldn't do anything about it. The fire was warming him slightly, but it wasn't close enough, not by a long shot. She'd probably done that deliberately. Tomorrow night he would have to return the favour. He'd make a nice, toasty fire next to himself and steal all the heat. He was good at stealing things, and, yes, alright, heat wasn't an object as such, but he was still going to make a good go of it. He needed a hat as well. His ears were cold. Speaking of hats, it had been too long since he had acquired a new one. This too would be recitifed tomorrow. For now, he was going to lay there and not be asleep. Wasn't this going to be fun?

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin shifted slightly as she heard a bird cry out in the distance. She wasn’t in the most comfortable of positions, and for a few moments she was slightly confused to why she was sleeping on a forest floor. She opened one eye lazily and looked ahead of her as the clearing came into focus. She groaned softly and turned over so that she was facing the other way. Her back was aching, that was the first thing she was aware of. It had been a long night, she hadn’t felt sleepy until the early hours of the morning when she had woken Richard up so that he could take his shift. Then she had settled herself by the fire she had made and had wrapped herself up in her cloak. She had still been cold, even with the fire and the cloak. Overall it hadn’t been an incredibly good night’s sleep.

The next thing which annoyed her was the fact that waking up would mean forcing herself into Richard’s company. As she lifted her hand to brush some hair back from her face she heard the soft clink of her chain. Her efforts last night had proven futile in getting anywhere with getting the chain off, so she was still attached to Richard; fabulous.

Opening her eyes again, she could see the smouldering branches which last night had been her fire. Some of the branches were still crackling so it can’t have been that long since it had extinguished. Caitrin was quite proud of that fact in a way. Her sorcery was therefore still quite strong. Caitrin finally thought to shift herself fully and she drew herself up so that she was sitting rather than lying down. Her hands were running through her hair, trying to correct the mess which sleep had caused it. It probably wasn’t going to go well; why was her hair so impossible?!

Caitrin stretched out her arms and let out a small yawn. She felt slightly groggy, which was never a good start to the morning. Then she found herself looking round for Richard. They were still attatched because the chain was still around her wrist, but it was better to have a face to say good morning to rather than speaking to the clearing. She spotted him sat some distance away from her. Caitrin didn’t get up to move any closer to him, but just called out. “Morning.”

[Richard de Calys]

Hmm. She was awake. He wasn't sure whether he was happy about this or not. After being "woken up" a few hours ago he had rather been enjoying the peace and quiet that could only be acheived through her loss of consciousness. No doubt today would bring with it another round of her teasing, or flirting, well, probably both. Well, he was just going to ignore it. He was, after all, above that sort of thing. That was the plan anyway.

"Morning."

"Good morning." He replied cheerfully, it was a rather good morning as mornings go. The sun was shining, and although it was still a little chilly, it was enough to put Richard in a good mood. "I would offer you some breakfast, but we don't have any. Would you like some pretend breakfast?" He grinned at her, cupping his hands together and offering her what he imagined to be a rather warming bowl of porridge. He used to hate the stuff, until he ran out of money and walls and roofs and was forced to eat food for its practicality not its taste. "I made it specially."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin certainly would have preferred a bed, instead of the forest floor, to sleep in. But she'd done it now, and that was something. She supposed the next night or so would be spent in the same way, so she wouldn't complain about it. Plus it would give Richard some satisfaction that she had spent the night in discomfort. She didn't know that of course, she just supposed it would.

As she began to become more awake, she looked around at Richard as he replied to her. She wondered if he was tired, he had been up half the night after all as he had taken over after Caitrin had felt tired. Her stomach rumbled as he mentioned food. She hadn't eaten yesterday either, and consequently she was starting to feel rather faint. She had gone this long without food before, so she knew she wouldn't faint; it was just an irritating state to be in.

