Mir had tried to be sympathetic when Rion told him about the argument with
Ari, but secretly he felt glad. Rion had made a mistake in trusting her,
and it gave Mir some satisfaction that he'd been proved right. He felt bad
that Rion had been hurt, but he still felt slightly smug.
He was also glad that it meant Rion would be spending more time with him. Mir had been lonely during the times when Rion had been wandering the palace with her. There was nothing to do here, and he had begun to feel abandoned. That had improved over the last few days, when Rion had come back from seeing Traag, but even then Mir felt his friend wasn't quite with him. He was distracted, his mind wandering onto other matters.
Mir supposed Rion was just worried about the dragon, but he couldn't help thinking that there was something else. Something Rion wasn't telling him. And now Rion came to him, ranting about Ari's stupidity, and caring a lot more than Mir thought was necessary.
"I didn't insult her," Rion was saying, for probably the thousandth time that afternoon, "she just took it as an insult. If she can't understand a compliment, I'm not to blame, am I?" He was pacing the floor of Mir's small bedroom, while Mir sat on the bed, bored beyond belief.
"Of course not," Mir said, wishing that Rion would switch to another topic, but not wanting to say so.
"I mean, I can't help it if she misinterprets things. I don't need to go and apologise to her."
"No, you don't," Mir said. That statement was more than just comforting his friend. If Rion didn't apologise to Ari, he might remember he had another friend close at hand, one who wasn't just getting close to him so as to spy on him.
"But maybe I should," Rion went on, "I should show her that I'm not so high- and-mighty. I'm not the one in the wrong, but I can still go to her and make up."
"Rion, if you do that, she'll only take advantage of it. You need to give her some time to realise that she made a mistake and then she'll come to you. Just wait a little and she'll apologise." In Mir's experience, girls could be very stubborn, and were even less likely to back down that boys. But if Ari didn't apologise to Rion, what would it matter?
"Thank you for being so understanding," Rion said, sitting down next to Mir. Mir smiled at him, truly glad that his friend was by his side again. Then for a moment Mir felt bad. He might not like Ari, but was it right for him to be happy that Rion's friendship with her was over? Was he just being selfish?
The thought vanished in an instant. Of course he wasn't. Ari was just a spy, and the sooner Rion realised that, the better it was for everyone. He'd probably thank Mir for this when they got back home.
***
Ari sat on the window seat in her room, staring out into the rain. Droplets ran like tears down the glass. She told herself she wouldn't cry. Rion wasn't worth crying over. He was just a selfish boy, wrapped up in his own self-importance. He hadn't even come to apologise for what he'd said to her.
She sighed, and wished Lis were there. Lis had always understood boys better than Ari, although that had been what got her in trouble. Ari remembered the way her father had been: 'I will not have my eldest daughter flirting with common stable boys!'
It was probably a good thing that he didn't know how much further than flirting it had gone. Lis had come to Ari's room late one night, almost trembling with excitement to tell her about it. Personally, Ari could think of a lot more romantic settings than a hayloft, but it had been Lis's decision. A stupid one it had turned out, since the boy in question couldn't help boasting about his 'conquest of the princess'.
Ari wondered if Lis had felt the way she did now, betrayed and hurt. Lis had had more reason to feel betrayed than Ari, but she still felt that Rion had turned against her. He had been so kind and friendly, and now he insulted her. He felt himself so much better than her just because he was a boy. He said he didn't, but if that was true, why hadn't he come to apologise? Was it because he thought it wasn't his place to apologise to a lower entity?
Well she wasn't going to talk to him until he did! He was completely in the wrong and it wasn't for her to try and mend their relationship.
She stared at the raindrops flowing down the window, chasing each other like playful children. She'd miss that: laughing with Rion, able to forget for a time the dignity her rank demanded of her. She remembered the soft smile that raised the corners of his mouth slightly as he talked of his home, the way his eyes danced when he laughed, the calm peacefulness he was filled with when he was among nature. Would she see those things again?
