Young Writers Society

Evaline silently sighed, glad that James seemed to understand what she was trying to say. She brought her shirt over to the clearer part of the water, trying to rinse off the suds and inspect any dirty spots she may have missed.

"Have you always been that way?" she asked.

James lifted up his shirt in turn, inspecting it. He felt like some of the stains weren't going to come out at this point, but he would try a little more.

He sighed and dunked his shirt back into the water, scrubbing harder.

"I think the military trained me to think that way," he said. "But after, it just intensified."

He didn't elaborate, still wary of eavesdroppers. Even though the foliage around them was pretty clear around them, and he didn't know where anyone could be hiding, he still didn't think it wise to speak openly and in detail about him being a wanted man. Especially after his conversation with Kurt. That would just be stupid.

Once again, Evaline wanted to bring up that she was pleasantly surprised that James didn't turn out more bitter and cynical than he was. He had endured so much hardship, but still, he remained patient and kind. She didn't know how he did it.

Evaline didn't want him to be cynical, though. She rather liked that he who he was, even if it didn't make sense to her.

It felt grounding.

"Well, just ignore what I'm saying, then," she said. "I think you're fine the way you are."

"Thanks," he said. It sounded far timider than he'd intended.

James looked back up at Evaline with a small, shy smile, and then averted his eyes back to his shirt and scrubbing it. A small bout of silence followed between them, but it really only lasted a few drawn-out seconds.

He cleared his throat.

"I did want to talk with you real quick about, um, our marriage," he said. The words felt awkward coming out of his mouth, and he lowered his voice. "Or at least, as Kurt understands it now. I just want you to know what I told him earlier so we're on the same page and don't confuse them or draw suspicion."

Evaline was wringing her shirt dry, or at least she was. The second James said the words 'our marriage'—said like it was actually real and they were actually married—she nearly jumped out of her skin and dropped her shirt in the water.

She felt her face go hot that James even considered that to be anything more than a frivolous assumption made by the oasis people, and it ate at her that he said it so casually, like it was something he had been thinking for a while and practiced saying in his head.

She tightened her lips and glance up at him for a second, but was too embarrassed to look at his face too long, so she started to furiously fish for her shirt in the bubbles.

"You want to..." she started with a half-steady voice, hurriedly taking the shirt out of the water and causing water to splash everywhere in the barrel.

"... You want to pretend we're married?"

She never thought she'd ever ask that question out loud, to anyone ever—especially James.

James hadn't realized they weren't on the same page, but he came to the realization very quickly upon seeing Evaline's flustered reaction. And it was warranted. He just... there was no graceful way to say this, was there?

"I'm sorry," he said, quickly and hushed. "Kurt started talking to me earlier before the bath and he just kept going on and on and I just went along with it, digging the hole deeper, and at this rate turning around and saying I was lying and playing along would probably only draw suspicion. I - I probably shouldn't have. I just - I don't know what was going through my head. I thought if they think we're married, that it might, I don't know..."

Make things simpler? It was only making things more complicated. Would it have saved Evaline from some harassment? He had still been suspicious of everyone in the oasis at that point. It seemed like an easy lie to go with at the time.

James had stopped cleaning his shirt altogether and sighed, bowing his head low.

"So, yes. I told Kurt we met in Letterra and are traveling south to see your family, and that we've been together for about a year. That's it."

Evaline tried to put herself in James's shoes when Kurt was asking questions. She tried. She really tried.

Sure, she would have been embarrassed. But she couldn't imagine spinning up some lies to the fabricated story because, well, this was insane to think about, and she wouldn't be able to think of something in a casual setting with a straight face. But maybe James thought it was easier because he didn't want to explain his own background? And going with their assumed story was simply the easiest option?

She started to aggressively wash the shirt again, trying to go through the mess of thoughts in her head without appearing too flustered. It was proving to be more difficult than she thought.

"It's... it's okay," she said, trying not to make this situation more awkward than it needed to be. "It happened, so I guess we'll just... continue with that." She sighed. "I can also understand how it would be... easier. For you."