She stood up finally and walked over to where Richard was sat down and set herself down beside him. There was no point in being irritated with Richard all day. They had agreed to some sort of mutual feeling yesterday anyway, so she would do her best to not be incredibly annoyed at him for the whole of the day. "As appetising as that looks, is there any possibilty of some real food?" She teased softly, but she was being incredibly serious. "I haven't eaten for over a day." She justified, she was allowed to be hungry; she wasn't used to this sort of fasting. Plus it was in Richard's best interests to find something to eat as lack of food would certainly negatively affect Caitrin's mood. She stretched again and looked around the clearing, "I take it there was no trouble on your watch?"

[Richard de Calys]

Unsurprisingly, Richard didn't have any food on him, and even if he did it wouldn't be enough to keep them both satisfied for long. This was not the first time he was finding himself growing hungry. He should really think about keeping some food on him at all times for just such an occassion. Normally he just stole or bought food as and when he wanted it, that was made a little trickier by their current location. There was one option, however it was something he doubted Caitrin would be too pleased about. Then again, she was hardly the perfect young noblewoman. Maybe she would surprise him, it was a slim possibility. He started inspecting the remains of the fire, poking the ashes with a nearby stick. There would be no point in lighting a new one if Caitrin didn't want to stay here for breakfast. "Well you can always catch something." He suggested with a grin. It would certainly be amusing to watch. "There's bound to be some rabbits lurking about somewhere."

Still poking at the ashes and only half paying attention to what Caitrin was doing, Richard siflted a yawn. Despite being used to being awake all night, he hadn't yet managed to conquer his need to sleep. He didn't much care for being woken up either, but it was a necessary evil, and he would rather be tired during the day than vulnerable during the night. "No trouble at all." He replied and stretched his arms. It hadn't been the most comfortable of nights and he had a feeling tonight was going to be no better. Deciding the ashes were no longer interesting he turned his attention to Caitrin. "How did you sleep?" In truth he wasn't that interested, but it was making conversation.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin of course hadn’t just expected Richard to suddenly come up with a full breakfast for them both. She just wanted to have something, anything to eat. It was very well for Richard. He was probably used to these kind of things, and used to going for long amounts of time without any food. Caitrin was not used to it at all, so this experience was being made even worse than it already was. However she wouldn’t give Richard the satisfaction of her sitting here sulking because she suspected it would only amuse him and that was one thing she was not going to be doing in a hurry. She looked back to Richard with raised eye brows as he suggested catching something. Heh, he couldn’t actually be serious could he? She pressed her lips together into a short laugh, “I’m not that desperate, and aren’t men supposed to be the ones who go hunting?” That was a valid point, even men who went around kidnapping women had to have some sense of a womans place and a mans place in the world. Of course Caitrin paid no attention to such stereotypes and never would, this one however could work in her favour.

She shrugged at his question and stared rather aimlessly into the fire. After all, she had slept as well as could be expected in the middle of nowhere with a chain around her wrist. She was used to better treatment than this. “As well as can be expected.” She replied with another shrug and yawned into the back of her hand. Looking at Richard, it seemed like he hadn’t slept much better, which didn’t really concern her in the slightest really. She looked on at Richard again and gave a soft smile, raising her hand to brush through her hair. Annoyingly every time she moved her hand she caught sight of the silver chain and it only irritated her further. “Any chance of getting rid of this? Silver really isn’t my colour.” She winked at him and ran her fingers across the chain at her wrist, honestly she deserved better treatment than this.

[Richard de Calys]

Did Caitrin really think gender stereotyping was going to work here? If men always behaved like men and women always behaved like women they wouldn't be in the position they were in now. If men always behaved like men there would be a lot of positions Richard would never be in. In response to her question - which really wasn't a question as they both knew exactly what answer Caitrin was waiting for, he rolled his eyes. "Are women supposed to run away and try to seduce men in their rooms?" It was Richard's turn to raise his eyebrows, although the grin on his face took away from the seriousness of his tone. "Go and catch your own food. I'm not hungry." That was the thing with Richard. He had a habit of only caring for himself - and why should he not? He led a mainly solitary life. Moments like these were rare ones indeed. It wasn't in his nature to care about the comforts of others, and he certainly wasn't going to start doing so now.

