Yeah, it's been a crapload of time since I've updated this. This is why from my next story on, I'm not posting until I'm finished with or close to finishing the entire story. I know, my bad. Welcome to senior year :/

Etana hadn't ridden a horse in years; in Ilom, children were given lessons so that they would be able to use them in war. Otherwise, horses were reserved for the higher-ranking and nobility. The last time she had ridden one was maybe six years ago.

And that was without injury.

The leather reigns slid against the cuts of the girl's injured hands, only making them worse. If they weren't going to scar already, they were now. Her head pounded with each drum-roll of hooves beating the ground, and she was too exhausted to post with the rhythm like she was taught. It didn't matter, though. Etana could already make out the boy's figure heading to the front gate of the castle. She just had to hold on for that much longer.

"I'm too stubborn to let you let me go like that," the girl whispered to herself with her eyes locked on the silhouette. The figure turned toward her with a confused expression, then recoiled as he realized who was on the horse riding toward him. He squinted against the blinding noon sun and waited, not knowing exactly what he should do.

As soon as Etana's proximity allowed her to fully discern the soldier as Ivan, she kicked her heels against Angharrad's sides to push her to go faster. The smooth drum roll sound picked up pace, causing the girl to slip further off the saddle, but she was determined to make it to the end. Her eyes narrowed in focus as she hunched forward, losing strength. She was almost there…

Just a little ways away, Ivan could see that Etana was beginning to lose equilibrium and would soon fall off her saddle. He thought of her already existing injuries, and the potential threat of further damage if she slammed to the ground from that high a horse at that speed…

"Ivan!" she called out, trying to get his attention. Letting his instincts take over, the boy ran toward the rider at full speed, dropping his cloak in the mud behind him. Just as Etana lost her balance and released the reins, Ivan reached out his arms and caught her. They fell together, his chest breaking her fall, and rolled with the momentum through the mud and leaves on the cold ground until finally they stopped, Ivan's back sinking into the wet ground with Etana groaning on top of him.

"Etana, what-" Ivan began as the girl began to push herself into a sitting position above him.

"Hush now. It's my turn to talk," she interrupted, glaring down at him.

"Can you at least get off-"

"No!" Etana refused and pinned the soldier's wrists on the ground on either side of his head, holding him in place. "I said it was my turn and now I'm going to make you stay and listen, understood?" Ivan opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it and silently nodded instead, looking up at the girl with innocent eyes.

Etana drew in a deep breath before speaking. "You're a coward," she started, keeping her eyes looking down into his. "You're running away from this because you're scared? Ivan, whenever you care about someone, you always run the risk of losing them. It's a given, and it's something you have to deal with. If you run away from everyone that you care about just because you're afraid of losing them, then you'd go through life pretty lonely. Ivan…" she released her rigid grip on his wrists, but still held them in her bloodied hands. "You have to trust me. You know me, and you know that I can hold my own." Etana began to laugh as she looked at the wounds that accessorized her body. "Would I be here if I couldn't? I'll come back to you, I promise. There's nothing to be afraid of." She smiled down at the boy, who showed no resistance to being held down. "I'm too stubborn to leave you like that."

There was silence for a moment as Ivan gazed up at Etana, contemplating her words. He still didn't struggle beneath her, and let the blood from her palms trickle around his wrists until they fell and mixed with the mud in which he laid.

"And don't even say that it's forbidden," the injured girl continued, "because if you really meant what you said about how you feel… then you wouldn't let that get in the way." Still, Ivan was silent, listening intently to the words that drifted out of Etana's mouth like honey, persuading him to take just one sweet taste. Her words were poetic, as if she had recited them from the notes of a philosopher, and they drew him in as if they were so.

"…You can speak now," she prompted, both annoyed and anxious at his reluctance to speak. Slowly, Ivan took one of the hands that was holding his own down, intertwined their fingers, and sat up to meet Etana at eye-level. His warm smile gave the girl a sense of comfort, but there was something about it that seemed… plotting.

"What are you-" but before Etana could finish her inquiry, Ivan had already wrapped his free arm around her waist and placed his lips on hers. At first taken aback, the girl shook her astonishment and kissed him, too, holding him equally as tightly as he was holding her. Neither of them knew how long they had been sitting there, wanting to give sighs of relief but not wanting their lips to part, when footsteps approached nearby.

"As happy as I am for the two of you," Drury began with a look of mock-disdain, "I better not have to cover for any of your shenanigans like I did this morning. Be careful, or you're out of here." Etana stood and nodded at Drury before staring back at the castle, Ivan mimicking her movements.

"It's going to be difficult, isn't it?" The girl asked monotonously, holding her gaze to the window from which she had earlier watched Ivan outside. She staggered considerably, suddenly succumbing to vertigo, and held on to Ivan's arm for support.

"You're leaving tomorrow," Ivan stated, looking down at the unsteady girl with concern. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she responded, then turned to Drury. "When am I getting knighted?"

The tallest soldier stifled a chortle as he observed her various wounds. "As soon as you stop losing blood."

"Huh?" she stumbled again. Etana then felt her knees buckle in on themselves, and she fell to the ground.

"Etana!" the two men cried in unison as Ivan again caught her in his arms. The fainting girl squinted her eyes and groaned, unable to stand any longer.

"How could you let her stay out here for so long like this?" Ivan asked as he glared at his friend. He, too, fell to his knees so that Etana could rest against his chest. Drury returned his look with one that read "you've got to be joking, you idiot".

"Look, I can either argue that you kept her out of the castle just as much as I did, or we can take her back to the medical ward."

"Ivan, I…" Etana tried, her head resting against his shoulder.

"Hush now, my Etana," the soldier holding her consoled in a soothing voice, and scooped her up into his arms. Obeying, the girl allowed herself to be carried back to the castle ahead, face pale and arms weakly hanging on around his shoulders.