(Backdated entry.)
Ourna leaned against the door facing the room and the man in it. Her feet wouldn't quite go the rest of the way inside, and she crossed her arms against her hopping nerves. “So…you're all right now?”
Tremaen's back was to her, facing the small window in the room. She knew his face was still crimson to his hairline. “As well as I get.”
Silence fell tangibly between them, save for the sound of her own heart in her ears. Ourna searched for something to say, some place to begin. Taking a breath, she started with the first word that came to mind. “Trey…”
“So, that problem is taken care of. We can all get back to the research, maybe? Have we found anything useful?” Turning, Tremaen visibly struggled to get the color out of his face.
“I thought we should talk. I have some things to tell you.” Ourna took a couple of steps forward, dropping her hands to her side.Sighing, Tremaen spoke reluctantly. “What is there to say? You know how I feel about you, how I've felt probably since I was nine years old.” He shrugged widely. “I've never made a secret of it, really.”Sighing, Ourna rolled her eyes. “You've never made it obvious, either. I didn't know.”
“Changes nothing, really. You know. And I continue. End of story. ” Tremaen turned toward the window again, sighing deeply. “You've always made it perfectly clear where I stand, though I was going to try to sway you. Plans get changed, and here we are. I'm still your friend and lieutenant, and that's where it stays. I'm fine with that.”
“You still had the blanket…you were going to dig it out and go riding with me to the old spot with a basket full of berries and cream.”He spun around. “How…?”
Ourna smiled a little. “I…remembered it. It was a test to get out of the place I was trapped in. Hard to explain really.” She dropped her head a little, not able to meet his gaze with the flashes of light purple hair and strong arms that now invaded her brain. “I really wanted it to be true. I guess it was a show of what might have been.”
“You mean…?” She could hear the dazed disbelief in Tremaen's voice.
“You stayed. I don't think I realized what I had in you until then.” She shook her head, mostly at herself. She had to tell him everything, though admitting some things were harder than others were. “The whole time, every time I was tempted to stay in their charming little world, I kept thinking of you. So yes, I mean. But….” Ourna swallowed. Kierhan. It still pained her to think of him, but sometimes the memory wasn't bitter.
“But you're right. We don't have time for these things, do we? We can't act on our feelings.”
Reprieve. “Right.”
There was a long pause, and then Tremaen's voice was closer to her. “Well, as I said, nothing changes.”
Raising her head, she smiled a little sadly at her old friend. “Nothing changes.” Opening her arms slightly, Ourna closed the distance between her and Tremaen and embraced him as she had done a hundred times in the past, and he returned it. There was nothing else to say. She'd never see Kierhan again anyway. No reason to hurt the man in her arms. One day, she would tell him and they would laugh about it, like they often did about Tremaen's roguish reputation back home.
And Tremaen was still in her arms. She found she didn't want to let go of him, and he, in turn did not pull away. She laid her cheek against his, soft and smooth. The rational woman screamed to step back, turn away now, but the rational woman was quickly overridden. Just a slight turn of the head, a little more, and they were kissing. Nothing existed but the moment.
A stretched bit of eternity later, Ourna opened her eyes and pulled back to look into his. “I think we just crossed a line.” It came out breathlessly.
“Yeah,” Tremaen replied. “Do you care?”
“Not really.”
“Neither do I.” Then, he was kissing her again, insistently, as if letting out long years of dreams, and she took it gladly. Kierhan was quickly forgotten. This was now, something happy after so long of pain and grief. The world, the war, the cause…they all could wait for a few stolen moments.
Yet, she did not know that deep inside of her, a harsh reminder grew, and trouble was brewing outside.