He nodded at Caitrin's reply. He hadn't assumed she would have slept fantastically. In fact, he was surprised she wasn't complaining about it. The forest floor was hardly the standard she was no doubt used to. Her next words brought a smile to his lips. Because getting rid of the chain was clearly going to be that easy. "Not at all. You'd run off, we both know it. And then I'd find you and put it back on, we both know that too." Richard was a master at finding people, there was no denying that. And while he enjoyed his work, he'd rather avoid another episode such as the last one with Caitrin.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Damn. That hadn't worked either. Richard was turning into the most impossible man ever. She resisted the urge to groan in pure frustration at him, would he not give her anything! She rolled her eyes at him, although it was a perfectly good point, she wasn't going to admit that to him; he was just being immature. "That's not the point." She then turned her lips into half a smile, "I pride myself on not being a conventional noblewoman." That much was true, but sometimes it was a pain having to live up to a self proclaimed title. Sometimes she wished she could just meet the right man and settle down; but there was a slim chance of that ever happening was there?

Caitrin pulled another face at Richard catch her own food? He couldn't be being serious could he? She looked back at him and was incredibly annoyed to find that yes he was serious. The burning hunger in her gut was hard to suppress, but she'd rather pretend she wasn't hungry than give Richard the satisfaction. "I'll be fine." She answered in a rather annoyed and small voice. Could he not just give in to her, just once? "But surely my Uncle did not pay you to bring me back half starved?"

Of course it wasn't going to be that easy, and she let out a short laugh at Richard's words and raised her eyes to him. "Who says you would catch me again?" She challenged, "You merely got lucky the first time." Shuffling closer to where Richard was sat, she began to fiddle with the chain again, "Anyway, who says I would run off?" Perhaps he knew her better than to assume that she would stay with him willingly. Of course she would run off, she had no idea where too, just anywhere that wasn't here would do quite nicely, and especially not with Richard.

[Richard de Calys]

Surprisingly enough, Richard didn't feel the need to argue against Caitrin's words. He was well aware that she liked to thing of herself as anything but the typical noblewoman. But whilst some men might find it endearing, charming even, he just found it annoying. Then again, if she was the conventional sort then he wouldn't be being paid to bring her back. He also wouldn't be stuck in a forest with her, but that was a necessary evil if it meant getting paid afterwards. "Oh I don't doubt that." He said simply, not wanting to say anything more in agreement or that he had been suprised by her nature as that would only likely fuel her further. It was a fact, not something he wanted to dwell on. There was always only one ego that was worth pandering to, and that was his own.

He gave a small snort at her words. She was certainly determined - but if she was that determined then she would stop trying to manipulate him and find some food herself. For that, he remained where he was and gave a shrug. "He didn't specify, actually." Throughout his entire conversation with Caitrin's uncle not once did the state of her being when she returned commented on. It was pretty much whatever state required - as long as she was still breathing.

"I say I would catch you again." Richard said in a rather matter-of-fact tone. It was what he did, after all. She hadn't been that difficult to find the first place, and now that he knew her she would probably only be easier to find. She shuffled closer to him, so he stood up (the more distance between the two of them the better in his opinion), stretched his arms - that felt better - and ran a hand through his hair, managing to make it stick up at hundreds of different angles. That had been a mistake. He tried to smooth it down, but with no way to see his reflection it was guesswork. Whatever it looked like now, no matter how many different directions it was darting off in, would have to do. For someone who took particular pride in his appearance that was an annoying thing indeed, and this was not the first time he wondered why he didn't carry a looking glass with him wherever he went.

In response to her question he merely looked down at her with raised eyebrows. Did they have to go through with this again? They both knew Caitrin would run off given the oppurtunity. It really was a hassle he could do without. "We both know the answer to that, don't we?"

