Don't You Dare

Evin and Miri had a fight during Midwinter.

It had shocked everyone when the two, usually attached at the hip and constantly laughing, showed up to breakfast after the big Midwinter party and sat on opposite ends of their usual table. Neither spoke to each other, but Evin would look up every few minutes and open his mouth before evidently thinking better of it and looking back down at his almost untouched breakfast.

Evin looked rather beaten up, actually. His lip was swollen and split and the side of his neck was a mottled purple.

Miri was relieved when she was shipped out suddenly the next day to patrol for bandits while Evin and his men stayed in Corus, waiting as a back up squad if there was any emergency.

She was gone for two months.

Evin did his duties, of course. But the men noticed that he didn't smile much anymore, and he rarely laughed.

The men began to worry for him, and decided that they would send a man to confront him about Miri and see if they could do anything to help.

"Evin, you Player, the court women have been gossiping an awful lot about you lately. More so then usual, even," the man they decided on said nonchalantly.

"Oh?" Evin raised an eyebrow. "How's that?"

"Well, usually they speak of you and your Player ways. Lately, they've been talking about you and your lack of Player ways. For the past two months, actually. Since Miri and you had that fight."

The men held their breath and Evin's shoulders sank slightly.

"I suppose you're going to demand an explanation, then?" Evin sank down onto the chair next to his horse's stall.

Flashback

The party was just an informal affair- Riders and servants and city people alike were dancing in the emptied barn.

The ale was flowing and the music was loud and all around people were dancing.

Miri was dragging Evin out to the horse stalls for a bit of fresh air, seeing as he had had a bit too much ale and had climbed on top of a table and started clumsily recreating old Player skits he had seen and memorized as a boy.

"But, Miri, I don't want to go outside," he mumbled.

"Well, we have too. We're going to see the pretty horsies. Won't you like that, Evin?" Miri grunted. She was all but carrying the muscular man on her back.

"Yes. I guess horsies are nice." He murmured.

She threw him onto a pile of loose hay with another grunt and fell beside him.

They were like that for a few moments before Evin rolled over and perched his head on his hand, staring at Miri.

"I don't like any of them, you know."

Miri rolled her eyes at her inebriated friend, but rolled on her side to face him. "You'll be talking about those voices in your head then?"

"No. The court ladies I get involved with."

Miri sighed.

This was the problem with Drunk Evin.

He was fun for the first hour or so.

Then he turned weepy and dead serious, albeit usually truthful.

"Oh? Then why do you sleep with them?" Miri figured that if he was opening up and wouldn't remember her prying in the morning anyway, she might as well. Also, she was genuinely curious. His flings always made her slightly jealous, although she would never admit it.

"Because I'm afraid of commitment. Also, I'm a Player, and we have a love for all things dramatic. Old habits die hard." Evin was slowly sobering up with the help of the crisp air. He knew what he was telling Miri, but he didn't care. It was time she knew anyway. "Also, because this one amazing girl I'm in love with doesn't love me like that. And it hurts. So I try to numb the pain by bedding girls who don't want a commitment- usually married or engaged."

Miri rolled back on her back and tried to make her heart stop hurting so badly.

"Oh?" She said weakly. "Who is this stupid girl then? I'll have to beat some sense into her for you." Miri forced a laugh.

Evin pulled her arm so that she was on her side and facing him again.

"She's my best friend in the entire world. I met her at the beginning of training and she and I became friends so quickly that it scared me how much we had in common. We can laugh about anything. I love her but she doesn't know."

Miri suddenly stood up and refused to look at him. "You're drunk. You're making a joke that isn't funny and you drank too much ale and you have no idea what you're saying. You're talking for the sake of talking because you like the sound of your voice. Or, you just want to bed me like you bedded all those silly court ladies. Bed me and leave the next day, and-"

"I'm not drunk." Evin protested finally. He attempted to stand up but ended up falling backwards into the hay.

He paused. "Okay, so I'm still a little drunk. Tipsy more like. Tipsy's the word. And I do know what I'm saying. It's what I've wanted to say for years. I don't want to bed you." Evin paused again. "Well, I do, but not like I bedded the court ladies. I want you to be mine, I want to be able to punch any guy who looks at you with hungry eyes because you belong to me."

