Good news! I got a better document thingy so hopefully typing will be a bit easier.
Anyway, Moyra is going to tell Driskoll her secret today, and if you've been paying attention at all, it won't be all that surprising.
CHAPTER 11
Driskoll had told Kellach and Moyra that he had trouble finding the room, but that wasn't entirely true. In reality, it simply took him a while to even realize they were gone.
Anyway, when Moyra told him she wanted to tell him something, Driskoll's heart lifted. For a while now, Driskoll had been harboring secret feelings of his own. He bottled them up and hid them, fearing what Moyra and Kellach would think. But perhaps now was the perfect time? Maybe now he could tell Moyra how he really felt about her. How he had always felt about her…
Moyra lead him a little away from the table to give them a little privacy. When she was sure they were alone, she sighed. "This is going to be kind of hard to say," she said.
"That's all right," Driskoll assured her, "I have something I want to tell you as well. But, uh, you can go first. Take all the time you need."
"Thanks," Moyra replied. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts. She opened her mouth to speak several times, but closed it again. As Driskoll waited patiently for her, she finally opened her eyes, settling on what to say.
"I've been hiding something for a while now," Moyra started, "I know we're all friends, but I've been keeping this from you and Kellach for several years now, and I just don't want to hide it anymore."
"It's all right," Driskoll said, "We all have secrets. We don't have to share all of them."
"No, I have to tell you this," Moyra insisted, "This has been eating me up, and I'm afraid the beast of shadows will use it against me." She paused to look at him. "Please don't hold it against me."
"Why would I ever do that?" Driskoll asked quietly. He felt his heart swelling, the anticipation killing him.
Moyra blinked gratefully at him. "All right," she sighed. She paused again to take a breath. "Driskoll," she said at last, "I've fallen deeply in love with Kellach."
Driskoll felt his heart shatter to pieces as his eyes widened. Aw, damn it! I should've gone first! "Y-you're in love with my brother?" he clarified. Moyra slowly nodded. "W-when did this happen?"
"I realized it about five years ago," Moyra replied, "I've been hiding it all this time, but it's gotten so hard recently that I had to tell someone. And please promise you won't tell Kellach. I'd rather tell him myself, when the time is right."
"Of course," Driskoll promised, "I won't tell." He paused a moment. "So, the whole time we've been Knights of the Silver Dragon, you've been harboring feelings for him?"
Moyra turned away, but Driskoll still saw her blush. "It's not just that I have those feelings," she said quietly, "Every day, and every adventure, I feel my love for him grow stronger. I don't know if you've ever been in love, Driskoll, but I love Kellach so much it hurts."
Driskoll sighed heavily as Moyra stared down at the ground. Of course he's been in love. He wanted to tell her that as a matter of fact he was in love right now. But as Moyra looked up again, he realized that he couldn't tell her the truth; not anymore. He didn't want to complicate things more than they had to be. So instead he simply nodded.
"I understand," he told her, forcing a smile, "And don't worry, I won't tell Kellach."
Moyra smiled. "Thanks, Driskoll," she said, "Now, what was it that you wanted to say?"
Driskoll suddenly felt himself grow very pale. What was he supposed to say now? He gave an awkward cough. "Oh, it was nothing," he lied, "Not important."
Moyra frowned at him. "You're a lousy liar," she told him, "What's on your mind?"
Thinking fast, Driskoll remembered something and decided to try that. "Well, don't get mad, but Kellach told me that you had asked to share your first kiss with him."
Moyra looked very annoyed that Kellach had broken his promise, but she said nothing and allowed Driskoll to continue. He cleared his throat.
"This may sound silly, but I always imagined that you would share your first kiss with me," Driskoll felt himself blushing as he talked, "Because we would both understand that it didn't really mean anything. You know, just to get it over with?"
He felt stupid saying this to her, but it was true. Driskoll had always thought that his and Moyra's similar outlook on things like love would lead them to kiss, mostly as a joke. But he never actually thought about telling Moyra any of this. He looked over at her and was surprised to see Moyra grinning and shaking her head.
"Wow, Driskoll," she laughed, "You made that sound a lot more awkward than it needed to be." Driskoll stared at her.
"What?"
Moyra leaned over and gently kissed Driskoll on his mouth. Driskoll had to stop himself from excitedly kissing her back, and he felt his heart melting. Her lips were so soft, and she smelled so nice. He wouldn't have minded if it had gone on forever, but it was over all too soon, and Moyra was pulling back.
