I was in the city of Presh when something caught my eye. There, not twenty feet in front of me, was a familiar item. A brown leather quiver with leaves embossed around the upper rim. The last time I'd seen it, it was being given to my fiance /well...ex-fiance/ on his birthday. That felt like half a lifetime ago. Now the quiver was filled with arrows and was on the back of a cloaked figure.
/Could it be?/
A shiver ran through me--a mixture of excitement and chill. We were experiencing the first snow of the season. A light dusting of flakes were speckling the dark blue cloak of the figure moving through the crowd, giving the appearance of a night sky. My heart leapt as I began pushing my way toward him.
/He hasn't given up on me! He couldn't do anything to help me in the village, but when I was banished he came looking for me!/
My breath puffed out in front of me in small clouds. The streets of Presh were notoriously thick with people, and it was proving difficult to catch up with the man. With one final shove I reached him. Worried I'd lose him again, I grabbed hold of his cloak.
"Quill!" I exclaimed, unable to contain my joy. I'd never expected to see him again, let alone speak with him.
His head whipped around. Upon seeing who had hold of his cloak, Quill's eyes widened. They looked more brown than gold in the gray weather. His mouth hung open for a moment, then pressed into a thin line. Before I knew what was happening, he'd pulled me into an empty alley. I beamed up at him.
/It's really him. He left the village behind for me. We can build a life together after all, somewhere quiet./ My mind raced with pleasant possibilities.
"Oh Quill, you found me! I knew you would understand, but I never thought--"
I'd moved in for a hug, but Quill pushed me back somewhat forcefully. Puzzled, a slight frown formed on my face. The look on his was darker.
"I wasn't looking for you," he said.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"But...you're here." I must not have kept the confusion out of my voice, because he immediately elaborated.
"Lynarra!" Quill snapped, "I wasn't looking for you! Quite the opposite in fact."
His face was slightly flushed with anger. The snow was falling more heavily now. A few flecks landed on his freckled cheeks, where they quickly melted. Time seemed to stand still as I processed his words.
/"Quite the opposite."/
"If you weren't looking for me, what are you doing here?"
"Trying to leave you behind. To leave the past behind--the whole damn village, really."
"So you came to Presh to start a new life?"
Quill shook his head. "No, I only stopped here for the night. I'm on my way to Mezeque."
"The royal city?! Why? What could possibly be there for you?"
He leaned back against the wall, studying me with hard eyes for a moment. I could tell he didn't want to talk to me, but I needed answers.
"Quill. What are you going to Mezeque for?"
"To join the army."
A sense of dread was spreading through me as realization hit.
"No. Don't do that."
"You don't get to tell me what to do."
"Think about this! How could you betray Vrysdale like that? Your family? Yourself?"
"Oh! That's rich coming from you," he exploded.
"That's different."
"How exactly?"
"I was born a Praecant. I didn't choose it. By the time it was clear what I was, it was too late to expect the village to--"
"Your curse could have killed our entire village," he hissed, "and you wouldn't even tell your own fiance!"
"Would it have made any difference if I had?" I demanded.
/How dare he insinuate that things would be different if I'd been honest. It's becoming clear now that we would not have ended well./
"It might have. We'll never know now, will we? You made that decision on your own."
"So what--now you view that as a good reason to join the King's men and bring further destruction to Klymor?" My own anger was flaring now and I closed the space between us, getting into his face.
"Your hurt pride is no excuse to create heartache for others! What is wrong with you?! Go home, Quill!"
"You put the entire village in jeopardy. You, not me! They were fools to let you go."
He started down at me with nothing but hatred.
/Where is the man I'd loved? Has this harshness been lurking within him the whole time?/
I had time to wonder when it would have surfaced in our marriage--and if Daeron knew this side of his brother--before his verbal onslaught continued.
"I could never have a future there, not after everything that's happened. You ruined it all. And without the farm, I have nothing, I am nothing! The army is my only way to a better life, now."
"...that isn't true...the entire village loves y--"
"You should have burned! That's what happens to Praecants. The only reason I'm not killing you right now is the number of people walking by. But if I ever see you again, Lynarra…"
Quill moved forward, forcing me to step backwards until I was up against the opposite wall. He jabbed a finger at my chest.
"...it will mean an arrow through your heart."
He stormed out of the alley without so much as a backward glance, and disappeared into the crowd.
I took a shaky breath and slid down the wall, sitting in the accumulating snow as a wave of sorrow swept over me.
Later that same day, I sold the ring Quill had proposed to me with. I'd held onto it out of sentimentality, but now it only served as an ugly reminder of a life I'd never live. Part of me was grateful; in all the years I'd known Quill, this side of him had never shown. It must have been there, though, lurking beneath the charming surface until triggered.
/"You should have burned...If I ever see you again, it will mean an arrow through your heart."/
His words replayed in my head, over and over. How any man could say that to a woman he'd supposedly loved...it was unfathomable.
/With that cruelty,/ I thought, /he will fit right in with the king's army./
I pocketed the coins I had received as payment for the ring and left Presh as quickly as I could, putting considerable distance between myself and the city by nightfall. I did not ever want to see Quill again.