He stood and this time did not stumble.

He brought her face into his hands and looked into her eyes.

"Please say that you feel the same."

Miri looked down and away from him. "Of course I do," she said quietly.

Evin pulled her face to his and kissed her lips gently.

"Midwinter's luck, Miri."

He walked away.

As he was walking away, the grin on his face was suddenly wiped off.

She'll just hurt me.

She'll realize I'm nothing but a Player and she'll be hurt and I'll be hurt, and we'll never laugh together again.

"And that's when I did quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever done in my entire life. Maybe it was the alcohol still in my system. Personally, I think I was just being stupid."

Evin snuck to the gardens, where many ladies were strolling to get fresh air from the ball.

He saw one that would suit his needs perfectly.

She sat on the bench quietly, looking sadly at the ring on her finger.

"Hello, there."

She looked up, and, realizing who it was, blushed. "Well, hello."

"Are you alright?"

"Oh." She looked down again, turning a bit pink. "Yes. My betrothed and I just had a fight. I just feel a bit lonely I guess."

"Maybe I could fix that."

"Maybe you could."

"I kissed her and all I could think about was Miri."

Miri gasped.

She had run after Evin when her legs returned to their solid, non-jelly state and when she saw where he was headed, she decided to just follow him and see what he was up to.

He kissed that court girl.

Miri stomped from the shadows, threw Evin off of the girl and promptly slapped his so hard his lip split.

With that she ran off.

"Oh Mithros. Look, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean anything by that kiss, but I love her, so can I-"Evin rambled.

The lady rolled her eyes and looked down at her hands again. "Just go. I won't tell a soul if you don't tell people I fought with my betrothed."

"Done- thank you," Evin yelled as he ran.

"I found her. She didn't want to talk."

"Goddess, get away from me Evin. You're just a Player. You say you love me then kiss another girl, not ten minutes later? That's not how it works. I've come a long way from being the little fisherman's daughter that I was when I met you. I have a backbone. I fell for you, I told you so, I trusted you with my heart, and you stomped on it a second later. So get away from me. I'm going to go visit my ponies. They bite people I tell them to. So stay away."

"And she hasn't talked to me since. I don't blame her. I'm an idiot. She hasn't even written back. I write her a letter a week. And she doesn't respond."

"You don't know then?"

Evin looked up sharply.

"I don't know what?" He barked.

"She got hurt. A bandit cut her leg pretty badly. She's recovering, and she's fine, but she lost a lot of blood and people didn't know about her for awhile."

Evin sighed and put his head between his legs. "I didn't even know."

"She, and the rest of them, are coming back day after tomorrow. Talk to her then. She's had time to cool down. Explain yourself. She'll listen."

--()—()—()—()—()—

"Miri!" Evin yelled. He ran over to her and engulfed her in a tight hug.

She didn't hug back.

"Hello, Evin." She said stiffly and unemotionally.

He let go of her and tried another approach. "I heard you got hurt- are you alright?"

"I'm fine now, thank you, Evin." Miri said quietly.

She moved to walk past him and he grabbed her arm.

"We need to talk."

"We really don't," Miri said quietly. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes there is. I was stupid- an idiot. I realized how much I care about you and I panicked because if we were to split somehow, our friendship would die and I can't live without you Miri," Evin said in a desperate voice. People were turning to look at the pair, making Miri blush.

"Evin, I don't want to talk about this here," she hissed, looking around at the small crowd that had gathered.

"Well, I do. If you kill me, at least there will be a few nosy witnesses that couldn't mind their own business." A few people realized that they were staring and quickly moved on. "Look, Miri, I kissed her and I destroyed your trust, and I know that. But I was thinking about you the entire time. Why can't you see that it didn't mean anything to me?"

"That's no excuse Evin," Miri hissed. "Don't you dare make me off to look like the bad guy- the one who wouldn't forgive something stupid. You kissed her just after you kissed me. You hurt me, but, oh, look at Miri- she isn't playing nice!"

