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Celyn ap Llewellyn had woken up that morning with both a sense of excitement and disappointment, but he was quite the optimist, and therefore determined not to let his disappointment ruin the rest of the day. Today was the day he and Ifan (and, annoyingly, six of his father's guards) started their journey, their adventure, across Albion. It had taken the better part of six months to convince his father that this was a good idea, and now it was actually happening. He was quite proud of himself for managing to get this far - even his right now "this far" was outside Ifan's chamber. Well, it wasn't Ifan's, but he was a guest in the castle often enough.

He didn't bother knocking before entering - it was his castle after all, he just strolled in. As he expected, Ifan was still asleep. It was a good thing the servants and packed their belongings the night before, otherwise Celyn would be rather annoyed. The young prince walked over to the side of his friend's bed, cocking his head - arms folded against his chest - and gave Ifan exactly ten seconds to wake up before he jumped on him. He didn't wake up.

"Rise and shine, Ifan!" Celyn half-shouted, rather too cheerily for that time of the morning. Normally he would be in the exact same position as Ifan - it being a morning and all, but today he wanted to leave as quickly as possible. It took a shout, a jump and some rather vigorous prodding before Ifan was returned to the land of the living. "Good morning, are we planning on being active today?"



Tagged: Ifan
Setting: Sugales
Timeline: During series one

Celyn matched her mischevious grin, his expression only changing when he began to laugh. That was definitely one way to get rid of his father's guards, probably one that the king - and Ifan for that matter, boring thing that he was - would certainly disapprove of, which just made it sound even better. "If only there was some way to get it from you..." He gave an exggerated sigh, and tapped his index finger against his chin. "I suppose I'm just stuck with them after all."

In some ways, Yassia's home reminded him of his own, in so much that they were both small with valleys and a lack of interest in the politics of others. It seemed the two of them had something else in common. It was no secret that Celyn valued Sugales above all other places, and even though he had absolutely no desire to rule it, he was still filled with pride and love for it. "That sounds like my own home." He replied, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. He did miss it, but for all its beauty and charm it was not an exciting place, and when he did go back, he would resume his responsibilites. Being on the road was a much better life for Celyn.

Her words caused a grin to widen across his lips. Yes, he would be going in the Forest of Balor despite her warnings. He was planning on going there anyway, but she just made it sound even more fun. Much to his father's disappointment, Celyn had always been one to find excitement through danger and these cockatrices sounded perfect. He'd heard them mentioned before, but nothing substantial. He would have asked her about them, at least some brief description, just so he could imagine them properly. But then wouldn't that take the excitement away from it? No, he wouldn't ask her anything, despite how hard a temptation that was to resist.

To him, Yassia seemed like the kind of woman who was not shocked or frightened easily, and so the Forest of Balor must truly be a dangerous place. Her words of caution only served to convince him further that this was somewhere he should go. "I'm tougher than I look, and failing that I have my guards..."

Well that was odd. Naturally, Celyn had assumed that Yassia and her uncle were close - he had voiced such a thought only a few moments before. It therefore seemed a very strange thing indeed that she should be so intent on finding him, especially if he might not even be aware of her existance. He supposed then, probably letting his imagination get the better of him - that the woman was in some sort of danger. Why else would she be trying to find him?

The more he thought about it, the more he was sure he wasn't being told the whole story. Her words gave him the impression that her uncle was a proud man, perhaps not a very generous one if he would automatically assume Yassia was not who she said she was. Of course this was all just speculation on Celyn's part, but it was certainly interesting. He liked meeting new people, and hearing their tales. Yassia was definitely one of the most interesting people he had met. Perhaps that was why he felt the need to help her, or at least attempt to. After all, what he had in mind may not help the situation with her uncle - if she accepted it, that was.

"Hmm." He pressed his index finger against his chin. This probably wouldn't help her, but he felt like he should at least try. There were of similar stuff, him and Yassia: both wanderers. "If you're own word does not satisfy him," he paused, leaning forward, making sure he was out of ear-shot of anyone else in the tavern, "would the word of a prince suffice?"

"At least you wouldn't be here irrititating me." He replied, before she had come along he had been quiet happily sitting in his bush, minding his own business. She had been the one to initiate contact first, therefore she could hardly complain about his actions. After all, he hadn't forced her to speak to him, in fact, it would probably have been better if she hadn't. "No, I hadn't noticed." There was more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Her next comment was met with raised eyebrows. "Oh haven't I? From what I have seen you are bossy, obnoxious and have far too high an opinion of yourself - just like every other noblewoman." His words finished, he pressed his lips together in an almost-grin. He was quite certain that out of everything he had said the thing that she would argue against the most was being like every other woman, which was exactly why he had said it.

