"Oh, this is beautiful!" Rosethorn exclaimed, fingering a circlet with rubies and diamonds embedded into the rich, sparkling gold. "Perfect for Daja..." she whispered. Rosethorn didn't usually get this openly enthusiastic around anyone, except for Briar, Lark, and Crane. So Briar knew that she was probably going to buy the thing, whatever it was. But right now he was confused. Very Very confused.
"Oh, Briar," Rosethorn said, lightly tapping his shoulder, "Why isn't Tris with us? I thought she was coming..."
"I think something came up...she just couldn't make it, " Briar said, while trying to skip over the subject.
"Hmmm...there's something more. I know there is. But i just can't place my finger on it...But you wait young man, I will find it out!" Rosethorn said, tapping his nose, and then swiftly turning around to examine a Dragons Breath Fire Plant which was on the cart next to them.
Briar would've been thouroughly enchanted with that plant, but when he looked at it, he saw the color red. And red reminded him of Tris's mop of curly red hair. Or not a mop...more like a perfectly weaved craft. One that Sandry would make...
And that made his head positively spin.
Pinching the bridge of his nose between his two fingers, he nudged Rosethorn. "I need to get out somewhere not so crowded. I need to think...Can't we do this some other day?"
"Now I definetely know something is wrong...Briar, you can tell me. You know I would never reveal something you don't want me to. Not to Crane, not to anyone."
"Maybe later...ok Rosethorn? Right now...just isn't right. I need to get things straightened out...ok?"
Rosethorn nodded, and turned away, paying for the circlet, and a clipping of the fire plant.
_____________________
Briar sat in the shade of one of the trees in the backyard of Discipline. The summer heat still hit him, not like spears, but more like a fog, just surrounding and penatrating his skin. He sighed, the moisture from his collecting and forming sweat beads around his mouth and nose, which he swiftly wiped off with the sleeve of his shirt, and closing his eyes.
"How did you ever survive the Emelan Mountains? Gods, sweating and panting here, in the shade of a tree!"
Slowly Briar opened his eyes, to fingers positioned to flick his forehead. He slowly pushed them away, to reveal a very amused Daja. "I'm serious" she continued, "How DID you survive?" she said, chuckling.
"Well for one, I wasn't in this mess up thing I'm in now!" he said, but then stopped himself, before saying too much.
"Briar...I was in the garden when you....and Tris...on the roof...new weird mind reading thing... I KNEW i should've hit you on the head with my staff! How could you not have realized! Briar!! You're supposed to be SMART!" She said, flicking him on the forehead.
"How was I supposed to know? Seriously...I mean I had just invited her to go looking for a present for you and Kirel, and before I know it we'-"
"Well for starters, don't you think you should've hugged her, or even just kissed her on the cheek, INSTEAD OF KISSING HER ON THE LIPS! If any one ever said good-bye like that here...." she said almost at the top of her lungs...
"Shh! Quiet! Everyone will hear you! And no, I hadn't thought about that, because it's something that's done VERY OFTEN in the Emelan Mountains."
"Well then either pucker up boy, or change your ways! Don't you think Sandry is going to feel something of this? Like when you get some humongous emotion surge, with LOVE, and she's not the one causing it? Briar, I want to help. I don't want you to get hurt, and i certainly don't want Sandry or Tris hurt." She said, face softening, and showing real concern. "So come on, show me the present you got for me...you know I can't wait long for these kinds of things!"
"Well...I was so caught up in...and...but Rosethorn...and maybe nex-"
He heard Daja mutter "Kaq" under her breath, and then a pound on the head.
________________
Tris sat in her room, missing dinner, missing Daja and Kirel's good-byes, missing Niko's stories, missing Crane's new plant he was going to give to Rosethorn....And now missing the outing to the city, and probably midday...
She hadn't expected it, not in the least. She was never the girl to get the prince, she always got the frog. Or she was the friend to the prince, but never the one he kissed. So when Briar had first kissed her lips, just barely touching them, but then he'd pulled her down onto the shinglings of the roof, breathing heavily, his hair blocking the sun out of his face, and kissed her. She had almost fainted.
Oh, she had wanted it badly, more than anything. But at the same time, she was betraying Sandry, and allowing Briar to cheat on her. "Shows how awful incest is..." she muttered, and she smoothed her hair again, still feeling the tickling on the back on her neck from when Briar had let the straw run across it, and she still felt the slight tugging of her hair, as he touched it. But she didn't have much time to wallow...