These miserable thoughts almost broke her resolve. She wanted to run to Rion and tell him she wanted to be friends again. It didn't matter that he'd insulted her, it didn't matter if he didn't apologise. All that mattered was that they should be together.
No, she would wait. If he wanted to be friends he would come to her. But what if he didn't want to be friends? Tears fell from Ari's eyes, even as she told herself she wouldn't cry.
***
Several days had passed since his argument with Ari, and Rion didn't want to count them. It just made him to miserable. It was clear now that Ari had no intention of apologising. Maybe she just didn't want to be friends anymore.
He spent his time with Mir, either sitting in one of their rooms, or going outside whenever the whether allowed it. Winter had arrived during the rainstorms, and now all the plants were bare, the earth barren. It seemed to suit Rion's mood. Everything was cold and miserable.
Mir kept trying to cheer him up, but Rion didn't feel very receptive to cheering. He returned to the library, and read ancient tales his father told him, and dreamed of home. In his melancholy mood, home seemed so much further away than before.
Then, suddenly, snow covered the palace. A heavy fall had passed overnight, and Mir and Rion went out into gardens filled with glittering white, as a weak sun shone down overhead.
Rion wrapped his cloak about him as his feet marred the perfect brilliance of snow. It seemed sad, that something so beautiful would be ruined soon, crossed by lines of trampling footsteps. Nothing precious ever seemed to last.
Something hit him in his back. The cold force shocked him for a moment, then he spun round to face Mir, already grabbing a hasty snowball. Revenge was delicious as Mir spluttered icy crystals from his mouth. A few minutes later they were laughing like children, freezing cold and soaking.
Rion's fingers somehow felt as though they were burning they were so cold, but he couldn't stop to warm them without Mir pelting him with snow. Melting snow was seeping through his cloak and he'd stopped being able to feel his toes long ago. Yet still he was laughing, as Mir slipped in a patch of ice and Rion was on top of him, shoving snow down the back of his shirt.
Mir shrieked and screamed, shoving Rion off roughly so he ended up face first in the snow. He got up, blinking away the snowflakes that clung to his eyelashes, only to have them replaced as Mir threw a snowball right into his face.
At last they could manage no more, and they went into the palace, escorted by rather grateful soldiers. The headed to Rion's room, since it had the larger fireplace, still laughing. Then Rion caught a glimpse of Ari, standing in a doorway watching. She looked so miserable that he almost ran to her. If he'd seen her a few hours earlier he would have done. But he no longer felt so miserable himself, and so didn't feel the pressing need for reconciliation. Pride held him back and he turned away. He wouldn't go to her until she apologised to him.
As he sat next to Mir by the fire, their soaking clothes hanging in front of it to dry, he wondered if perhaps he'd made a mistake. He did want to be friends with Ari again.
It was the next day when there was a timid knock on the door. Rion opened it, to find Ari standing there. She looked nervous, and was reluctant to meet Rion's eye.
"May we talk?" she asked. Rion stepped aside and let her in. She paced across the floor nervously while she spoke, and Rion stood by the door watching her.
"I've been doing some thinking recently," she said, "about our friendship. I miss it. If it's possible, I'd like to forget the argument happened and go back to the way they were before. It doesn't matter if you don't apologise, or if. . ."
"Why should I apologise?" Rion demanded.
"What? Your perfect father didn't teach you to apologise when you insult. . ." She broke off her angry stream of words and took a deep breath. "I didn't come here just to restart the argument," she said, "I want to be friends again. Do you?"
For a moment Rion hesitated. But only for a moment. He stepped forwards, holding out his hand to her. She took it, soft, slender fingers wrapping round his own.
"Friends," Rion said, smiling. She smiled suddenly, her face lighting up, and Rion's heart soared that he was the one to make her smile. The desire struck him again, and he once more found himself wanting to kiss her.
The door opened then, without warning, and Mir stepped in. He just looked at them, and Rion snatched his hand back like a guilty child.
Mir turned to leave without a word, and Rion stood there wondering if he'd just traded one friend for another.