[Caitrin de Archer]

Although Richard didn't feed her ego, he didn't deflate it, and Caitrin felt rather proud of her little tagline. She didn't like being like anyone else, she had so many qualities that weren't usually encouraged in young women. Though Richard didn't appreciate this, there were plenty of men back at court who would appreciate her charms.

Caitrin pulled a face, with the amount of arguing she had done to try and get Richard to supply her with food, she had been quite distracted from her hunger. Perhaps they could continue like that for the whole day, then again she doubted she could go another few hours without any food. It had been long enough already. She let out a short laugh at his words, she doubted her Uncle would care what condition she was brought back in as long as she wasn't dying then he wouldn't be that bothered. Heh, Richard might be in for a bit of a shock if he thought that her Uncle was going to be generous with the amount that he gave Richard for his services, even if he had chased his niece halfway across Albion. "No he wouldn't." She answered rather casually and then smirked, oh she hoped that her Uncle underpaid Richard, perhaps she could suggest such a thing because that would be what hurt him most wouldn't it?

She looked up at him and smirked at his words, "I don't think that you will be able to catch me again." She commented and was rather annoyed that she was now forced to look up at him. Therefore she hauled herself off the forest floor so that she was stood opposite him. She began to smooth out the skirt of her dress with little effect; it was creased and muddy and this just wasn't her at all. She was glad no one but Richard could see her like this at least. "I don't know, do we?" She asked rather pedantically and continued to mess about with the technicalities of her dress.

Now however Caitrin was getting rather bored with this forest setting. If she was being forced back to her Uncle's, then she would rather end up there sooner rather than later. The more time spent here meant more time spent in Richard's company. "When are we getting going?" She asked, looking up at Richard but she then shifted to walk towards the horse, "Can we leave sooner rather than later?"

[Richard de Calys]

Richard could not tell whether there was something more in the way Caitrin replied to his comment so casually. He had been a little surprised himself when Rouland had not shown that much interest in his young niece's state upon her return. From what Richard had seen he was the most...compassionate of people. But Caitrin had lived with him for many years, she was probably used to a lack of such outward affection. That was probably some of the reason why she appeared to crave attention so much, Richard though with a small smile. He didn't say anything more on the subject, after all, the time he spent with Rouland was fleeting at best, he didn't know the man at all and could therefore not comment on his opinions or actions. And, perhaps the main reason, it was of little concern to him. Rouland's seemingly negligent attitude to his niece's physical well-being just made his job that little much easier.

He didn't much care for her opinions. In his mind, his being able to catch her again was simply a fact and therefore not open for argument and debate. If she wanted to continue living in some kind of almost reality in which she was not aware of her own inabilities that was fine with Richard. He merely shrugged and watched as she wandered over to the horse. Presumably she no longer cared for anything to eat as she had stopped going on about it.

"When are we getting going? Can we leave sooner rather than later?"

After she spoke Richard looked up towards the sky, which, at present was obscured by leaves and tree branches. The plan had been to try and determine what time it was, but that was made quite difficult as he couldn't actually see the sun. He knew, or rather, assumed that it was morning. Somehow he doubted time would fly by quite so quickly in his present company, so it was highly unlikely it was yet noon. "Are you bored already?" He asked with a smirk, women like Caitrin were far too easily bored. He joined her by the horse. "There's nothing to be gained by staying here." He replied and looked over his shoulder at the remains of the makeshift camp. "Whenever you are ready..." he didn't finish his sentence, merely gestured towards the saddle. "After you, my lady."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin wondered how her Uncle would react when she was brought to his doorstep, probably still with the bloody chain around her wrist. He'd probably ask to keep the chain knowing him. Then again, not if it cost him any more money. She really did hope he underpaid Richard, after all he was hardly treating her as a noblewoman of her status should be treated. Well she wasn't acting like a conventional noblewoman, but that wasn't the point. He should still want to secure her comfort. She sighed inwardly and ran a hand over her face, if her Uncle thought that he was pressing any more suitors to her hand then he was certainly mistaken. Perhaps this little episode had shown him that, perhaps he would drop it altogether. She could dream at least. Pressing her lips together she had a thought, really she needed someone who she liked enough to marry. As a woman of standing, Caitrin knew that she could not remain unmarried forever, and she was quickly leaving her teenage years behind her. Perhaps if she found someone to marry then her Uncle and father would leave her alone; it was a thought if nothing else.

