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Sometimes Caitrin did wonder if she was stupid for remaining in Camelot, but she had nowhere left to go anymore. She wasn’t welcome back in Mercia, and they couldn’t go to Griff’s home, mainly because his family didn’t really like her, but because they weren’t in line to inherit the estate; Lucan was, and he wouldn’t want them there all the time would he? He had his own family now after all, and she knew that your own family always came first. She couldn’t be annoyed at that. Her family had all but thrown her out of Mercia, at any rate she couldn’t ever go home, not if she wanted to keep her children safe. She didn’t even have Oliver there anymore to guarantee her safety. “Perhaps not.” She managed softly and just ran a hand over her belly. Oh, she had forgotten about the fact the Druid’s were now free to live and practise their magic. Caitrin wasn’t a druid though so that kindness didn’t extend to her. She was a sorceress in her own right, she had power over fire, and she would never know the full extent to those powers. “Who knows what the King will introduce.” Arthur was always merciful, she knew that, but she had no idea how he would react with actual sorcerers. Would they too be treated the same as the druid’s eventually?

She was still panicking, it didn’t matter to her that Elyan probably had no experience with pregnant women, when he had raised a concern she had still panicked. Breathing in and out slowly wasn’t working anymore and she bit her lip, trying to calm herself down that way. How would she know if she was in labour or just in pain? She’d never been pregnant before so she had no idea. She just tried to nod at him as he suggested they were making a big thing out of nothing, but that was before her belly started hurting again, and she breathed through her teeth slowly. Jesu, what was going on? She wanted her bed, and her husband, and for someone to tell her she was going to be alright. She had been told that you were in labour once your waters broke, and that hadn’t happened yet, so she wasn’t sure if this was a pre-labour pain or whether the little one was just distressed. She wasn’t helping either way. “Everything will be fine.” She finally said, both hands on her belly. Biting her lip she shook her head, she’d never felt anything like this before. It was like her whole body was going into a series of spasms, “No, I haven’t.” Was this why she couldn’t sleep? Because her little one was trying to make their entry into the world? Jesu, this was all going too quickly for Caitrin and she just breathed out, “I’m not in that much pain though, it just feels different.” She put one hand on her forehead, “I’m not helping am I?”

Caitrin de Archer was easily bored, and this was no exception. Her Uncle had left her here all day on her own with little to occupy herself with. He had muttered something about surveying the land, and though she had protested, saying that he always seemed to be surveying the land, and that she should learn how to as well, he had left her at home. So here she was, Caitrin de Archer, bored out of her mind. Jesu, it wasn’t even midday yet and she was sat wishing the day away. There was never much to do, and sometimes she reflected that her Uncle put her through this boredom so she would beg him to find her a good match. Well, if that was his intention she hoped he tired of it soon. Though her intimacies with courtiers were few and far between, she wasn’t about to give it all up for the sake of breaking her boredom. She had no intention to marry anytime soon anyway. Why should she? She couldn’t ever imagine being tempted to let a man lead her down the aisle, which would involve falling in love; something Caitrin was sure would never happen.

To occupy herself, she had actually resorted to needlework, and she was currently just finishing some of the embroidery on her latest gown. She always did the detail herself, she was good at it when she was motivated enough to do it. She was hardly ever motivated though, so half of the designs went unfinished for some time. Her finger was stinging from where she kept pricking it, and she swore loudly as the needle collided with flesh again. The knock on the door was a welcomed distraction, and Caitrin’s usual maid walked in when she was called upon. “Prince Celyn is here to see you my Lady.” Straight away Caitrin found herself smiling. She was already quite fond of Celyn, even if he was impossible sometimes. She was still under the opinion he made half of the words up for his ‘Welsh’ language. They had only seen each other a few times, but it was enough for Caitrin to be sure that any time with him was time well spent. Her needlework was quickly abandoned; she hadn’t been expecting him today, and she was extremely glad that he had called upon her.

“I’ll receive him myself, thank you for informing me of his presence.” The maid curtseyed and hurried off. Caitrin brushed down her deep blue dress and made for the door; she didn’t want to keep him waiting after all. In her usual style, Caitrin’s dress clung closely to her figure, not leaving that much to the imagination. Her hair, as usual, was hanging in a wild fashion around her shoulders. She descended the stairs from the first floor and found Celyn in the hallway. “My Lord Prince.” She bowed her head, probably with a little too much exaggeration, but she did love teasing him. “Have you come to save me from my boredom with your surprise visit?” She asked him, jumping the last two steps and landing confidently in front of him, “Because I pose no objections if that is your intention.” She was as confident as ever in front of Celyn, and winked at him because it was her way, and she was sure he was starting to learn that.

