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Dristan could tell that Caitrin still felt a bit awkward about telling him about her previous betrothal.. However Dristan sensed that it was more that she still felt adverse to the whole situation rather than the fact that she had told him. Her next words surprised him slightly because he hadn’t expected that she would have wanted to continue talking about it. He supposed that it was a good thing that she was willing to confide in him because this meant that she found him comfortable to be with and a companion. At first he wasn’t sure exactly how to answer. Although he was intrigued and expected that even if he didn’t question her further he would probably divulge the intricate details anyway when he finally did get around to visiting his family. He didn’t want to pry and make her tell him because she thought that it was the right thing to do. Dristan discounted the latter thought. If she had asked him whether he wanted to know more then the fact probably was that she felt like she wanted to tell him. Plus a previous betrothal was something that they had in common and if as a family talking about it was going to make them closer then he had nothing to loose. Even though she was a woman, Dristan knew that if he was going to be staying in Camelot for any length of time then he would need at least one friend. He would especially need a friendly companion when he presented himself to his father.

‘I expect that you weren’t sent here because your betrothed had an extremely large snozzle were you?’ he smiled humorously and waited for her answer. Upon looking back on his own previous betrothal, he expected that the way he pictured her now it would probably be exaggerated. As her picture shimmered in his mind he began to be overwhelmed by the size of her nose. Surely no woman of respectable noble standing could possibly have a nose that large and be expected to marry him. Dristan had never seen a woman with a nose so large in his life, not even could he have dreamt about it. No, time must have exaggerated her nose to him. His father could not have possibly decided that the right thing to do was to marry his son off to a nose with a body attached for transport.

He could tell that Dragon Lady was surprised and taken back by his words, after a moment she answered him though. She didn’t seem like she understood his words, more that she was trying to convey that she understood his feelings? Feelings? Ha! Feelings were for girls and strange men. Dristan did not need feelings. The only feelings that Dristan needed were the ones that women felt when they decided that they wanted to have a little bit of fun with him. If he could transfer those feelings into ever woman he deemed good enough then his job would be made a lot easier. Not that it wasn’t easy at the moment. Most women weren’t exactly difficult to convince. Besides, sometimes the charming part was the most fun…. What was he thinking? No it wasn’t! The bed sport was the best every time!

She was smiling, which was a good thing in a way. It at least meant that she wanted him to come to the de Beaumont lands to see his parents. He expected that if his father didn’t outright throw him out then he would be expected to stay there for the whole of his visit. He didn’t even know if ths was a visit, for all he knew he wouldn’t want to or get the chance to leave again. He supposed that if his father forgave him then he wouldn’t leave them. They deserved that much at least. Except if they decided to betroth him to someone completely unsuitable again. Moderately large noses Dristan could cope with, but enormous ones were out of the question. ‘I will visit. I have to for the sake of my parents. They probably think that I am dead at the moment since I haven’t managed to send them a messenger in about four months’. Dristan couldn’t even remember what he had said in his last letter to his parents. The only thing that he could remember was that the letter had been rather short, and incredibly vague.
‘And if you shall don your finest gown, then I shall wear my finest clothes also’ he answered her. In truth, he expected that if he did wear his finest clothes to his first meeting with his parents, his father would probably see it as an insult.

‘What other meaning could it possibly take dear cousin?’ he laughed now at what before had felt rather awkward. When she took his arm they resumed walking, although Dristan was not completely sure where their destination was going to be. ‘Ok, perhaps was possibly not the best word. A better word I think will be definitely’. He laughed. To compare the completely different meanings to the two different kinds of conversation that they had been taking part in was ludicrous. Before the only thing on Dristan’s mind had been how to charm dragon lady into his bed. Now, although eighty percent of his mind was focused on the innocent conversation at hand. Twenty percent was still staring at and picturing the various pretty women in the crowd with their clothes off.

‘The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind’ Dristan said innocently with a devious smile. The juxtaposition between his voice and his facial expression was painfully obvious.

The idea that Dragon Lady had been betrothed still continued to shock and intrigue Dristan slightly. Other than himself he had not known of any other individual that had actually gotten out of a betrothal. Then again as he thought about it, most of the other people he had known who had been betrothed had either been happy about it or had not cared enough to want to change their situaton. He sensed that Caitrin would not be willing to give up too much more information about her prior betrothal so he left it and did not make any more comments. Dristan unlike Caitrin had not really gotten out of his betrothal, he had more run away from it and hoped that it would just disappear. He hadn’t just run away from his betrothal really, he had more likely run away from everything. From his responsibility, his father, but mostly he had run away from his grief for the only woman who he had loved, Hawaise.

It still pained him to think about her. But it was inevitable really, there was nothing good in the world that didn’t end in pain. In a moment of spontaneity Dristan voiced his thoughts, ‘Let me tell you something young cousin. Here is a piece of advice. Never become too attached to anything’. Dristan knew that what he had said was random. That cousin Dragon would not understand what he was talking about. At least now he had gleaned the information that perhaps cousin had come to live with his father because of family feud. Perhaps over the betrothal. Dristan smiled and shook his head to try and lighten the mood a little.