Wandering over to her horse, she ran her hand down the mares head, ignoring the annoying glint of silver from the chain. Everytime she saw it it hit a raw nerve and reminded her that Richard had managed to manipulate her. Looking back to him she shrugged slightly. There were many things which she currently was, and being bored was really the least of her worries. She was cold, her dress was dirty, she felt half starved, she was in the middle of nowhere with a stuck up would be duke and she was bored. "How could anyone get bored in your company?" Caitrin replied half sarcastically and looked up at him as he finally joined her.

Now she was worried he was expecting the ride today to be quite like their ride yesterday. She had been half dizzy and incredibly dozy yesterday so he had held the advantage. Today however she was wide awake and she certainly would not be relying on Richard's support the whole journey like she had yesterday. She was incredibly surprised at his courtesy, mainly because of the context of it but she wasn't about to protest. Giving a short curtsey to him, half out of habit, she gave a small smile, "Thank you my Lord." Well there was no point in griping over titles was there?

With that she turned from Richard and hauled herself onto the horse quickly so she was sat astride the mare; the reigns quickly finding themselves in her hands. She grinned rather smugly, perhaps he had thought that she would sit side saddle and let him direct their ride today. Well if he had thought any of that then he was a bigger fool than she had initially thought. "Are you going to join me, or are you walking today?"

[Richard de Calys]

There was a grin across his face, albeit a sarcastic one, and it dissolved rather quickly. Was there no end to her charms and flattery? And in response to her question - it was quite the mystery, but then no one spent that much time in his company to become bored of him. Richard liked to think of himself as entertaining, he certainly entertained himself.

It was probably a rhetorical question - one of those that young noblewomen were told would make them more appealing to the opposite sex. Well, Caitrin de Archer could be as "appealing" as she wanted, it made no difference to Richard.

He held the reigns as she mounted the horse, a gesture she'd probably be annoyed by, which was exactly why he did it. He had quickly learnt that the easiest way to annoy her was to treat her like the perfect noblewoman she so clearly wasn't, and so desperately tried not to be. It was a valiant effort, and yet, as someone who knew what a life of poverty was like, it was something Richard was convinced she did not truly desire. No, he supposed it was more the suggestion, the excitement of being unconventional that she liked, rather than a true desire to change her circumstances. Either way, it made it easy to make her that little bit more wound up.

No sooner has she settled the reigns were in her hands. No doubt she had ideas above herself. If she thought that he was going to sit behind her and let her direct the horse wherever she pleased she was sorely mistaken. He simply raised his eyebrows, a very unimpressed expression on his face, and held out his hand. "Reigns, if you please, or if you don't; I don't care."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin was sure that this experience could be a lot worse than it already was, and she should probably be grateful that Richard was quite well disposed in a way. At least he had manners and he hadn't done anything improper, well apart from kidnapping her, but apart from that it was all fine. However, Caitrin was never one to appreciate such things, and she was still annoyed he had got her to this point in their journey. The only consolation she could take was that hopefully they would soon be back in Camelot, he would be underpaid (hopefully), and she would never have to see him again. Or at least that was the plan. She certainly had no intention of running off again if Richard was going to be sent for; he was wearing a bit thin on her nerves. Caitrin wasn't the calmest, or most understanding of people at the best of times, so she was almost intent on fighting Richard as much as she could on their way back to Camelot.