Presumably, she had chosen not to address him properly on purpose. Well, he wasn't going to rise to it. He was far above such petty teasings, that was the plan anyway. The temptation to tell her that she should be referring to him as either "your highness" or "sire" was ignored, instead he glared at her for a few seconds. It wouldn't have made a difference to say anything anyway, she would just ignore him. If he was back home he could have had her flogged...

Of course there was no one else there, otherwise he wouldn't be about to leave the safety of the bush. She was just pointing out the obvious, something which was entirely unnecessary. She seemed to looking happier though, and less like she was going to hit him again. This was suspicious.

"So what are your plans now?"

Ah. Looks like he wasn't going to get rid of her quite as easily as he thought. Maybe he should have stayed in the bush, where it had been safe, well, relatively safe. "Avoiding my guards." He said simply, after all, that was why he had been hiding in the first place. They might not be in their vicinity at the moment but they were certainly still looking for him. "I suppose you'll be looking for someone else to attack now."

By now the pain in his cheek had left. It had not been that hard a slap, it was merely the surprise that had made him seem more painful, or that was his excuse anyway. Regardless of his actions however - and really, had they been so hard to endure - Caitrin had no right to slap him. He was sure that he would be severely in the wrong if the situation was reversed (not that the situation would be reversed, he was a gentleman after all), yet it all very well and good for Caitrin to go on attacking him because she felt it was justified. Celyn thought his covering her mouth and pulling her into a bush was justified. Apparantly it wasn't. "Well I don't agree with your opinion." He said, in a slightly childish tone. He could have added that, as a prince, it was not her opinion that mattered at all, but his, but he was taking the moral high ground. Or at least he thought he was, which was near enough the same thing, being a prince and all.

He sighed - did she really have such a low opinion of him? Yes, he had insulted her in a language she didn't understand, and yes, he had pulled her into a bush and covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming, but even so. It wasn't as if he was doing so for no reason. And anyway, who wouldn't want to find themselves in such a position with a prince? She should be grateful. "No, I do not "treat all women like that"." He replied, trying to shuffle away from her, which proved to be a difficult task. "Only those that deserve to be treated in such a manner, and you, my dear, certainly do."

In response to the question at the end of your post: me. I would. I'd enjoy this a lot more than Cait.

"That wasn't a word perfect translation." He replied with a rather smug grin. No doubt that would annoy her, well good, she deserved such. Her reactions were ever so amusing, although he had taken her to be a little more intelligent than she was proving to be. Honestly, was it that hard a concept? Well, clearly it was. He made it no secret that English was not a language he held in much regard, and even if he did, surely it was obvious that the answer to her question was no? Of course it was easier to reply in his own language. It was the language he thought in and one he would much rather be using. "And no, I don't think that." He said with a definite tone. It was a stupid question, she should be well aware of that fact.

During his life, Celyn had been slapped by enough women to be able to show a little dignity after such an attack. Naturally the force of her hand made his head turn and the shock and sudden pain caused him to take a sharp intake of breath. That was not something he had been expecting. He was, however, able to overcome the urge to press his hand to his, presumably already reddening cheek, and ignore the throbbing pain. It would subside soon enough, and he wouldn't have Caitrin knowing how much that had actually hurt.

When he turned back to face her he was glaring, and justifiably so. She had just slapped him in the face, after all. "I'm not sure that was entirely necessary." He replied, still whispering. The majority of the slaps he suffered from where never necessary. It seemed to be the default reaction for emotionally unstable women. He was going to add another comment, probably a sarcastic one about her being an example of the afore mentioned emotionally unstable woman, but he could see feet in front of the bush so he stopped moving, and practically stopped breathing. As long as Caitrin stayed still as well, they should be alright.

After what seemed like hours, but, knowing Ifan and his attention span it was probably only a matter of seconds, he heard his friend's voice. "I can't see anything here." It was only a matter of a few seconds more and the feet had disappeared. Celyn let out a rather long breath. That was far too close for comfort, but at least they hadn't been found. Now at liberty to speak again, he did just that, "I can assure it was far from a pleasant experience, and something I'll endeavour not to have to endure again." Perhaps that was being a little harsh, but his cheek still hurt.