Payton, for a few moments, felt like he had blacked out. There was a ringing in his ears and he was only partly aware of Griff’s voice in the distance. He blinked a few times, then remembered how he had ended up on the floor. Anger ripped from the bottom of his stomach and his vision swam back into focus. Caitrin was still in front of him though she was making an attempt to get back to her feet. Payton grabbed one of her slender ankles with what little effort he had left. If he couldn’t hurt Griff in the physical sense, he still had his daughter to toy with. He could have an effect that way.

Caitrin yelped as she felt her weight go from beneath her, and she collided with the stone floor again. This time she didn’t move, she could only focus on the pain. Griff was telling her to leave but she couldn’t move, she didn’t have the effort to even try. Payton, opposite her, hauled himself up to his knees and coughed blood into the back of his hand. “Not leaving so soon are you Caity?” Caitrin wasn’t moving so Payton left her for the time being and turned his attentions to her pathetic fiancée

Wobbling slightly he stood up and faced Griff and looked him square on in the eyes, feeling he had proved his point more than anything. He wasn’t going to stick around to see himself dragged down further to this mans level. “Do not think that I will ever count her as my child ever again.” He was spitting his rage at Griff through bloodied lips, “You have caused this, when you are penniless and have a child thrust upon your responsibility every year expect no help from my family.” Standing up steadily, he took one last forceful kick towards his daughter and sent her off balance again, splitting the side of her cheek on the tip of his boot. It was always easier to hurt her than Griff; she didn’t bite back. Nevertheless, as he turned round his fist collided with Griff’s cheek; he called it a parting gift. He spat down on the ground at Caitrin and then turned and left the room as quickly as he could; he didn’t wait to see what damage he had caused, he had caused this whole situation and that was enough for him.

Caitrin was just about teetering on the brink of consciousness, though she’d rather have been unconscious. Everything hurt, and she was still huddled in a ball on her side. She shifted so she was lying on her back, because both her sides were bruised. Raising a hand to her cheek, she didn’t even react as she pulled away scarlet fingers. She didn’t want to imagine what she looked like, but the only important thing at the moment was the fact that the shouting had stopped. There was a slam in the distance and she held her breath, waiting for the attack to continue, but it never did; an awkward silence hung in the air. Shaking, she managed to pull herself up so she was sitting down. The room was spinning which probably wasn’t a good thing, but she could just about make out Griff. She bit her lip nervously and coughed roughly. What could she ever say to him that would excuse her father? “Griff- I’m- I’m so sorry,” Tears were chocking the back of her throat, “This is my fault.” She should have never come here, she never should have brought Griff. She had known her father wouldn’t approve of him but she had clung to the naïve hope that somehow he would suddenly start approving of her and her life. She had been so, so stupid, and this was the result of that, “We’ll leave, whenever you want, I don’t want to be here anymore.” They had already had the wedding feast, there was no reason for them to stay any longer, they could be back at Camelot in her Uncle’s care within the day. She couldn’t stay here with her father looming over her. She was probably thinking too far ahead but she was upset, and everything just hurt so much.

Caitrin was about to speak straight away but stopped herself. She was rather put out by Romily’s words on the whole, because in that short sentence she had insulted her probably more than the woman had intended. Caitrin wasn’t married, neither did she intend to, but she would speak her mind before marriage and during it. She couldn’t understand where the comment had come from and she just stayed silent and furrowed her brows at the older woman, “You don’t really believe that do you?” She asked cautiously, weary not to insult everything that Romily was about. She couldn’t really believe that speaking her mind was wrong, in fact Caitrin’s Uncle encouraged it where she was concerned. He always said he would prefer her to have a quick tongue than a maid’s brain.

It usually took Caitrin days to finish a dress because she couldn’t stand to be sat in one place for too long. It was incredibly grating on her nerves to stay sat down for too long, but when she concentrated she could embroider like an expert. This gown was probably one of her finest efforts, as of late she had been lacking in concentration somewhat. Camelot had knighted some more men, and Caitrin had been taking full advantage of the attention they had been giving her. “Thank you, I do not embroider as much as I should, but I am glad my efforts are appreciated.” She looked on at Romily’s dresses, they weren’t to Caitrin’s personal taste, but they were very pretty. Caitrin preferred much more figure hugging dresses, but these were quite decorative, Caitrin just had dipped sleeves, she didn’t really liked the puffed out effect; it didn’t suit her. “You should make more dresses, they are beautiful.” She smiled back at Romily, she wouldn’t personally wear them, but she could tell the Lady in question would look quite stunning in them.