‘I honestly do not know when I should visit. I know that I should visit but I don’t know whether I want to or not’ he laughed although laughing was one of the things that at this moment he actually didn’t feel like doing. He wanted to visit his home. He wanted to see his mother and father again. Although he had advised cousin earlier not to become attached to anything he was aware that it was too late for his parents. He loved them and he had already felt pain for feeling thus. The guilt that he had felt when he had left Camelot had weighed down upon him for four years. The only times he had forgotten it was when he had given himself up to oblivion. Although yes he had enjoyed his time away immensely, he had seen things which he parents could not even dream of seeing and experienced the most wonderful sensations. The true fact that he had let down his family still pained him. It pained him so much that sometimes he wished that he had never felt any kind of positive feeling towards his parents.

Dristan thought about her comment about appearances, he knew himself to be quite vain. Not particularly in the way he dressed. Although today his clothes were incredibly fine and tailored he knew that he was just as comfortable in less expensive cloth. Not that he would willingly dress as a peasant. Their clothes did not smell appealing or even look remotely appealing. No, Dristan was vain because he knew he was handsome. He liked turning the heads of women and to hear them whisper behind their hands. He enjoyed the sensation of seeing a pretty young woman’s face turn tomato red through self consciousness if he chose to speak to them. ‘Being vain is not much of a sin Cousin, I shall not taunt you today for it’.

Dristan was getting weary of being so distant from Dragon lady. He decided to address humorously the topic of their separation ‘And now cousin, not because you need holding up or supporting’, He smiled and suppressed a chuckle before continuing, ‘But out of friendship and family bond, would you possibly consider taking my arm so that we may walk and find out more about one another without this cold gap between the two of us?’. Dristan once again offered his arm. Thinking back he realised that it had been over four years since he had offered his arm to a woman in a genuinely non sexual way without any intent to entice her somewhere dark and intimate. ‘Who knows, perhaps we can make some young men jealous’. He smiled knowing truthfully that every young man- taken or not- that was out today and saw himself and young dragon lady strolling together would feel more jealous . Who knew, perhaps he could even make a few ladies jealous as well.

Another memory flashed through Dristan’s mind, it was very old and unclear, the image lasted only a couple of seconds and was of a baby with a shock of startlingly red hair, a soprano voice wavered into existence, ‘Father, whats wrong with it?’, Dristan remembered feeling wonder and surprise. He had been so young, he had never seen a red haired person before so he had thought that the baby was horribly ill and would soon die. Of course people with red hair were not ill and it was startlingly obvious that Caitrin was not dead now. She was very much the opposite, living and breathing in fact. The next time that he had seen her had probably been that time when her father had heavily scolded her for running down the stairs. In truth Dristan had hardly met Caitrin’s side of the family. Secretly Dristan had always thought that there was some one thing so similar about the two men and if they had been close then they probably would have been the best of friends and their separations would have probably been more likely to last weeks or months rather than years. But because the two brothers had never been close, their similarities had made them feel repelled from the other one.

Dristan attempted to look ashamed at her comment about him being shallow, however all he thought that he managed to do was fail miserably at it. He was glad when she supported his decision not to marry the woman though. And when she mentioned that she had once been betrothed Dristan thought that he may have truly found a person how understood his predicament. ‘You were?’ he asked, he waited a moment but expected that he would not get much of an answer in return. She was a woman, he would have to earn some kind trust from her before she gave up that information he thought.

It was well known that the nobility did not marry for love. Love was for the peasants. Because the peasants did not have wealth or connections they were allowed to therefore marry for love. As a nobleman it had been drilled into Dristan from a young age that when he was to be married he must marry for the good of his family. To further their connections. In a way Dristan did feel honour bound to do just that. However why could he not marry into a good family, whilst also feeling some kind of attraction and companionship towards the girl also? That wasn’t too much to ask from his father was it? If the girl was anywhere near attractive and if she had some kind of personality, he expected that he could settle down with her and be faithful at least most of the time.

When cousin refereed to his father it made Dristan think about what his father would be like upon his return. Although Dragon Lady’s words had been reassuring, her tone of voice had been slightly less so which hinted that she thought that Lord Rouland would perhaps veer more towards anger than joy at the return of his prodigal son. ‘Hmm yes’, Dristan’s voice was slightly sarcastic but he smiled kindly at his young cousin in gratitude for her kind words. Even if she thought he words were untrue, it was the thought that counted.

‘I have never been scruffy… well not very scruffy anyway’, Dristan laughed, ‘My mother always made sure that I was well dressed’. Dristan remembered sometimes wishing that he was a peasant as a young boy. Because then at least he would have been able to play with the other young boys of the surrounding villages all the time. Instead Dristan had had to play with the children of his fathers few knights and soldiers. The children he had been able to play with were few and they had always been wary because he was Lord Rouland’s son and any wrong move might have had them in big trouble. Dristan knew that the children he had played with had always been heavily warned by their fathers not to play how they normally would with each other. ‘I remember my father once mentioning that if there had been a speck of dirt, you would have found it’.