***
Author's note: Ooo, jealous Mir. Let me know what you think, and Happy Easter. OK, I know that technically Easter was a couple of days ago, but you shouldn't have eaten all the Easter eggs just yet.
He was also glad that it meant Rion would be spending more time with him. Mir had been lonely during the times when Rion had been wandering the palace with her. There was nothing to do here, and he had begun to feel abandoned. That had improved over the last few days, when Rion had come back from seeing Traag, but even then Mir felt his friend wasn't quite with him. He was distracted, his mind wandering onto other matters.
Mir supposed Rion was just worried about the dragon, but he couldn't help thinking that there was something else. Something Rion wasn't telling him. And now Rion came to him, ranting about Ari's stupidity, and caring a lot more than Mir thought was necessary.
"I didn't insult her," Rion was saying, for probably the thousandth time that afternoon, "she just took it as an insult. If she can't understand a compliment, I'm not to blame, am I?" He was pacing the floor of Mir's small bedroom, while Mir sat on the bed, bored beyond belief.
"Of course not," Mir said, wishing that Rion would switch to another topic, but not wanting to say so.
"I mean, I can't help it if she misinterprets things. I don't need to go and apologise to her."
"No, you don't," Mir said. That statement was more than just comforting his friend. If Rion didn't apologise to Ari, he might remember he had another friend close at hand, one who wasn't just getting close to him so as to spy on him.
"But maybe I should," Rion went on, "I should show her that I'm not so high- and-mighty. I'm not the one in the wrong, but I can still go to her and make up."
"Rion, if you do that, she'll only take advantage of it. You need to give her some time to realise that she made a mistake and then she'll come to you. Just wait a little and she'll apologise." In Mir's experience, girls could be very stubborn, and were even less likely to back down that boys. But if Ari didn't apologise to Rion, what would it matter?
"Thank you for being so understanding," Rion said, sitting down next to Mir. Mir smiled at him, truly glad that his friend was by his side again. Then for a moment Mir felt bad. He might not like Ari, but was it right for him to be happy that Rion's friendship with her was over? Was he just being selfish?
The thought vanished in an instant. Of course he wasn't. Ari was just a spy, and the sooner Rion realised that, the better it was for everyone. He'd probably thank Mir for this when they got back home.
***
Ari sat on the window seat in her room, staring out into the rain. Droplets ran like tears down the glass. She told herself she wouldn't cry. Rion wasn't worth crying over. He was just a selfish boy, wrapped up in his own self-importance. He hadn't even come to apologise for what he'd said to her.
She sighed, and wished Lis were there. Lis had always understood boys better than Ari, although that had been what got her in trouble. Ari remembered the way her father had been: 'I will not have my eldest daughter flirting with common stable boys!'
It was probably a good thing that he didn't know how much further than flirting it had gone. Lis had come to Ari's room late one night, almost trembling with excitement to tell her about it. Personally, Ari could think of a lot more romantic settings than a hayloft, but it had been Lis's decision. A stupid one it had turned out, since the boy in question couldn't help boasting about his 'conquest of the princess'.
Ari wondered if Lis had felt the way she did now, betrayed and hurt. Lis had had more reason to feel betrayed than Ari, but she still felt that Rion had turned against her. He had been so kind and friendly, and now he insulted her. He felt himself so much better than her just because he was a boy. He said he didn't, but if that was true, why hadn't he come to apologise? Was it because he thought it wasn't his place to apologise to a lower entity?
Well she wasn't going to talk to him until he did! He was completely in the wrong and it wasn't for her to try and mend their relationship.
She stared at the raindrops flowing down the window, chasing each other like playful children. She'd miss that: laughing with Rion, able to forget for a time the dignity her rank demanded of her. She remembered the soft smile that raised the corners of his mouth slightly as he talked of his home, the way his eyes danced when he laughed, the calm peacefulness he was filled with when he was among nature. Would she see those things again?
These miserable thoughts almost broke her resolve. She wanted to run to Rion and tell him she wanted to be friends again. It didn't matter that he'd insulted her, it didn't matter if he didn't apologise. All that mattered was that they should be together.