"Tris! Sandry's here! Where are Brair and Rosethorn! Call Daja!" Lark called.
"Tris!" Sandry called..."I have so much to tell you"
__________________
TO BE CONTINUED...
"Oh, Briar," Rosethorn said, lightly tapping his shoulder, "Why isn't Tris with us? I thought she was coming..."
"I think something came up...she just couldn't make it, " Briar said, while trying to skip over the subject.
"Hmmm...there's something more. I know there is. But i just can't place my finger on it...But you wait young man, I will find it out!" Rosethorn said, tapping his nose, and then swiftly turning around to examine a Dragons Breath Fire Plant which was on the cart next to them.
Briar would've been thouroughly enchanted with that plant, but when he looked at it, he saw the color red. And red reminded him of Tris's mop of curly red hair. Or not a mop...more like a perfectly weaved craft. One that Sandry would make...
And that made his head positively spin.
Pinching the bridge of his nose between his two fingers, he nudged Rosethorn. "I need to get out somewhere not so crowded. I need to think...Can't we do this some other day?"
"Now I definetely know something is wrong...Briar, you can tell me. You know I would never reveal something you don't want me to. Not to Crane, not to anyone."
"Maybe later...ok Rosethorn? Right now...just isn't right. I need to get things straightened out...ok?"
Rosethorn nodded, and turned away, paying for the circlet, and a clipping of the fire plant.
_____________________
Briar sat in the shade of one of the trees in the backyard of Discipline. The summer heat still hit him, not like spears, but more like a fog, just surrounding and penatrating his skin. He sighed, the moisture from his collecting and forming sweat beads around his mouth and nose, which he swiftly wiped off with the sleeve of his shirt, and closing his eyes.
"How did you ever survive the Emelan Mountains? Gods, sweating and panting here, in the shade of a tree!"
Slowly Briar opened his eyes, to fingers positioned to flick his forehead. He slowly pushed them away, to reveal a very amused Daja. "I'm serious" she continued, "How DID you survive?" she said, chuckling.
"Well for one, I wasn't in this mess up thing I'm in now!" he said, but then stopped himself, before saying too much.
"Briar...I was in the garden when you....and Tris...on the roof...new weird mind reading thing... I KNEW i should've hit you on the head with my staff! How could you not have realized! Briar!! You're supposed to be SMART!" She said, flicking him on the forehead.
"How was I supposed to know? Seriously...I mean I had just invited her to go looking for a present for you and Kirel, and before I know it we'-"
"Well for starters, don't you think you should've hugged her, or even just kissed her on the cheek, INSTEAD OF KISSING HER ON THE LIPS! If any one ever said good-bye like that here...." she said almost at the top of her lungs...
"Shh! Quiet! Everyone will hear you! And no, I hadn't thought about that, because it's something that's done VERY OFTEN in the Emelan Mountains."
"Well then either pucker up boy, or change your ways! Don't you think Sandry is going to feel something of this? Like when you get some humongous emotion surge, with LOVE, and she's not the one causing it? Briar, I want to help. I don't want you to get hurt, and i certainly don't want Sandry or Tris hurt." She said, face softening, and showing real concern. "So come on, show me the present you got for me...you know I can't wait long for these kinds of things!"
"Well...I was so caught up in...and...but Rosethorn...and maybe nex-"
He heard Daja mutter "Kaq" under her breath, and then a pound on the head.
________________
Tris sat in her room, missing dinner, missing Daja and Kirel's good-byes, missing Niko's stories, missing Crane's new plant he was going to give to Rosethorn....And now missing the outing to the city, and probably midday...
She hadn't expected it, not in the least. She was never the girl to get the prince, she always got the frog. Or she was the friend to the prince, but never the one he kissed. So when Briar had first kissed her lips, just barely touching them, but then he'd pulled her down onto the shinglings of the roof, breathing heavily, his hair blocking the sun out of his face, and kissed her. She had almost fainted.
Oh, she had wanted it badly, more than anything. But at the same time, she was betraying Sandry, and allowing Briar to cheat on her. "Shows how awful incest is..." she muttered, and she smoothed her hair again, still feeling the tickling on the back on her neck from when Briar had let the straw run across it, and she still felt the slight tugging of her hair, as he touched it. But she didn't have much time to wallow...
"Tris! Sandry's here! Where are Brair and Rosethorn! Call Daja!" Lark called.
"Tris!" Sandry called..."I have so much to tell you"
__________________
TO BE CONTINUED...
