Young Writers Society

MYLES

He was uncomfortable next to Jesse. Even though he refused to look at her, he could still feel her beside him. His hands trembled gently at his sides.

Just keep calm, a strong voice in his mind commanded. There was no connection earlier. You've just known the girl too long. She's your only friend. You had a right to be worried. It was nothing but friendship.

Myles took deep, slow breaths. Of course. That was all it was.

Even as he thought the words, he knew that they were lies. Myles felt something different inside him. Like something had changed. He couldn't quite put a finger on what it was, but it felt like more than just friendship. Something stronger...a bond had been formed that he couldn't seem to break.

"What did you want?" he asked the girl, neither kind nor unkind. "And what happened to that rich idiot? I'm going to go look after him. Make sure he doesn't cause trouble. Keep Jesse company until I get back."

Myles nodded to the two, not quite meeting Jesse's eyes. HE needed to think about this. He couldn't face her while he was still so unsure about his feelings.

Myles's spotted Arthur and made his way toward him. "I think you said that you needed to speak to somebody?" Myles asked, raising an eyebrow, knowing full well that he was the last person Arthur wanted to talk to.

MECKIAH

I raised an eyebrow and sighed. "He's delightful," I grumbled, sinking to the floor.

"He's just..." Jesse seemed to be struggling to find just the right word. "Protective."

Of course he was. They all were. I changed the subject entirely. "His rich and snobbiness bugs the crud outta me." It was only half spontanious. I pulled out my sword again, tracing Seth's name with my finger thoughtfully. Oh how I missed him...

I sighed, standing back up again. I didn't want to sit still. I didn't want to walk either though, it hurt my foot too much. Oh, what to do, what to do?

Jesse wasn't in a very talkative mood either. Oh well. If I talked to her I was liable to spill out my guts...something I never did unless absolutely neccessary. I plopped back down, feeling restless.

Arthur

“Yes,” said Arthur, eyeing Myles with veiled dislike. “Well, I would quite like to get out of here.” Myles raised an eyebrow.

“And?”

“My fiancé, Geneva, was in the village when it was attacked. I have to find her, even if…” he trailed off, not wanting to say the unthinkable. “Whatever.” He muttered avoiding Myles’s gaze. “I just have to find her.”

MYLES

"Well, I'm not letting you leave here. Not yet, anyway," he sighed. "But I don't think that I'll kill you."

Arthur stiffened at the word 'kill' and Myles almost laughed. "Why? Were you thinking about killing me in the first place?"

"Well, I was going to take your money first, of course. But yeah. I mean, you know where our camp is. But I figured if you told anyone, I'd be left to choice but to kill you. To protect my camp. And I will be tailing you. For a good while."

Arthur

“Wonderful,” said Arthur, highly irritated. “Now I have a knife-happy thief trailing me. Could this get any worse?”

“I’m sorry? Do you want me to kill you?” Myles stated the question more than he asked it.

“No!” Arthur yelped, before recovering his slim composure. “I mean, no, no, that won’t be necessary. But, if you’re going to follow me around anyway, won’t you please help me find her?” It was a stretch, Arthur knew, to ask even that much of a man who was, frankly, deciding whether to kill him or not. Arthur gulped, and hoped that Myles wouldn’t recant on his claims.

MECKIAH

I sighed and stumbled out of the tent.

"Where are you going?" Jesse asked.

I turned around and shrugged. "Outside obviously." I left before she could get another word in and stared at Arthur and Myles. Poor Arthur, Myles was probably scaring the chiz outta him. I smirked and leaned against a flimsy tree. It was just hardly big enough to hold my weight.

"Please?" Arthur was begging. How utterly unatractive.

I sighed and walked up to them. "And what, may I ask, is happening here?" I asked, crossing my arms.

Myles turned and glared at me, but Arthur spoke before he did. "I thought you said they didn't have any plans of killing me!"

My smirk disapeared, replaced by a frown. "I missed something here."

Myles rolled his eyes. "Obviously," he grumbled. I stuck my tongue out at him while he wasn't looking.

