A/N: I was so happy when I went away for a week to come back and see all of these amazing reviews! For people who have been looking for me, I was at the beach with the family, enjoying the second to last week before school starts (horror! Horror!). Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Blueberry Sparkle: Thank you. Sometimes when I open reviews I'm nervous that people are going to flame because a lot of people don't like KJ too much, but when I see reviews like yours my fears are set to rest. Wasn't that poetic? Lol. Thank you again!
Nettle-Soup: Thank you, and I will try to keep up the good work because you all encourage me!
CRMurphy: Thank you. I hope I pull it off well!
Arachnomadness: Yeah. I'll try to post a lot this week before school starts. When it does, my schoolwork isn't too bad usually, so I'll still post often, but it definitely won't be everyday. As for writing the new chapters, everyone needs something to do during
science class! Kidding, lol, and thank you for the encouragement and review.
For weeks after his mother's death Joren hadn't cared at all. She hadn't been important in his life: just the female his father had chosen to marry, so that he could have a son. She had tried to rid him of misogynistic ideas from an early age, but Joren had quickly learned that to agree with his mother was to be beaten. And so always he had sneered down at the women and girls in his life, though a tiny part of him—very tiny---knew it was wrong. After his father died the tiny part started an internal battle, and though Joren was trying hard to still hate Keladry, the tiny part in him respected her and won the battle—won until it began to get bigger.
Joren's dreams woke him up, As he sat up, panting, his gaze fell upon the clock (3:23) and then the window. Keladry's soft breathing beside him went unnoticed as he stood. As beams of moonlight streamed in through the half open window, he began to wonder though he had long since understood his decision.
Joren didn't even put on shoes before going outside and closing the door. He just went out and began to run. Running, he thought, was simply that: moving away quickly. For Joren, he was moving away for the soft, warm, loving home he had somehow managed to create in the past ten years. One might wonder why that was something he wanted to run from.
When his father died Joren changed many things—his job, his appearance, his personality. Joren had once been his father's slave—now he worked with the police force. He had started to take care of himself when there was no one else he had to take care of—brushed his hair and shaved his face and took a shower every day. And once there weren't opinions he secretly—even to himself----hadn't agreed with clouding his mind, the part in his mind that was fair grew. Even without noticing it Joren began to accept Keladry, if not respect her. Her persistency, the way she wouldn't give up trying to prove herself to everyone around her, even him, was something he began to admire. So that was how it began—simply a slow, calm relationship, built on respect.
As he thought, Joren ran. He ran until he reached the graveyard—three miles away from his house. Silently he scaled the fence and stalked, angry at himself for coming here so much, to his father's grave. There was no R.I.P. on the grave, most likely, thought many, because no one wanted him to rest in peace. There was only one word on the grave stone—exactly as he requested—DIE.
Die wasn't talking about the fact that Joren's father was dead, nor was it speaking to one person in particular. It was more likely that it was speaking to the women in the world in general, and then eventually the whole world. Anger at the world was what had been in his mind as he died, and so anger was on his gravestone.
Joren knew he should've felt guilty for being the reason his father was angry, but somehow he couldn't force himself to be.
A/N: Cliffie! Was it too intense? Too cynical? Not fluffy enough? (Sorry if it wasn't, but even if Kel and Joren aren't fighting there can't be TOO much fluff) Tell me in your REVIEWS. I'll post again at 16. : - ).