Relationships can be great, but why do they have to be so hard? When Huyana and Gad meet each other, they both secretly feel attracted to one another. That's not the problem, though. How will they convince their families that relationships aren't all that bad?
A/N: Just a new story I decided to write. Getting a little bored. Actually, this is one of those weird "spur of the moment" things. I just got a great idea and knew I had to write about it. I hope you enjoy! I'd like this to go places!
- Abiona Marchand
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Disclaimer: I do not own any of Tamora Pierce's characters, places, or any of the such that belongs to her.
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Huyana Mayle stood in the burning heat of Alismut, located in the hill country of Tortall, attending the family horse, Calo. She brushed his ruffled hair smooth again. It had been so rough after her brother, Meteas, had ridden Calo home from the capital city, Corus, selling their farmed goods and any other merchandise they could give up for money.
Money was so scarce these days. It used to be fine, when they could afford to live. Now, though, there were taxes and bills they had to pay just to be alive. Yana didn't know why. All she could think of was how easy it was when she was young. Now, though, she was old enough to be useful and help ma in the kitchen, and help pa and her brothers in the field with crops and animals. Being sixteen wasn't all that fun. It was actually mostly horrible.
Yana finished brushing Calo off, and then she sat down on a barrel next to the small horse, wiping her forehead on the plain white, cotton dress she was wearing, and brushing her dark hair from her face. It was simply too hot to be spring. It was usually hot in spring down through the hill country, but never this hot this early in the year. Taking her sandals off, she glanced around their land, making sure no one was watching her. When she confirmed this, she tiptoed quietly away from the hay fields and behind a tree leading to the forest. As soon as she got out of ears reach, she sighed, and ran down the hill to the brook at the edge of Alismut. Pine needles and grass cushioned her bare feet as she ran, a smile sprouting on her face. She spread her wings like a bird, dodging trees and branches, pretending to fly like an eagle. She liked pretending when she was a child. Now that she was older, it was considered improper. Yana liked being improper some of the time. So, when she got the chance, she did.
She could hear bubbling water in the distance, after a few minutes of running, and knew she was getting close to the brook. Jumping over a fallen tree-trunk, she pretended she was a deer, running and hiding from hunters.
Smiling, she ran to the river-bed, and stopped suddenly. It wasn't a bad suddenly; the sound of water calmed her. She looked left and right, making sure no one else was there, then, holding her skirts, she jumped into the chilly spring-water brook, only ankle deep. She ran to the other side of the brook, and watched her feet as they came on alien ground. This ground was not considered Alismut. It was a different village. Yana grinned. Rules were people were not permitted on another village's ground without permission. She decided that she liked breaking rules.
Yana sat on a rock beside the babbling brook. The sun shone in her eyes. She squinted them slightly so that she could see the bright, clear sky. The day was becoming evening, the sun just set halfway in the sky. Yana knew she should be getting back.
"Ey, Yana!" A voice called from the forest. She spun her head in the direction of the voice, and found Pavelo, her oldest brother. Hurriedly, she jumped off the rock and ran through the brook, not even bothering to gather her skirts. "How come I find you on the other side of the brook at dinner-time? You know that's not permitted." He said with a cold look in his eyes as he walked towards the ashamed girl. Yana stared at the ground. "You should't have been over there. I could easily tell Ma and Pa-"
"No." Yana said suddenly, looking at her brother's nose, his lips, his ears; anything but his eyes. "Please, don'na tell them."
"It seems as though you should owe me som'mit if I don't tell. But, if you don'na have nothing..."
"What do you want? Anything. Just don'na tell." Yana thought, trying to figure out what he would want from her. She didn't have much.
"I want the ring." Yana knew what the ring was. It had been passed down from generation to generation of Mayle women. Her mother had given it to her for her fifteenth birthday, as did her mother's grandmother give it to her mother, and so on. Only, if her brother wanted the ring, it wouldn't be given to Yana's daughter, if she had a daughter. It would be given to Pavelo's child. But, thinking about Pavelo's personality, it would probably not be given. He would most likely sell the thing for any sort of riches; something that would make him wealthy. He was a greedy sort. "If you give me the ring, I won't tell. Is it a deal?"
"No." Yana said stubbornly.
"Well, you know what that means."
"I know, an' I don'na care. I wouln'a give this ring to you if my life depended on it." Yana started walking back home through the forest.
"Yana, you're so unruly. No way Ma and Pa're gon'na give you any justice." He said, following her up the hill.
"I said I din'a care." She didn't once look behind her. No matter how much the wrath of her parents frightened her, she wasn't about to give up her only value to her greedy brother. No matter how much her brother frightened her, or the rest of her family, she wasn't about to let that fear show through.
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"A heart stained in hate, a feeling of fear." -- Coheed and Cambria, The Crowing.
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A/N: Sorry for the shortness. I will make it longer. I am really enjoying writing this, and I hope you guys enjoy it. Please tell me if it's good or if it's crap, and I will try to make it better, both ways. Haha. Please review!
- Abiona Marchand