Jesse:

Wincing, I followed Meckiah out of the tent. I seemed to be limping--that can't be good.

"What's going on out here?" I asked, giving everyone a stern look. Myles just shrugged and turned away while Arthur gave me a startled look. Myles seemed to be trying to avoid me.... Why would he do that?

"Someone has been threatening Arthur," Meckiah muttered.

I looked towards Myles. It could only be him. "Myles," I said very, very softly.

Sorry I've been a while, guys.

Arthur

“I mean, it’s not like I’m doing anything wrong,” Arthur complained, completely missing the tension of the situation. “I just want to find Genie – Geneva, I mean, - before something worse does!” Myles gave him a look, and Meckiah stifled what sounded like a groan.

“She’s probably way outside town, maybe already to the rim of the mountains, I don’t know. But I have to catch up with her.” He gave everyone an exasperated look before turning his back on them and striding away.

“If you want to follow me, then do. If you don’t get out of my way!”


*I don't mean to cut anything short - Artie's just impatient. *

MECKIAH

Now there was a dedicated man. Myle's didn't look thrilled, but I was quite honestly impressed. "Let him go," I whispered.

"Who died and put you in charge?" Myles hissed.

"Nobody. But I know what's it's like to lose a lover. I say that if it's love driving him, he should go." Heck, if I were him I probably would have slit the throat of anybody who tried to get in my way. Of course I wasn't him and he didn't seem to be much of a fighter. "Arthur! Wait!" I hollered.

He turned. "What?"

"Good luck." I smiled and turned around, limping back to the tree.

MYLES

"Don't you tell me what I don't know," Myles hissed at the girl.

He was starting to feel very, very insecure. Why hadn't he killed these people yet? Was he weak? And how had this little girl made him let go of the rich snob. No...Myles couldn't take it. It hurt his pride too much. And his emotions were still raw from Jesse's recovery and the way his chest ached for her...

Myles didn't know why he did it. Whether to hide his feelings or because his pride just hurt too much. Myles chased after Arthur. Then, a voice called to him. Her voice.

"Myles," Jesse said softly. He stopped and stiffened. Then he turned to her and saw her, weak but still so beautiful. He;d never known someone like her.

And in the moment Myles knew. He loved her. She was the one and only girl for him. She was brave, strong physically and emotionally, and she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She took the breath from his very lungs and left him gasping for more.

"Let him go," she said in a soft whisper.

Myles walked toward Jesse a little dazed. She was probably the only one who could have stopped him from following the rich young man.

"He...he knows about the camp. I have to stop him," Myles replied.

Jesse shook her head. "We'll find another way. I know you were going after him to kill him. It's not right," she told him.

Myles took a deep breath and closed the remaining distance between the two of them. "Jesse...I have to. Not just to protect the camp but to protect you. You're not strong enough to move out yet. If I kill him I won't have to worry about that. And I can't stand to lose-" he stopped, gritting his teeth.

His cheeks burned, embaressed he had shown any emotion. He loved Jesse, no doubt about it, but she would laugh if he told her. He wouldn't open up to anyone on that deep of a level.

"Myles, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Do not kill him," Jesse warned. It was almost a threat. He smiled a little. This was the Jesse that he had fallen for.

And with that thought he grabbed her waist, pulling her to him. He felt her heart beat against his chest and the feel of her so close to him gave him the strength to press his lips on hers. Her lips were warm and soft. The feeling in his stomach couldn't be described. His heart felt like soaring out of his chest.

"I need to keep you safe," he whispered against her ear. "I don't know if I'll kill him, but I at least have follow him."

MECKIAH

I half-smiled at the scene unfolding. Myles obviously hated my very guts, but that somehow didn't bother me that much. Most people I met hated me. Except Seth... Why was everybody falling in love on me? My happiness vanished, replaced by the same opression I had lived with since he had died. Don't you dare start crying! I ordered myself. But I couldn't help it. Myles had been hiding under a rock his whole life and look where it had gotten him. He was bitter and hated everybody he came into contact with. Well, that was what it looked like at least.