How ignorant she was. While he was not surprised at her lack of enthusiasm for his language, did she honestly think it was made up? He hoped she was just trying to provoke him, rather than voicing an actual belief. It would be far too depressing if she was. While Sugales was not the most highly thought of of the kingdoms in Albion it was a proud one nonetheless. He didn't take too kindly to her attitude towards it. He was half tempted to reply to her in Welsh, but that would be childish and would just provoke more disrespectful comments from her, so for the moment he bit his tongue and tried to think of something that could be said by a man of his standing to a woman. Nothing was springing to mind. "Believe what you want." He replied, a rather weak reply as replies went, but it was a little more civil than what he had wanted to say. Oh sod it. What was wrong with a little childishness? Nothing, he decided and added, with a grin of course, "Nid wyf yn gofalu am y farn a menywod yn blino. It means I don't care."

Despite her apparant ability to be the most annoying thing in his life right now, he did need her on side if he was not going to be found by Ifan and the others. That probably only made her more annoying. As a rule, Celyn didn't much care for relying on others, especially when that other was a woman. It wasn't exactly a situation befitting a prince. Well, most of the situations he managed to get himself into were hardly befitting of his title, that was what made them fun. This was just bordering on degrading.

With some reluctance he let go of her. She could easily escape and alert the others, but it was a risk he was going to have to take. It was his freedom or his ribs, so he chose his ribs. "Happy now?" He whispered, all too aware of the stupidity of their predicament. Right now, not only would being found mean he would have to return to the life of a travelling prince, instead of a mere wanderer, but it would be horrendously embarrassing. What would Ifan think if he found Celyn lying in a bush with a strange woman? He dreaded to think.

Celyn, because he was being rather immature, just laughed at Caitrin's words. Good. He was happy to be annoying her, so no he wasn't going to enlighten her. He would have to remember just how much she appreciated his speaking Welsh again. It would certainly help him get a few things off his chest. He'd just smile sweetly and speak softly, and then of course refuse to tell her what he had said. "I don't think I shall." He replied with a grin. It had been amusing to watch her try and repeat his words, and not quite being able to get her tongue around the sounds. "Oh don't worry we will. Wouldn't want the likes of you diluting it, now would we?" He asked raising his eyebrows slightly.

She was very fond of glaring, he'd noticed, but then he probably deserved it. He wasn't being the easiest person to get along with, he would admit that readily, but then neither was he, and he wasn't glaring. All he was doing was speaking in a different language. That wasn't rude at all. "No," he said simply, "But around you I find it the most useful. Is glaring your favourite expression? You seem to do it enough." She'd only get lines around her eyes, surely even she was aware of that...

Ow! He had to bit his lip to stop himself making a noise. His hand upon her mouth was probably pressing a little too hard against her, but she was elbowing him so he thought that was fair enough. It was no easy task to try and stop someone attacking him while keeping her quiet and hiding in a bush, but if anyone could do that it was going to be Celyn. He was quite determined that he wasn't going to be found, especially not because of Caitrin. "Stop elbowing me!" He hissed as quietly as he could, holding her more firmly, although not firmly enough to stop her being able to hit him. After struggling for a few moments he let out a small sigh - it would have been a louder and far more frustrated but the feet were still visible. "Stop hitting me and I'll let go."

Celyn inclined his head towards her after her introduction. Even if she wasn't going to observe even the most simplest of manners it didn't mean he was going to do the same. "A pleasure it is to meet you." He replied, trying to sound as though he was being genuine. He doubted if this Caitrin would care either way if he was genuine or not, but that was hardly the point. He was a prince, whether he liked it or not, and there were certain rules that had to be followed.

Her ignorance was hardly endearing, but then, from what had seen, not a lot of her character was. Mainly she was just annoying. "It's the language of my people." He explained, surely that much was obvious? He didn't know many people who broke into random languages for the sake of it. "Welsh." A much finer language than English by all accounts. He grinned at her, a rather self-satisfied grin before adding, "Fyddwn i ddim wedi ei difetha gan eich tafod, fy arglwyddes." No doubt that would only irritate her further, but Celyn found himself not really caring. Her reaction might be amusing.

"Be quiet!" He hissed, she might well be in pain but she was supposed to be being quiet, and quite frankly he didn't care anyway. Bushes were not designed to be comfortable. "Yes there was. Just be quiet." The footsteps were getting louder and she'd probably start shouting at him, or hitting him, either of which he wouldn't really be in a position to complain about. Her comfort however was the least of his worries right now. The only thing worse than being found in a bush by his father's guards would be to be found in a bush with a random young woman. That would certainly be something to write home about... Before she had any time to start complaining he'd pulled her further into the bush and clapped a hand around her mouth. The guards were close enough to see their feet now, so despite whatever protestations Caitrin might have, he wasn't going to be found.