Courage eyed the bay next to him. His eye hardened slightly. His tail jumped up and snapped between his legs as the bay reached over to touch the black leather of Courage's saddle. He pinned his ears and tossed his head angrily as the bay ignored him and buried his nose in Courage's black mane.

"Sorry about him. He seems to think that he's above everything here." Jaya's voice floated down the main steps to the man that was struggling to keep the large warhorse away from the prince's rather naive bay. She walked between the two horses and pushed on the grey's head as he swung toward's the bay again. "Stop that! You have manners. Use them." She looked at him like he was a disobedient child.

Ridire flopped down on his haunches on the steps, his front feet on the one below him, looking from Arthur to Jaya to Merlin and then back to his owner again. His tongue lolled out to the side. He was the picture of contained excitement.

Courage looked startled for a moment and then whuffed his nose against her cheek for a short moment before glaring at the bay who had reached over in curiosity to touch her skirt-of-sorts.

"Leave him be." Jaya chided. "he's just curious." she petted the bay for a second and then swung onto Courage's back before Arthur had the chance to get to her and help her on.

He stood for a moment, his arms held out awkwardly and then dropped them. "Right." He turned from her, whether to hide his embarrassment that she had left him with his arms hanging in midair, or to just continue, Jaya wasn't sure. Arthur swung up onto his horse with the grace of a monarch and the practice of a man who was used to riding often. he looked over at her and then bit back a frown when he realized that he had to look up slightly to look at Jaya's face.

Merlin, ungainly as ever, hauled himself up on his horse, swinging his leg awkwardly over the picnic lunch that had been piled on behind his saddle. He glanced over and his eyebrows rose when Jaya went from petting her grey's neck to pulling a short, wicked looking blade half out of one of the silver studs that accented the front of her saddle.

Jaya caught him looking at her and winked, a facetious smirk on her face, pushing the blade back into the saddle.

Merlin just raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

The three of them trotted out of the city and the lower town and then out into the grassy field beyond. Where they moved up to a light canter to eat up the distance between town and the woods, Ridire loping along after them, only getting slowed up once by the meat market where the smell of roasting pig almost outdid Jaya's call.

They slowed down once they reached the forest, and Ridire was released from Jaya's side to dart in and out among the trees as he willed, scaring up as much wildlife as he could. The ride was comfortably paced, and the three of them talked. Though Jaya seemed to be pulling Merlin into the conversation more than Arthur seemed keen on.

"Most girls ride mares and quiet geldings. How did you end up with him?" Arthur asked after they were in the forest about twenty minutes, nodding to the large grey who had just ripped a mouthful of leaves from a bush he past.

Jaya dropped her reins and stretched, leaning back over the saddle and then twisting side to side. She looked at Arthur while she got a hand on the reins again. "He was a present, for my birthday. Two years ago." Jaya ducked under a branch that very nearly swept the inattentive Merlin off his horse.

Arthur glanced back at the loud noises Merlin made, swinging his arms wildly to grab the branch and leaves to get them out of his way, sighing like he had lost all hope for his servant. "Your father was all right with such a spirited animal in your possession?" he asked, watching Courage's head dip sharply to avoid the nip the Ridire directed at his nose.

Jaya looked at him and her left eyebrow dipped slightly. "He's the one that gave Courage to me. Ridire too. He's been helpful more times than I can count."

Arthur opened his mouth to start to say something, but Jaya didn't let him.

"I know that it might be a lot for you to swallow, me showing up with swords and a warhorse and a fighting dog, but you have to understand, Ireland isn't nearly as stable as Camelot. Last week we were attacked twice by two different bands of renegades. There's a few that want to rule the Island themselves. They don't have a personal grudge against my father, other than he happens to be the one in power at the moment. I think they even envy the way that the people think of him."

Arthur started open his mouth again, but closed it when he realized that Jaya wasn't finished.