Overall she was quite proud she had managed to steal the reigns back off him. She would have thought he would be more attentive than that. Oh well; his loss was her gain. She settled herself rather comfortably, it was her horse after all, and looked back to Richard. She mimicked his look and raised her eye brows and gave a small 'heh' noise and put one hand on her hip; the other tightly grasping the reigns. "If you think I'm sitting behind you, letting you lead on all day then you're mistaken." She said sharply. She wasn't going to sit behind him and hold onto him like some pathetic woman; the saddle wasn't a side saddle, so the only way for a passenger to keep their balance was to hold onto the driver. "You didn't really think that would work did you?"

[Richard de Calys]

How did he know she would argue with him? It was either because he was in possession of a genius level intellect, or because she was the most argumentative person in the whole of Albion. Personally, he preferred the former, but it was most likely to the latter. "Fine, you can sit in front of me while I lead on. After all, it worked so well last time." True she had been asleep but that was neither here nor there. He highly doubted he would be able to knock her out again, but it would be so much easier if he could. She was so much more manageable when she was unconscious. Richard was still holding his hand out expectantly. Could she not just behave like a proper noblewoman once? Why did she have to make everything to damn difficult? Oh yes, because she wanted "freedom" and what have you, well that was all very well and good, but Richard wanted money and his comforts were far more important. "I'm waiting." He said after a pause, and began tapping his left foot. That was probably not going to make her hand over the reigns, but it was still worth a try. Besides, he could now say he had at least tried to be rational before he was forced to take action. This was, in his mind, a fair warning, and one that would not be repeated.

A few moments later he was still tapping his foot and looking at her expectantly. "I will push you off that horse i-" His words were cut shot by a strange noise. He froze, his eyes darting about, trying to see where the noise had come from. It had only been heard for a second, and it was probably nothing more threatening than a rabbit, but Richard was never too careful - especially when a wage was on the line. Slowly, he brought a finger to his lips, indicating that Caitrin should be silent. Even she couldn't argue with that now, could she? He turned around, trying to move as little as possible so as to not make a noise. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. He bit his lip, this was probably just him being paranoid. The noise had brought him back to his senses however, and he was now fully on guard again, and therefore in no mood to play stupid games with Caitrin. "Just stop being childish and give me the reigns." He hissed, still not entirely convinced they were alone.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Sitting in front of Richard did sound like what she was aiming for, but she was still not going to be in charge of leading the horse. Honestly, why couldn't he just let her have this one thing, it wasn't as if she was going to lead the horse anywhere else but to Camelot. She didn't have anywhere else to go after all, and the quicker she got back to Camelot then the quicker she could get rid of Richard. She therefore kept hold of the reigns rather irritably, and raised her eyes as he started tapping his foot at her; like she was a naughty child. As he told her he was waiting she pulled a rather unimpressed face. "It might surprise you to hear I don't care. I'm waiting for you to get on the horse." She wasn't budging and that was that. This was ridiculous, did Richard pride himself on being completely uncooperative with everything that she said or did? Of course his pride or whatever was probably stopping him from being at all reasonable. His next words made her laugh, "If you even lay a finger on me I swear to God-"

Caitrin promptly cut off as Richard put his fingers to his lips. Of course she usually wouldn't have done, but the spontaneity of his action caught her off guard. Anyway, he wasn't trying to push her off the horse and that was the most important thing to Caitrin at the moment. Caitrin would have asked him what was wrong, but now she was becoming slightly concerned. He wasn't arguing with her, so something had to be wrong. She began to fiddle with the reigns as she watched Richard intently. Looking around the clearing, she couldn't see a problem, so what on earth was wrong with him?

She blinked quickly as he hissed at her, and for a moment she was going to retort that this was a ploy to just get her to hand over the reigns, but there was an urgency in his voice that was hard to miss. Biting her lip, she decided not to risk it and extended the reigns towards him, "Whats wrong, what did you hear?"