She cleared her throat looked up at him for a second, wanting to move on.

"So... one year," she said as she set the shirt aside again to rinse a final time. "One year... married? Or...?"

This was strangely so painful to talk about, but he was right: Kurt would likely ask about every aspect of their relationship, so they should prepare.

"One year of being married. I didn't say anything else," he said, as guilt seeped into his gut for making it near-impossible, or at least, very uncomfortable for them ever to crawl out of this lie now.

"I just didn't know how to explain who we were, and where we came from," he added quickly. "It just... seemed like the easy option to go with a lie that he already believed. Less convincing."

"It's okay, really," Evaline said, realizing that James was over-compensating now that he realized the lie caused more trouble than necessary. She didn't like to see him guilty, especially over something that ultimately didn't really matter.

"I understand, and I'm not upset or anything. Just... I guess, surprised." She let out a nervous chuckle. "It's just a story, after all. A false one."

Her mind desperately reached for an opportunity to turn this all around and not make it any more awkward than it needed to be.

"It can be kind of fun, if you think about it," she mused out loud after a brief pause that felt too long. "It'd be nice to come from a background that didn't involve running away in some form. It might even be entertaining to invent random stories."

What she wanted to know but was too nervous to ask out loud, though, was if this meant they had to act like a married couple.

He let out a quiet, relieved sigh.

"As long as we're on the same page," James said. "It might be fun. We just have to keep track of it all."

"Right," she said quietly, focusing on the laundry and letting another few drawn-out seconds pass. Silences didn't feel comfortable when having this conversation.

"So, my family," she began, deciding to go with what he had told her so far. "Why are we visiting them? And why do they live out here?"

"I didn't tell Kurt specifics. But... let's say..." he paused, humming for a second as he thought.

"Your father runs a fishery further down the river - let's say near Ruddlan. It's a big city, easy to hide fake parents in. We'll keep it simple and say you're still an only child, and for your own memory, your "parents" would be your real parents, just in the fishing business instead. Though, perhaps... You don't know much about fish, or business. We can say you were never involved in the family business much, and instead focused on schooling. But maybe we're moving down by your parents so I can join the business and you can be in a big city that could make good use of your artistic skills."

He lifted his shirt out of the water, sighing. He had a feeling that was as much progress as he was ever going to be able to make on it.

"How's that sound?" he asked, walking over to the clothesline and pinning the shirt up quickly.

Evaline watched James get up and hang the shirt. She tried to imagine this imaginary scenario where her parents were fish farmers and they would let James, her husband, take over the business because she'd rather focus on art. It was laughable to think about; she couldn't even imagine James meeting her parents, even under somewhat normal conditions.

But this was some made-up story, and it wasn't like anyone was going to press for details she couldn't explain. At the high level, it was a good story. She was impressed.

"You're pretty good at this," she said as she finished wringing the shirt and also walked over to the clothesline. She took her time to slowly pin it up.

"It already sounds like we don't have a lot in common if we come from different cities and have different interests, though. How did we meet?"

James looked at the water drip off his shirt for a moment before looking over to Evaline.

"Well, we'd need to give you a reason to travel up north, first. First two options off the top of my head are that you had a job opportunity up north that you heard about through a friend or mentor, or you traveled up there to meet someone. Or maybe you just wanted to travel and experience the world."

He paused and then turned to return to the barrel, sitting down and picking up his dirty pants, starting to scrub.

Evaline finished pinning the shirt and straightened it out as James headed back to the barrel. She thought about which option made the most sense for her.

It didn't matter, really. But she at least wanted it to feel a little realistic so she wouldn't mess anything up if she were asked this for whatever reason.

"Maybe I left because the alternative was taking over my parent's fishery, which I didn't want to do. So I traveled up north hoping to make a name for myself in art, and landed in your hometown. I met you, and we married. Maybe we don't say we're moving to Ruddlan, but instead visiting for a while because you're meeting my parents for the first time. And you're open to taking over the fishery if they offer, but don't want to pressure them."

She looked over at him. "Does that sound good? It might just be easier if you don't know my parents because, well, you haven't met them."