What Torren Saw

Summary: Torren sees something he really wasn't supposed to, considering the fact that he wasn't even supposed to be where he was when he saw it. Post-POS

Disclaimer: I don't own the Books of Ember (Well, except the book I bought) but Jeanne DuPrau does.

A/N: This takes place about four years after the People of Sparks.

If he had been listening when given his instructions, he would not have headed for the house of Lina Mayfleet that afternoon. It was the during the month of Burning, the days were long, the nights were much too short and the city was slow and tired. Only four years earlier, the swarm of cavepeople Torren had spotted from the windmill had arrived, and now the People of Sparks were gaining numbers as more people began to start families and the times were rough but good.

Along with the population incline, the houses for these families were built. One of the first people to have their home was Lina Mayfleet, whom had saved the Emberites and brought the end of a possible war with the villagers of Sparks. She was currently living in a house near the river, along with her younger sister Poppy, next door to Doon Harrow, the other savior of Ember and Torren himself.

The children had grown to be hardworking teenagers and even the small Kenny Parton was beginning to gain height against Torren and Doon.

On the day Torren was supposed to be working for his aunt, one of the only doctors in Sparks, and wasn't supposed to be heading towards the Mayfleet home like he had. He was excited about asking Lina about Doon's latest project, which was figuring out how to get the water from the river to the crops faster then they already had. Doon had been working on this particular project during the months of the Chilling, mostly because that was a good time to not have to worry about the villagers in the fields and experiment.

Doon often told Torren and Kenny what he was up to, but recently he seemed to be a complete loss. He would often seem to be staring up at the sky, looking at nothing in particular. He would mutter nonsense to himself and write down weird things and try to rhyme randomly whenever he had a thought. Torren had asked about these weird behaviors, but his aunt did not understand the problem with Doon at all, he seemed perfectly fine.

As Torren approached the Mayfleet home, he saw Poppy Mayfleet standing on a hill a little further away, under an oak tree. She was playing with her dress and talking to herself. The young six-year-old disappeared down the hill and Torren just continued up to the front of the Mayfleet house. He stopped when he heard voices and looked in a window. Lina was standing there, wearing a sleeveless shirt that was rolled up, her stomach heaving up and down as she breathed. It had been so hot lately; she had been often seen dressed like that. Torren then realized that the person she was talking to was Doon Harrow himself. He looked at Doon and noticed that the older teenager wasn't wearing a shirt at all, but just his dirty jeans. Doon had become an inventor, but also was the head of the builders, often helping on projects and it showed with his muscles growing bigger and stronger every day.

"Doon, you are being so ridiculous, why do we even have to talk about this?" Lina asked, looking at the floor as Doon moved closer to her.

"Lina, I don't know why you just won't admit it, why you won't let me tell anyone," Doon said, looking down at her from his towering height.

"There's nothing to tell, it was just some silly little thing," Lina said, still trying to not look up at him. Doon didn't like that answer and he was not going to let her run around him at all.

"Lina, it wasn't just a silly little thing. I know what it's called, I asked someone. It's called a kiss, and we did it. And we both know that we liked it, so why are you being so stubborn?" Doon said, leaning closer now, and Torren almost fell back in shock. He knew what a kiss was, he had seen the parents of the village kiss sometimes and that's what people did at weddings, but he hadn't expected that a great mind like Doon would ever even think about wanting to kiss the normal plain Lina.

"I'm not, it's just…" Lina said, her face beginning to get rather red, and Torren was certain it wasn't just the heat that was making her like that. She took a step back, trying to get as far away from Doon as she could, but he wasn't having it. Doon moved towards her and she fell on the couch and before she could protest, Doon quickly pressed his lips against hers. Lina didn't even get the chance to struggle as the older boy kissed her.

Torren jumped up and accidentally knocked over a small ladder leaning against the wall, sprinting off before he could wait and see if Doon and Lina had actually heard him.

If Torren had only done what he was supposed to, he wouldn't have been forced to see what he saw. He was very sad that he had been there, he hadn't gone bursting in the door earlier and it wasn't a surprise to him when he heard from his aunt that Doon and Lina were getting married a few months later.

- Thanks for reading. I litterally just finished reading the People of Sparks not even five minutes before I wrote this. Still haven't started the Prophet of Yonwood, but it sounds like it'll be great. Can't wait! I love the City of Ember, a really awesome book, and I just love Lina and Doon together, so cute! Thanks for reading!

Invader Hog