Caitrin couldn’t explain it, but it seemed like every suggestion she came up with, Romily seemed to have a negative light to place on it. Caitrin wasn’t in the habit of thinking about the consequence of her actions, her liberal attitude in court had led to gossip, but she didn’t care that much. She wasn’t the worst, and she wasn’t the only one. She was nothing but a little rock in a large pool, no one wanted to talk about the Mercian anyway. “Everyone gossips, you just learn to ignore it after a while.” She replied with a knowing smile. She couldn’t believe Romily was alright with her father having such a tight regime over her, Caitrin had always defied her father at every turn. She still carried the scars of those experiences but they had made her what she was today. “Anyway, it is never too late to join the court.”

Caitrin still felt a little bad that she had snuck up on Romily somewhat. She had only wanted to offer her help after all, but it would do no good to debate with the woman about whether she had or had not caused offence. She already knew enough about Romily to know that she was too polite to say if she didn’t want her to be there. She didn’t suspect that Romily was lying though so she just smiled at the older woman and shrugged a little, “Well I’m sorry all the same.” She finally excused herself, happy then that no offence was done.

Caitrin couldn’t ever imagine being meek, so she couldn’t ever see herself being happy with being such. She liked being loud and she wouldn’t be changing her ways anytime soon. Caitrin wasn’t sure what to say to Romily, she could see the woman wasn’t that happy with herself in some ways. “But it is right that some of us are meek, and some are loud. If we were all loud then no one would be.” Caitrin said insightfully with a wide smile, hoping she had said the right thing. Caitrin then found herself just looking down at her dress. It was satin, as were most of her dresses, but she was kept warm through her underclothes, she had made those, but she was well used to the cold weather. She had grown up in Mercia after all. “It was made by a seamstress in Camelot, but I did the detailed embroider.” She gesture to the swirls and patterns on her bodice, those had been by her own hand. In truth Caitrin could have probably made the dress herself, after all she had made dresses for herself before. She had a green dress at the moment she was working on as well. “Do you make your own dresses, or do you have someone to make them?” She asked curiously.

She didn’t like the fact Romily was so accepting about the fact that her father kept a tight leash on her. Caitrin’s own father had been the same, and now she couldn’t be happier because she was free and out of his control. She hated her father with a passion, and she never wanted to go back to Mercia. “You should go to court more often, if just to see what is on offer.” She winked at her friend, hoping that she got her meaning. It was terribly embarrassing when she found herself, “Or just come to the Camelotian court, we would teach you the ways of the court.”

Caitrin could see that neither of them were ever going to back down on this argument, she could see that Lucan was as stubborn as she was. Instead she held out her hand, “We both deserve this meal as much as each other; deal?” She asked with a smirk. It was quite refreshing to come up against someone else who had the same stubborn streak that she did. Anyway, while they were arguing about who deserved the meal more they weren’t actually eating, which wouldn’t do at all, mainly seeing as Caitrin was absolutely starving. She felt like she hadn’t eaten in weeks. By the time she was mostly finished with her meal she was convinced that she was defiantly going to like it here.

She shrugged at his words, finishing off her mouthful before she spoke again, “For all I know you could be.” She knew relatively little about Lucan, save what he had already told her. She was probably a bit too trusting at times, but on this occasion it seemed like her gut instinct had been completely right. She was glad to hear that Lucan wasn’t going to judge her rather obscure relationships. Her Uncle certainly hadn’t approved of a different man being under his roof every Friday night, but he had to live with it. Caitrin had this apartment though now, and she wasn’t a child, she could do what she wanted. She was always careful though so she knew that she wouldn’t be getting any unexpected accidents anytime soon. “Well then don’t be surprised when I’m introducing you to a different guy every week.” She jested and winked at him. She wasn’t that bad, ok maybe she was, but still.

His question wasn’t a hard one, but she didn’t want to put him off her tastes too much, “I quite like Irish punk music, have you ever been to a gig like that? It’s one of the best nights out you will ever have.” She told him confidently, “Other than that I just like indie music, or soundtracks, they’re quite nice to listen to on the bus home.” She shrugged, that was her musical taste in a nutshell. Anyway moving on. “Right now my question, do you have any pets I should know about?”