Driskoll again felt himself blush. "Thanks," he mumbled.
Moyra nudged him playfully. "Don't mention it," she said.
…
As Driskoll drifted off to sleep that night, he couldn't help but look over at his brother's bed where Kellach and Moyra were already asleep. He felt a pang of jealousy seeing Moyra pressed right up against his brother, especially knowing her true feelings for him. He sighed and rolled over, turning his back on them.
Darkness filled his dreams, and Driskoll felt empty and alone. He looked around, trying to see anything in the black mist of darkness, but he couldn't spot anything. Suddenly, he heard something coming up behind him and he turned around.
"Kellach? Moyra?" he called out nervously.
Before Driskoll could move, something suddenly grabbed him from behind, wrapping one arm around his chest, and another around his mouth, gagging him. Driskoll struggled to free himself, but it was no use. A familiar hissing laugh sounded in his ear.
"Dear Driskoll, you know it's no use to fight against me," the beast of shadows sneered, "Heh. You know, I've been spending a lot of time with your brother. And it looks like I'm not the only one."
The beast laughed evilly and Driskoll growled something in response. He knew what it was doing. It was trying to get him mad. But he was determined not to.
"Oh, cheer up, Driskoll," the beast snickered, "You know I love you the most. My relationship with your brother is just casual!"
Driskoll growled again. How dare this creature talk about Kellach that way! Was it trying to make him hate his brother? That would never happen!
"Besides," the beast continued, "Your little friend, Moyra has Kellach wrapped around her little finger. But you wouldn't care about that, would you Driskoll?" The beast sneered with laughter, and Driskoll wished at that moment that he had his sword on him.
"Oh yes, I know all about your little crush on your friend," the beast hissed, "I know everything that goes on with you! Getting kind of jealous of your brother, aren't you?" The beast laughed and Driskoll shivered. Suddenly, the beast leaned down over him. "But don't you worry about that, dear Driskoll. I'll keep you company."
Before Driskoll could react at all, the beast settled itself over him and covered Driskoll's mouth with its own. Driskoll felt his heart racing and shuddered as the beast covered him. He tried to fight the beast off, but it was just too strong for him. He felt its claws digging into his shoulders and its foul breath filled his lungs. He gagged as the beast breathed into him and his throat started to burn. Then the beast released him and stood up, towering over Driskoll.
"That ought to do it," the beast sneered, "I'll be watching you, Driskoll. You and your friends are doomed." The beast laughed cruelly and Driskoll awoke, shaking.
Breathing hard, he looked over at Kellach's bed and felt a mixture of relief and envy when he saw that Kellach and Moyra were both sound asleep. It looked like they hadn't been bothered by the beast of shadows at all. He sighed and laid back down, but he didn't sleep again until the very early hours of morning.
…
When Driskoll woke in the morning, he had gotten very little sleep. On top of that, he had a headache and his throat was very sore. He felt very sick. Had this been the beast's plan? To make him sick? What would that accomplish?
Coughing, he looked over at his brother's bed and saw that Kellach had already gotten out of bed and went downstairs while Moyra was still fast asleep. He tried to struggle to get out of bed, but fell back down. Panting, he pulled his blanket up closer to himself. He suddenly heard someone coming up the stairs, and a moment later Kellach entered. He glanced over at his younger brother and stopped.
"Driskoll?" Kellach said, "Are you ok? You look horrible!"
"I feel horrible," Driskoll mumbled, "I think I caught a cold or something."
Kellach walked over to his brother's bed and sat down beside him. He gently pressed the back of his hand to Driskoll's forehead to feel his temperature, and in that moment Driskoll found himself greatly disliking him for some reason. Kellach drew his hand back.
"You're very warm," he told him. Driskoll wanted to make a snarky comment, but he restrained himself. "Do you want me to get anything for you? I don't think you should be going anywhere today."
Obviously! Driskoll thought bitterly. "I'm fine," he said out loud, "I just need rest."
"If you say so," Kellach replied quietly. He went over to his own bed and woke Moyra. As they left the room, Driskoll curled himself up, trying to stop himself from shivering. He felt a bitterness enter his heart that he couldn't quite explain. And he didn't try to stop it.
Sorry this chapter took so long to write. I've been busy with other stuff, and I only had an idea for the first part of the chapter. I didn't know what to do with the rest.
Anyway, next chapter we're switching to Kellach. Also, I have to think of what the chapter is going to be about. I'll have to do that when I'm not distracted by elections and other stuff and the TV isn't constantly going. Leave a review, please!