No, she would wait. If he wanted to be friends he would come to her. But what if he didn't want to be friends? Tears fell from Ari's eyes, even as she told herself she wouldn't cry.
***
Several days had passed since his argument with Ari, and Rion didn't want to count them. It just made him to miserable. It was clear now that Ari had no intention of apologising. Maybe she just didn't want to be friends anymore.
He spent his time with Mir, either sitting in one of their rooms, or going outside whenever the whether allowed it. Winter had arrived during the rainstorms, and now all the plants were bare, the earth barren. It seemed to suit Rion's mood. Everything was cold and miserable.
Mir kept trying to cheer him up, but Rion didn't feel very receptive to cheering. He returned to the library, and read ancient tales his father told him, and dreamed of home. In his melancholy mood, home seemed so much further away than before.
Then, suddenly, snow covered the palace. A heavy fall had passed overnight, and Mir and Rion went out into gardens filled with glittering white, as a weak sun shone down overhead.
Rion wrapped his cloak about him as his feet marred the perfect brilliance of snow. It seemed sad, that something so beautiful would be ruined soon, crossed by lines of trampling footsteps. Nothing precious ever seemed to last.
Something hit him in his back. The cold force shocked him for a moment, then he spun round to face Mir, already grabbing a hasty snowball. Revenge was delicious as Mir spluttered icy crystals from his mouth. A few minutes later they were laughing like children, freezing cold and soaking.
Rion's fingers somehow felt as though they were burning they were so cold, but he couldn't stop to warm them without Mir pelting him with snow. Melting snow was seeping through his cloak and he'd stopped being able to feel his toes long ago. Yet still he was laughing, as Mir slipped in a patch of ice and Rion was on top of him, shoving snow down the back of his shirt.
Mir shrieked and screamed, shoving Rion off roughly so he ended up face first in the snow. He got up, blinking away the snowflakes that clung to his eyelashes, only to have them replaced as Mir threw a snowball right into his face.
At last they could manage no more, and they went into the palace, escorted by rather grateful soldiers. The headed to Rion's room, since it had the larger fireplace, still laughing. Then Rion caught a glimpse of Ari, standing in a doorway watching. She looked so miserable that he almost ran to her. If he'd seen her a few hours earlier he would have done. But he no longer felt so miserable himself, and so didn't feel the pressing need for reconciliation. Pride held him back and he turned away. He wouldn't go to her until she apologised to him.
As he sat next to Mir by the fire, their soaking clothes hanging in front of it to dry, he wondered if perhaps he'd made a mistake. He did want to be friends with Ari again.
It was the next day when there was a timid knock on the door. Rion opened it, to find Ari standing there. She looked nervous, and was reluctant to meet Rion's eye.
"May we talk?" she asked. Rion stepped aside and let her in. She paced across the floor nervously while she spoke, and Rion stood by the door watching her.
"I've been doing some thinking recently," she said, "about our friendship. I miss it. If it's possible, I'd like to forget the argument happened and go back to the way they were before. It doesn't matter if you don't apologise, or if. . ."
"Why should I apologise?" Rion demanded.
"What? Your perfect father didn't teach you to apologise when you insult. . ." She broke off her angry stream of words and took a deep breath. "I didn't come here just to restart the argument," she said, "I want to be friends again. Do you?"
For a moment Rion hesitated. But only for a moment. He stepped forwards, holding out his hand to her. She took it, soft, slender fingers wrapping round his own.
"Friends," Rion said, smiling. She smiled suddenly, her face lighting up, and Rion's heart soared that he was the one to make her smile. The desire struck him again, and he once more found himself wanting to kiss her.
The door opened then, without warning, and Mir stepped in. He just looked at them, and Rion snatched his hand back like a guilty child.
Mir turned to leave without a word, and Rion stood there wondering if he'd just traded one friend for another.
***
Author's note: Ooo, jealous Mir. Let me know what you think, and Happy Easter. OK, I know that technically Easter was a couple of days ago, but you shouldn't have eaten all the Easter eggs just yet.