[Richard de Calys]

If he wasn't currently preoccupied he would have voiced his surprise at how Caitrin immediately surrendered the reigns. Again, if he wasn't currently preoccupied he would remember this and use it again, only when they weren't in probably danger. He hadn't actually heard her question, his mind was elsewhere: he was in Richard Defensive mode. There was nothing unusual about their surroundings, which made him even more suspicious. Forests weren't meant to be quiet - especially this one. He was now holding the reigns, and determined to continue doing so, and therefore only ventured forwards a few steps, besides, he didn't want to go away from the horse that much anyway.

Richard could have sworn there was a rustling noise coming from one of the bushes. Maybe it was just some nice, cute, fluffy woodland creature. If he just stayed where he was then everything would be alright, because that always worked. His eyes remained fixed on the bushes for a moment or two, the longer he waited, the more likely it became that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He was just being over-cautious. Well, it seemed like everything was fine. Letting out a breath he turned back to Caitrin and the horse. Now he just had to put up with her for another two days.

He was just about to tell Caitrin not to worry and that he had been wrong - well, alright, maybe he wouldn't have been so vocal about that - when he felt something grab him from behind and pull him backwards. He lost his balance and crashed onto the floor, managing to smack his head against the ground.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

From where he lay on the floor, Richard outwardly groaned. Brilliant. He would have got up, only he wasn't in any sort of position to defend himself and if he was going to die horribly then he might as well just stay where he was. He was going to end up there anyway.

"Looks like we found ourselves a noble."

Well at least somebody noticed. Wait. Were they talking about Caitrin? He sat up sharply, for some reason he thought it would be a good idea to confront the men from where he was now sat on the floor. He stared up at the two men - who really looked like they needed a bath and a new wardrobe - arms folded with a rather shocked and irritated expression on his face. "Excuse me, but I think you'll find she's my noble." That had been a mistake. The largest and ugliest of the men had grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him forward so Richard's face and his were mere inches apart.

"Your noble, ey?" The man laughed and glanced over to Caitrin. "She your sweetheart?

"Don't be absured." Richard replied, trying to wriggle free from the man's grip. "She's my..." he was struggling to think of a way to describe her without letting on that she was worth a good deal of money to him. She was his job, after all, and he wasn't letting these thugs anywhere near his money. "Sister." He decided on eventually, that was plausible. "Now unhand me."

"Or what?" The other man had joined them, he was slightly smaller than the first one, and, in Richard's opinion, just as ugly.

Hmm. What exactly was a suitable threat? From his current position he hardly looked like a formidable foe. "I do not answer to the likes of you." There. That was threatening. Sort of. Both the men just laughed at him, but the first one released him all the same. Presumably Richard didn't strike fear into their hearts. Well that was just rude. He remained sat on the floor as the first man walked over to the horse. Before Caitrin had time to protest - which was surprising - the man had pulled her from the horse and was now holding a struggling and very angry young woman in his arms. "This is why I drugged her..." Richard muttered under his breath.

Now that both men seemed to be occupied with restraining Caitrin, Richard stood up and brushed down his clothes. At least his cloak wasn't ruined. As he did so, he remembered the chain around his wrist. The chain which had seemed like an idea. Oh, this was annoying. He was either going to have to somehow rescue Caitrin or be kidnapped along with her. This was supposed to be an easy job. "Look, I see you're busy restraining my sister, but, as you can see there's a chain around her wrist." He paused to give the men time to see that he was telling the truth. "I hate to ruin your fun, but it's a magical chain. It prevents her from being kidnapped by thugs like you (our mother is so frightfully paranoid), so I'm afraid your attempts are futile." The first man let go of Caitrin, but she was still being held by the other, and regarded the chain. He held a section of it in his hand, clearly weary of it and yet seemingly determined to deal with it all the same. In one swift movement he had unsheathed his sword and cut straight through it. Richard just stared at him. But...that wasn't supposed to happen. He'd given his best hat for an "unbreakable" chain. "Right. I see. I'll admit that was unexpected."

The first man just grinned at him, before his fist collided with Richard's face and the young nobleman hit the floor again, only this time he wasn't so quick to jump up again.