Umm… a lot of romance this chapter. I felt very soppy today, I think I've got fluffitis… Note: in this fic Daine is fifteen and Miri is eighteen… had to up the ages for the circumstances. Okay, last name crisis here. I've been saying Numair Samalin for years, and now Windwhisper says it's SALAMIN. So I looked in the book and it says SALMALIN. Geez! It's like back when I used to say Numiar Samalin…
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Chapter 3: Spidrens Meditate
Daine was pissed off. Her captors weren't going to do anything with her, and their speed south, to the capital, was slow. Very slow. And that little whelp Evin wasn't helping either- mooning about like that. Miri was treating her like the black plague, and everyone else seemed petrified at the thought of her. Rightly.
~*~
"Cheexza," one spidren hissed to the other. "Mortals approach. Awake the nest and the web-pack."
Cheexza grinned, showing her sharp, pointed teeth. "We shall have a feast."
Lhteiws glared. "Do it! Now! Before I-" he was silenced by an arrow thudding in the back of his neck. Cheexza stared at her companion, speechless, and dashed off into the forest before the men could catch her.
~*~
"Fucking spidrens," Sardol cursed. "They have to be everywhere."
"Look!" Tyla yelled back at him. Everyone stopped. They could see clearly three spidrens, sitting on a branch, still as death. Their mouths were shut. Their faces were blank.
"What are they doing?" Tarlian asked, rubbing his eyes (he was still without his glasses).
"They look like they're- they're meditating." Tyla replied with awe. "Who ever heard of that?"
"Who said nonhumans can't meditate?" Tarlian retorted.
Tyla merely shrugged. "They can't do magic."
"Neither can you."
"Yes they can!" Sardol piped up. "It's in their webs!"
Tyla threw her hands up. "Whatever! I can't contend with such twisted logic!"
"Twisted logic-" Tarlian began.
"Just shut up and shoot!" Miri practically yelled. They all jumped to attention and shot, impaling the spidrens before they even lifted an eyelid.
When they got back to camp, Daine was gone.
~*~
It wasn't too hard to escape her bonds, once Daine got Cloud to chew them. Stupid Riders hadn't even left a guard. So Daine whistled as she walked down the road to Corus. It would be childsplay to find a job there, once she got around to it. Meanwhile she'd do some petty pick-pocketing and buy some food. Yes, it was a wonderful day to be alive.
~*~
Miri swung open the tent-flap, ready to give Evin the tongue-lashing of his life. She stopped when she saw him sitting there, back towards her, head in his hands.
"It's my fault." he said. "I was stupid. You were right."
It took a while for those words to register in Miri's head. "I'm sorry," she said, and sat down beside him. Having fun snuggling up to your boyfriend? A niggling voice in her mind said, but she ignored it.
"What are you sorry for?" he replied bitterly. "My first year as Leader and I mess up on something as stupid as this."
"Everyone makes mistakes."
"You were right, Mir," he told her as if she hadn't said anything. "You should have been Leader. I can't do it."
Miri was disturbed by the note his words rang in her mind. "It wasn't only this," he continued. "Remember the robbery at fief Hanniwere? Remember the murderer of Darie's Ridge?" she winced, and Evin continued. "I'm a failure, Mir. This was the last straw." He unpinned something from his shirt and handed it to her. It was his Leader's pin, a gold horse rearing with a number one in the middle. Her own, the Second's pin, was a pony standing with a number two. The rest were ponies lying down with the numbers three, four, five, and six. Drona had been five; now Sardol took her spot.
Miri made no move to take it, so Evin shoved it into her hands and forced them closed. "I'm leaving." And he started to get up.
"No!" Miri said, holding on to his arm. "I am the Leader, and you stay."
Evin smile wryly. "Got me there. Should've left and then given you the pin. But I'm going."
"No you're not." Miri swallowed. "Because- Because I-" she choked on her words. With trembling hands she removed her Second's pin and handed it to him. Then she got up and pushed her way out of the tent. She had been so close! And she messed it up again.
Miri fastened the pin onto her jerkin and looked up at the sky. The moon was almost full, tonight, and the stars were bright. She looked at the familiar constellations, the Warrior, the Snake, the Chariot, the Cat… She felt hands on her shoulders and turned around to face Evin.
"Because what?" he whispered.
Miri half-closed her eyes, feeling his warm breath on her face. Sub-consciously she moved closer to him, putting her hands around his waist. She looked up into his eyes, wishing oh-so-dearly that this wasn't a mistake… Then she closed the gap between them, and pressed her lips softly against his. His hands moved up to tangle in her hair, pressing her tighter against him. Miri's breathing came faster, she wanted him so much.
"No," she croaked, pushing him away. She didn't even look back at him as she went off to her tent.
As she lay in the dark, wide awake, she pondered why she'd done what she'd done. She wanted him, more than anyone she'd ever met, but- but Evin was Evin. The ladies' man, the Player with all the girlfriends. What made her any more than that in his eyes? Sure Miri had had her share of boyfriends- she blushed when she counted them all up. Well, she wasn't exactly chaste either. Then why had she turned him away?
Because of Daine. She still half-wanted to kill him for that. She hated him for Daine, not just jealousy. He had been stupid and shallow, and that had cost Drona's life.
Because he used people. He would flaunt her and say, 'oh look at the fishie I caught', and grin his Player grin.
Because you couldn't have relationships in the Riders. That was it. To be a Rider you couldn't be married or have any children. Well, the consequences of having a lasting affair was just that. Marriage and children. Her former lovers were all very casual, and sure there was passion, lust, and maybe a little love, but they all knew it wouldn't last. But she wanted Evin so much more… and if she gave into that, she'd say bye-bye to her career, her life. Being a Rider was everything to her, and the Ninth Rider group was like a family. To leave them behind…
But as she dropped off to sleep she couldn't help thinking how lonely her bed was, how cold. How she wished…
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Oh, and Mr. poke-insanity, gone-haywire (aka anonomous) you spelled anonymous wrong. And it's a.k.a., so STOP FLAMING OR I'LL- well, let's not get into that. IF YA DON'T LIKE IT THEN DONT READ IT, AND DON"T SAY DAINE'S OUT OF CHARACTER BECAUSE THAT'S THE POINT!!!!!