"Miri, I know-"

"Don't you dare say that. No, you don't know. I had feelings for you for a long time, Evin, and when they were finally out in the open, and you," she poked him angrily in the chest, "told me you felt the same, I found out that you were mocking me. It was just another one of your jokes- I was just another one of your jokes," She spat the word out as if it were a curse.

"Gods bless, Miri, let me talk." He growled, grabbing her shoulders. "It wasn't a joke. I told you how I feel about you, and honestly? That will never change. What I did was wrong, and I know that. I was being selfish. I walked away from you and suddenly realized that you would remember that I'm nothing but some common Player and you would want something more, something better. And then you'd leave me, and we'd both be hurt, and we wouldn't laugh again, and," his eyes softened, "love, I couldn't live without your laugh," Evin ended tenderly, placing a hand on her cheek.

Miri jerked away. "Don't you dare call me 'love.' Don't you dare expect me to buy one of your lines. Don't you dare expect me to run back into your arms because you feel bad." Miri was getting choked up, her green eyes clouding with tears. "Don't you dare write yourself off as common, and don't you dare insinuate that my feelings for you don't run as deeply and permanently as yours. Don't you ever dare say I would be the one who's too good for you, who would leave you when we both know it's the other way around. Don't you dare lie to yourself, Evin, and tell yourself you wouldn't get bored of my plain face and boyish body and go off to be with your precious court ladies. Don't you dare-"

Evin cut her off. "You aren't plain or boyish, Miri," He told her quietly. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met and no, that's not a line, it's the truth. I love you, Miri. Even if you ignore me for the next six months I'll still feel that thrill when I see you smile, and I'll still want to hold you in my arms, and green will still be my favorite color because it reminds me of your gorgeous eyes."

Miri looked up at him, her tears finally spilling over.

"Shh," Evin hushed her, pulling her into his chest and stroking her hair. He looked angrily at the people who were still staring, and they quickly left them alone.

Miri pulled away to look at him again, "I've missed you, Evin. So much. I don't think I laughed the entire time that I was there. And when I got hurt, I-I was so scared I wouldn't get to say goodbye to you, but I didn't want to write to you because I was still so dreadfully angry. I didn't want you to think that I had forgiven you, because I hadn't. And if I had died, and hadn't even written you, oh gods-" Miri broke off and buried her head into his neck, breathing in his scent.

"Was it really that close to happening?" Evin whispered, terrified at the thought of Miri- the mischievous, beautiful girl who had such a love for life- still and pale with death.

"I lost a lot of blood- there's a scare on my leg that the healers told me will probably be there for the rest of my life. I was stupid and trying to look out for mages and didn't even notice the grubby man. I was lucky my pony reared, or he would've gutted me. He tore the skin from my hip to just above my knee.

"They couldn't move me because I was not stable, so I had to stay at camp. I wrote letters to my parents, in case I did die. I was in bed for a two weeks where I couldn't even move from how much blood I had lost. I spent 3 weeks building up my leg again. I almost don't even limp at this point, and it only hurts a little, but I think Buri is going to keep me in Corus for awhile."

Evin looked down at her and sighed. "If you had- Mithros, Miri- if you had died while hating me like you did, I don't know how I could've gone on."

"I could never hate you, Evin. I love you," Miri whispered quietly, so quietly Evin wasn't even sure if he had heard it.

"What?"

"I love you, Evin."

Evin pulled her closer- so close there was absolutely no room between them- and leaned down. Just as his lips were about to touch hers, he replied, "I love you, too," and captured her lips in a searing kiss.

He broke away and carefully moved away from her, walking in the direction of the stables and leaving her limp, her breath coming hard, and her eyes still closed.

"Evin Larse, don't you dare walk away from me after a kiss like that!" Miri said, hobbling after him after she regained her composure to realize where he was.

When she caught up with him, Evin grinned and pulled her into the empty pony stall. "The whole idea was for you to come after me," he chuckled before pushing her against the stall wall and giving her a proper hello.

--()()()()()--

AN: Not sure if I like this. At all. May take it down to revamp, or just take it down in disgust later. Haha. Anyway, please leave me reviews and tell me if my feelings of wrong characterization are just me being weird, or if I'm right, and this thing is bad.

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize ((i.e. Corus, Evin, Miri, the Riders, etc)) but I do own the story line.