"My father was a knight. He still is. He and my mother decided right away that it was probably wise to make sure that I knew how to protect myself. And since my father, unlike yours, didn't have a son, I may have been raised a bit like one. It's a strange situation, I'll give ya that, but that training has saved me more times in the last year than I care to count." Jaya looked back over her shoulder at Merlin.

"So has my magic."

Merlin nearly fell off in shock. He had heard her voice, clear as day...inside his head. He looked at her and smiled, but his mind was racing trying to decide if he had just heard her voice in his head, or if he had just read her expression with her voice echoing. Only the dragon had spoken in his head, could others do it too?

Arthur looked at her, a slightly sheepish cast on his face. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to sound like I thought it was wrong that you have such a horse or training. I was merely curious. Father ceased letting Morgana train years ago. He said it wasn't fit for a lady of her standing."

Jaya shrugged and shook her head good-naturedly. "I understand. My father is a bit unconventional. Most don't share his thoughts on the way he raised me."

"He must be proud of you." Merlin spoke up for the first time since he thought he heard her in his head.

Jaya looked at him over her shoulder and smiled thoughtfully. "I think sometimes he wonders if he did the right thing. But for the most part he seems to be."

They paused in a small clearing to eat the small lunch that Merlin had laid out while the royals busied themselves with throwing a stick for the zealous Ridire, who would charge off after it bringing it back with just as much exuberance.

As they finished eating, Merlin ran off into the woods to track down the horses he and Arthur had been riding. Ridire had burst out of the woods on the other side of the clearing and their horses spooked and started for home without them. Courage had picked up his head and looked around, only to realize that it was the wardog and had immediately dropped his head to continue eating, glaring balefully at him when he trotted by.

"How long will you be staying in Camelot?" Arthur asked, looking around Jaya wondering how exactly Merlin could make as much noise crashing through the underbrush in the trees as the two horses could. He shifted so he was closer to Jaya. He had been doing so ever-so-often since they sat down, making it look as unsuspecting as possible.

Jaya looked at him, noticing the movement closer to her, like she had every time he had before. "I don't really know. Probably as soon as we can after the treaty is signed. He doesn't like how long he's been away from home already." Jaya took a bite of the strawberry that she plucked from the bowl near her left thigh.

Arthur nodded, hardly hearing what she said. He was too busy looking her over. She was pretty, he decided. Not in the way that Morgana was striking, with creamy white skin and dark hair, but in a more casual sort of way. The sort of pretty that one didn't necessarily realize right away, but was hard to miss once one had noticed. Her smile was bright, and her eyes always sparkled with contained mirth and mischief. She was strange, but it was almost refreshing. And it didn't seem like Jaya was much caught up on the label of princess like most girls of her standing would be. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad that my wife can wield a sword better than most men. I suppose it would mean that she would be able to take my place much better if I were to die. Camelot would always have a protector on the throne...I wonder how hard it would be to get her to stay behind if we had to march off to war... Arthur pondered to himself for a moment. He decided that he liked Jaya, and he supposed that after a while, being married to her wouldn't be so bad. Though it did strike him that it would be an awful lot like having two Merlin's around at all times. He shifted closer to her. "You're not like any of the other girls that I've met."

Jaya looked over at him, confused and slightly distrustful all at once. "Meaning?" She asked, stroking Ridire's head as he flopped down with his head on her right thigh.

"You seem to be completely…" Arthur paused searching for the right word. "Unaware of what people will think of you."

Jaya's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"I mean," Arthur suddenly realized what it might have sounded like to her, "I mean that you don't seem bothered that people might think that the way you act is below your standing."

"I've always wondered why it is that a prince is supposed to learn to fight and a princess," Jaya leaned heavily on the word, scorn in her eyes, "can't wield anything bigger than a needle." She looked at Arthur sharply. "What if there's no man around to save her? A needle is useless."

Arthur snorted and shook his head slightly. "I wouldn't know, but I can imagine."

"I suppose if it was dipped in poison…" Jaya muttered thoughtfully, looking at him, her green-blue eyes sparkling with mirth.