I leaned my head on the treetrunk, warding off tears. He had protected me, stood up for me when the others had mocked my father. Saved me from a life of torment and then he had died. He didn't deserve that, he deserved to live on and become the great hero we all knew he was. I pulled out my sword-excuse me- his sword and traced his name again. What was the last thing I had said to him? You're all I have left or something along those lines. And now I had nothing.

I couldn't hold back anymore, I let the tears come. They fell down my cheeks in steady streams and I tried to stay hushed about it. I really didn't need to ruin Jesse and Myle's moment. And then there was Arthur who was willing to go to the ends of the earth to find his fiance. Heck, he was being threatened by Myles and he was still going after her.

I burried my head in my hands, trying not to let Seth's sword slip through my now drenched fingers. What I would do to go back, to save him.

Arthur

Arthur gave a little nod to Meckiah, grateful that she, at least, wouldn’t try and stop him. Admittedly, that was rather unexpected, but welcome none the less. He was nearly out of sight when he heard Myles chasing after him.

“Oh, no he doesn’t,” muttered Arthur when he first heard the pounding steps. He darted around a corner and hid in a tent, hoping the man would simply pass by. But then he heard his pursuer halt, and turn back. Someone, one of the women, was talking. Myles replied. Curious, Arthur poked his head around the corner.

The scene that met Arthur’s eyes somewhat divided him emotionally. On the one hand, there was Meckiah, weeping with a sword clutched between her hands. It’s really rather pathetic, thought Arthur dismissively. On that score, his only thought was disapproval.

But then his gaze switched to Jesse and Myles, and he felt his stomach do a somersault. It only reminded him of his Genie, lost somewhere, and alone. However, it also reminded him of how Geneva, stubborn as she always was, had never kissed him like that, or even allowed him near her. His lips twisted into a painful expression before he turned away. That little detail, he thought to himself as he hurried from the tent. Shall be one of the first things will change once I rescue her. Assuming I don’t get lost in the woods, that is…

Still frowning, he turned in the direction he thought to be east, out towards the edge of the mountain range, and, hopefully, Geneva.

MECKIAH

I swiped at my tears furiously and placed my sword back in the sheath behind my cloak. What was I doing here? Heck, Myles would probably go after Arthur any second. I couldn't help Seth, but if Arthur would let me, maybe I could help him. At least then I would know he wouldn't die before he got to his fiance.

I scurried down the tree quickly, running despite the pain in my ankle. I shot past Myles and Jesse, hardly hearing Myles' protesting. "I'm going after him. You my dear boy, are going to stay with Jesse," I grumbled.

"No-"

I cut him off. "Yes actually. You won't need to worry about me giving away the camp. I'm a theif, too. Telling them where you are and I might as well be shouting that I'm a theif from the rooftops." I kept going. If Myles came after me so be it. I would have to put up a fight. I couldn't kill him, but I could always knock him out.

Arthur came into view and I shouted after him. He turned, and I couldn't tell if he was confused, greatful or disgusted. "Need a hand?" I asked, grinning. I could feel the salt from the tears on my cheeks and knew that I probably looked absolutely ridiculous, but what did it matter?

Arthur

Simply wonderful, thought Arthur as Meckiah grinned expectantly at him. The head case wants to come with me. Although, truth be told, she probably knows these parts better than I do.

“Alright,” he sighed. “You can come along. Just… don’t start crying again. It irks me.” He rolled his eyes and continued walking. Meckiah made an irritated sound.

“’Irks you?’ Who speaks like that nowadays? Really.” Arthur shrugged and kept walking.

“At least I’m not crying like a waterfall every five minutes.” Honestly.

**bad case of writer's block -.- sorry it's so short**
MECKIAH

My smile faded and I glared at him. "Trust me, if you went through what I've been through you'd be crying like a waterfall every five minutes, too. I've lost everybody that matters in my life and lived with torment. I have the right to cry."

I glanced behind us quickly. There weren't any signs of pursuit, but you never know. I started forwards, not waiting for Arthur to answer. If he wasn't going to say anything appreciative, I wouldn't let him say anything at all.