Well that wasn’t too long then was it? She could cope another ten minutes of near starvation. There hadn’t been much time for her to eat when she had been unpacking, and she had rushed her breakfast somewhat in-between loading her Uncle’s car up with her boxes. Caitrin just nodded at him and found herself laughing as he explained the fridge method. It sounded quite eccentric in a way but she nodded all the same. She’d have to think up some weird messages to leave him every now and again, it would bring her endless amounts of amusement. “I shall don’t worry.” She replied, then diverting her attentions as the doorbell rung. Thank God for that, she thought quickly. She was sure her stomach had been on the brink of eating itself because she honestly felt that starved.

As Lucan handed her her plate, she took it gratefully, “Thanks, but I think you need it more than me.” She had only been unpacking, but he had a full day at work behind him. Caitrin supposed she was glad she hadn’t had the stress of working and moving on the same day. It would be nice to get to know her flatmate better over dinner though, and Caitrin looked up at Lucan thoughtfully. She was never a reserved woman, so she saw no reason to start now, “Ok icebreakers.” She challenged him, polishing off her first few mouthfuls of her take away, “I’ll ask you a question then you ask me one back, got it?” It was really quite simple, and she was sure Lucan must have done this kind of thing before, who hadn’t? “Do you have a significant other?” That needed to be gotten out of the way, not because Caitrin fancied herself with Lucan, but because she wanted to know if there was going to be another woman poking her nose round the flat on a frequent basis.

Caitrin could probably count on one hand the amount of people she knew who didn’t drink, and most of them were children. Her Uncle drunk nearly every moment of every day, so it was natural that she should drink as well. However, Caitrin did have an aversion to some sorts of wine seeing as it was all her Uncle ever drunk. She would drink this wine, but next time she would defiantly be buying the vodka. “I hardly know anyone who doesn’t drink.” All of her uni friends had drunk most days, and she had taken great pleasure in joining them. Caitrin smiled at Lucan and took the glass of wine, “Thanks.” She said before taking a sip. It was sweet wine at least, that was some sort of mercy at least, she couldn’t stand bitter wine; it was her Uncle’s favourite.

“Erm, just order me a chilli beef.” Caitrin told him as she went over to his ipod to investigate the damage. Caitrin had quite a unique eclectic taste and she wasn’t sure that Lucan would agree with much of her music, as she probably wouldn’t agree with much of his. She flicked through it, finally finding some Florence and the Machine, it wasn’t her favourite band but it would do. She preferred things like punk, and indie music if she was being truthful, as well as Irish punk music. The gigs she had been to in uni with Irish punk bands had been simply amazing. The Irish certainly knew how to drink and that was half of the appeal. After she had shifted the ipod selection around for a bit she took her wine and settled herself back on the sofa waiting for Lucan to be done with his order. When he was she looked up at him, “How long will it take for it to get here?” She hadn’t realised how hungry she was until the prospect of food was presented in front of her.

It would be wrong to deny that Lucan didn’t have a good body because it was really clear that he did. Caitrin didn’t fancy him of course, he was nice enough but she already knew he wasn’t her type. However, that didn’t mean that she couldn’t take a few moments to indulge herself, though the moment was incredibly short. Well, that was one of the perks on sharing a flat with a male housemate. Caitrin smiled to herself and just nodded as Lucan excused himself for a few more moments. She was still texting her cousin back and forth anyway. “Yeah, Chinese if that’s alright?” Caitrin shouted towards Lucan as he went to go and get dressed.

Caitrin just threw the menu towards Lucan as he came out of the bathroom, now dressed. She text her cousin back, telling him to get on with whatever his father was having a go at him about, and then turned her attentions back to Lucan. Caitrin stood up and walked over to the kitchen, sitting herself on one of the bar stools. She couldn’t help but let out quite a hearty laugh as Lucan suggested that she might not drink. She hadn’t got through university by being sober for the majority of it. The prospect was quite amusing, “Of course I drink, what do you take me for?” She asked, still trying to stop herself laughing. She wasn’t really much of a wine person, but it would do for now until she could afford some spirits of her own. She’d already used the ones left over from her degree course which was a traumatic thought in many ways. “Do you want to order the take away or should I?” She asked in a friendly way, her phone was sat on the side anyway so she didn’t mind if she had to ring for some food.