Arthur shifted closer again. "No good." He shook his head. "You'd be just as likely to get the poison on you."

Jaya pursed her lips together and then bobbed her head back and forth. "I suppose you're right. A needle really is useless."

Being married to her wouldn't be so bad. At least I know she won't be bored during council meetings. Arthur smirked at what she said.

Merlin finally had caught the horses. Ye gods, they act like they've never seen me before. He grumbled to himself for the hundredth time since he crashed into the underbrush looking for them. After they had calmed down enough to realize that Merlin was the one that was following them, Merlin's black bay had been easy enough to catch. Arthur's horse seemed to be much more interested in evading though, and took much longer than he would have liked to catch. Merlin slogged through the bushes on the edge of the clearing and stopped, more out of curiosity than anything else. Arthur was much closer to Jaya than he had been when Merlin left, and it seemed almost like he was doing his best to get in her good graces. Is he?...He's not really...Is Arthur falling for a girl that gave him a bloody nose this morning? Merlin's eyebrows shot up and a look of panicked horror washed over his face as Arthur leaned over to kiss Jaya's cheek, at least, Merlin thought that was what the prince was aiming for. As it turned out, Jaya's timing was impeccable and she turned, just in time to receive the kiss...full in the mouth. Merlin's jaw went slack for a moment and then he clapped a hand over his forehead. Only Arthur. He sighed to himself. Merlin peered through his fingers at Jaya. Had she put him under some spell while he was away? She had said that she wasn't here to marry him. Was the kiss supposed to be no more than the cheek kiss that Merlin thought it was, or did she actually plan to turn her head like that? Arthur was most likely to become king one day. And Camelot had quite a lot to offer...but of things that he didn't think Jaya was really interested in. After all, she seemed much more inclined to fight and be part of the war-making than sitting at home, hoping to be rescued. Or was he completely wrong about that? Had he missed something? Had she lied to him? The worry that maybe he had missed something simply because he was too caught up in the fact that she had magic just like him started to bubble up in the pit of his stomach. No, that can't be. He reasoned to himself. She has magic, and Camelot certainly isn't ready for that. She wouldn't enjoy it here at all...would she? That's when Jaya started to move. Merlin braced himself for whatever plan she had. He would protect Arthur from her, no matter what he had thought of her.

Jaya slowly leaned back. She looked at Arthur for a moment, her lips pursed together. She opened her mouth like she was going to say something, closed it, shook her head slightly and scrunched up her face. "What...what are you doing?" she asked.

Arthur looked at her, completely shocked. "Well I…"

Jaya tipped her eyebrow.

Arthur cleared his throat nervously. When one kissed a girl, this wasn't exactly the reaction one anticipated. Granted, he hadn't planned on kissing her mouth, that was very forward, and completely and totally an accident.

"Didn't you just ask me when I was going back home?" Jaya asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Well, yes. I just thought-" Arthur started.

"You thought that you might have to entertain the idea of marrying me to secure the peace treaty?" Jaya started to giggle about halfway through the question. "Do ya really think that?"

Arthur gaped at her. "You're not?" he asked, panic in his voice.

Jaya started laughing. "From what you know about your father, and what happened to you today, do you see peace coming from marrying me? Honestly now. You don't have to worry about it. I'm not part of the peace treaty. I plan on going back to Ireland with my father as soon as he's ready to leave."

"But I thought-" Arthur started, the blush that had begun while Jaya was talking deepening and spreading higher.

"Is that why you brought me on this ride? And were asking all those questions?" Jaya asked.

Arthur gave up and hung his head.

"You'll have to forgive Arthur. He's not very bright when it comes to girls." Merlin's voice spoke from above and behind Arthur.

Jaya glanced up at Merlin and then down at Arthur again, her eyebrows raised, barely contained mirth sparkling in her eyes.

Arthur pursed his lips together and slowly turned his head to glare up at his servant. "Merlin!"