Creative Writing: Strangers In The Dumpster

Words: 1151
Pages: 5

Oh, they had at it, all right. Once again, Audra slashed and parried with al her strength and skill, and afterward, still riled-up over everyone’s bracelets, she took off on a run, this time to the river, and Maxen followed. She hoped the harsh training session and sprint to the river would quiet her thoughts of jealousy, anger, and frustration with herself.
But as she raced for the Hael, sweat trickling down her back despite the chill, an idea came to her mind, one of Maxen taking Una to bed has his first lover, and she had to force back tears. She hated Una from Isca, even though the woman had been nothing short of a perfect guest. Perhaps that was the reason Audra hated her, that among other reasons, one of which ran alongside her.
Audra,
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“Stop mothering,” she snapped through her breathlessness.
He took a seat on the rock beside her. “What’s wrong with you today?”
“Nothing. I want to work hard. Is that a problem?”
“Not a problem at all, but you seem perturbed.”
“I am not perturbed,” she said, drawing out the word in a nasty drawl. “And besides, you don’t seem all that engaged in our training these days.”
Maxen stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“Your new little friend takes up a lot of your time and it cuts into our training.”
“We’ve trained each day without a break. How has she affected training at all? And please explain how I’m not engaged.”
He sounded as frustrated as she now.
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“How are you so obtuse? Una likes you.”
Maxen let out a sharp laugh. “What? You’re joking.”
“I am not. She…” Audra’s words trailed off as she watched Maxen wipe the sweat from his brow with the back of his left hand, and that’s when she spotted the red bracelet tied around his wrist. She wrenched his arm down into awkward position, and unable to help herself, she tried to twist the bracelet inside out to see if it contained that telltale black thread. Maxen snatched his hand back.
“Audra, what in the word is wrong with you today?”
She pointed a shaky finger in his face. “She gave you that!”
“Yes, Una tied it on me this morning. I couldn’t refuse.”
“I told you she likes you. And it’s more than just like.”
A smile found Maxen’s lips and he began to laugh long and loud. “She doesn’t like me,” he said through his hysterical laughter. “It’s Jac.”
“Jac?”
“Yes! Didn’t you notice how red she turned when you asked him to escort her to her chambers yesterday? She’s in love with him and asked me to intervene. Any time she’s spent with me has all been a way to get her closer to him. All she does it talk about it. It’s grown tiresome, to be honest.”
That was it, this whole time? Una was in love with