A Disgruntled Brother

Amory stormed away from the cabin, tugging his coat on as he did.

Last night, he had snuck back in long after Yavanna had dressed and gone to sleep, and he had fallen asleep quickly only to wake to a small, warm body clinging to him. He had immediately frozen, unsure if he should move, or if he should wait. After a few minutes she'd awoken and appeared to be as shocked as him.

Her little squeaks and hums irritated him, and so he'd awoken. But their gazes had locked and he'd found himself staring into those light brown eyes, so different from that of her sister's.

After she'd slunked away and then comically jumped back into the bed, he'd scoffed. Why did she irk him so? But no. He wanted to be irked by her. Why, though? Mirella clearly had no love for him, Rune had wiped that off the face of the earth. What had he felt for her? She said it wasn't love, but it made his heart thrum and his mind lighten. As well as darken.

His boots crunched in the snow as he walked to the woods. There was nowhere else for him to go. His head hung low as he hunched beneath the bows and branches. When he stepped into a small clearing he felt something hard collide with his chest and he flew back and hit a cluster of trees.

The air was knocked from his lungs and he struggled to regain his balance. Not even Rune could hit him so hard. He coughed and looked up a moment too late; his attacker was already before him and kneed his face before he could react. He groaned and rolled his eyes when he finally recognized who it was.

Clark. And as if to prove his realization, his brother growled out, "You really shouldn't have done that, Amory. I was taking her here myself, she trusts me. You only made it worse!" He finished his statement with another throw of his fist but Amory had recovered enough.

He caught it and heard the bones crack in his fist. Clark stifled a grimace and Amory stood to his full height, snow brushing his shoulders and hair. "You wanted me to do something, didn't you? Well, I did something."

"What are you talking about?" Clark asked through gritted teeth, his hand still being squeezed by Amory's.

"The prophecy, dear brother." Amory spat. Clark's eyes widened. "I have plans, and if you want what's best for you, for me, for Velio and for Nothad, you will allow me to carry them out."

Amory slowly relaxed his grip on Clark's now broken hand. 'It will heal.' He thought and stepped back.

Understanding slowly dawned on Clark's face and he nodded, "What are your plans?" Wariness appeared in his eyes.

"Nothing you need to know." Amory replied, walking around him and back through the trees; he and Yavanna were long overdue for going back to the palace.

"Please tell me that it won't hurt her."

Amory turned and saw that his brother was already gone, but his quiet words rooted in his mind. Why had his brother begun caring for Yavanna?

With his head hung low again he returned to the village and to the cabin only to run face-to-face with Mirella. He instinctively steadied her and she swatted them away with a ferocity he was familiar with.

"You bastard." She swore in Noth and his brows rose. What had he done? "Oh, don't act innocent." She spat with her small nose wrinkling, "How could you say such horrible things?"

'Depends—'

"And don't you dare contrive one of your excuses, I'm positive you've been masterfully weaving those for my sister." He had forgotten how impressive her Noth was. She spoke it flawlessly. "Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you." He refocused on her fuming dark eyes, "That's it. Now—I want an explanation as to why you told my sister that she was hideous."

Amory mouthed, 'Ah.' And looked behind her and at the cabin, understanding what must've happened.

"Tell me. Or I'll make you tell me why you can hop around from one place to another. Which would you prefer to explain?" She asked with her delicate hands on her slim waist, her boot tapping impatiently on the packed snow.

Inhaling deeply, he decided with the previous, knowing that she would still demand an explanation for the latter. "I simply spoke the truth—"

"Oh don't give me that." She cut him off with a disgusted tone, "I know that my sister is beautiful, alright. You lied," She stepped forward and jabbed a finger at his chest, "You lied, and you know it. Why would you lie?"

He swallowed, his nose beginning to feel cold. Amory opened his mouth to speak, but Mirella cut him off once more, "And to think, I thought you would take care of her. That you would treat her the same as you'd treat me." The disappointment that flashed in her eyes affected him, more than he cared to admit. "Amory, I'm going to be blunt; man up. Grow up and accept the fact that "we" can't happen, alright. You're Yavanna's now, and she's yours. Start acting like it."

Her lips thinned before she walked back up the slope and to where Rune was. He turned back to the cabin but was stopped by her voice yelling, still in Noth, "And admit it! You're attracted to her!"

'No. I am not.' He stated firmly. But she wasn't going to listen to a word he said. 'Stubborn woman that she is.'

His steps alerted Yavanna who was staring out the window with a tired expression. Those soft brown eyes met his before they drifted to look out the window again. Silence reigned and Amory clenched his fists anxiously. He didn't like it being so quiet.

He wished, for a surprising moment, that she could speak. He thought back to the times that she'd allowed her temper to show through her words. Not like Mirella's fiery temper, but a stormy one of her own.

He blinked and rolled his shoulders. He shouldn't be thinking too deeply about her. He needed to focus on getting Mirella back, she was his, whether she liked it or not. She can't have fallen in love with the dog in such a short amount of time and it was foolish of her to think that she had.

He had to get her to remember what they had had, the fire and—and excitement. It was still there, he just needed to stoke it a little; bring life back into it.