Dragon Lady Caitrin looked different in light of this new information. Most of her attractiveness wavered away into nothingness. Dristan could still see of course that his cousin was still strikingly beautiful, however, thankfully its effect on him was completely different. He slowly begain to see slightly similarities which would have hardly been noticeable if the information about their kinship had not been known. The tones of red in her hair echoed a much stronger version of some of the stray red hairs he had seen in is own. Her delicate face seemed almost to be the feminine to his masculine. True, she was beautiful. But rather than giving him so much of an urge to see her naked in his bedchamber- urgh- it made him ever so slightly more bigheaded about the wonderfulness of his own genes.

Although he felt slightly uncomfortable about it all, the look on her face made him laugh slightly and he reflected slightly on his earlier feeling of comradeship. It could not only be their genes that made them almost natural comrades- their fathers proved that family needn’t keep in touch- perhaps their personalities were not too different either. Obviously, Dristan thought, his mind would be infinitely more dirty than young dragon lady. But he could easily sort that. Give it a month and although Cousin fire might still have her virtue, she would be unlikely to be pure of mind. In a way Dristan liked that, perhaps he could come to see her as something like a younger sister. A younger sister who he would protect, but also stain.

To her words he nodded before replying, ‘Yes Lord Rouland is indeed my father’, he groaned for a moment at the thought of his father telling his cousin about him being married. If his father had not told the truth about Dristan’s true location to his own family then the whole of the Camelot must have for the past four years been living under the conclusion that Dristan was married to the big nosed, utterly boring freak that he had been betrothed too. Would he have to visit every household in the kingdom and deny his fathers lies. This information also opened up the possibility that his father was even more unhappy about the present situation that Dristan had through possible. On the other hand, his fathers lies could have been a face saving strategy to actually save his son from embarrassment. But that was highly unlikely. ‘And, no my father has lied to you. I am not married. Would you think me shallow cousin if I said that her nose would have made my children ugly and that her wits bored me to the nonce’s?’ he shook his head and imagined what his father must think of him, ‘I could not marry someone I did not feel compatible with so I left’, he paused for a moment before continuing, ‘I suppose I had better return home soon’.

He felt more at ease when she laughed, he was beginning to think that he had imagined the humour in the situation. Either that or he had imagined dragon ladys sense of humour. Her poke made him smile at the apparent friendship that could be found in the gesture. ‘I know! How could I have known?’ he laughed, ‘Although I am not ashamed to say that you have grown into an incredibly beautiful woman!’

Dristan liked this woman, probably not his kind of marriage material but as a friend to talk to he supposed that they could possibly become good friends. It was a shame that he was going to sleep with her and the never contact her again, it would have been nice to have a confidant again in Camelot. Especially since he wasn’t sure how long he was going to stay. That made him think about his parents. It had been four long years since he had been at home. Occasionally while he had been away he had paid messengers to send his parents news and letters telling them about the things he had been doing- but not going into enough detail to include a description of the people that he was doing. He expected that if he went home to visit he would either one of two reactions. Happiness or anger. He liked to fantasise that his parents would be so relived to see their only child whole and safe that his parents would be blissfully happy and completely forget the fact that he had run away from his betrothal and left his parents for a time without any explanation as to his whereabouts or any reasons for his sudden disappearance. He wondered whether that large nosed little girl that he had been supposed to marry was still unmarried, and he shuddered to think that she might still be out there waiting for his return so that she could still marry him.

Dragon Ladys words pulled him out of his revere. This woman was indeed strange, the word different did not often imply a compliment. He watched her as she shifted her weight to the side and then laughed at her so called ‘compliment’ to himself. It really was such a shame that they would be loosing touch in a couple of days. If only there was a way to befriend this woman. But alas that would only be possible if he did not pleasure her beyond any earthly measure. ‘I thank you also for your compliment my lady’.

The look on her lovely face made him know without a doubt that fire breath knew exactly what the true course of the conversation was. Her movements had become seductive, usually when a woman acted in this kind of way Dristan knew what to do, but with dragon lady Dristan wasn’t completely sure whether she was just doing it to lead him on before she dropped him.
‘I am sure that Camelot will be able to cater to my every need My lady’, deciding that she might in turn be leading him on he couldn’t resist smiling before lifting a finger which he stroked it softly down her arm. Dristan bit back a small laugh once again feeling remorseful for the friendship they could have had.

It seemed her curiosity had gotten the better of her which Dristan supposed was fair enough, because he had enquired upon her reasons for coming to Camelot earlier which she had kindly answered, he decided that he would be equally charitable and answer her questions.
‘I suppose I would have to say that I feel slightly guilty for being away so long and not returning home to visit my parents’. He paused for a moment to push his fingers through his hair before continuing, ‘I kind of left in a hurry you see, and I haven’t really had much contact with them in the past few years’.