Placing our hands on the pedestal, we were drawn into the dreamscape.
“Mordred!” Sarah called out.
I looked up and flashed her a grin. “What’s up?” I asked shutting my locker and shouldering my backpack.
Sarah was tall with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She had a cute, upturned nose a spattering of freckles across her face. She wore a fuzzy green sweater today and knee-high skirt today her sneakers worn from her track running.
“I’m going to be busy later today,” she said. “I’ve got extra practice after school.”
“No problem,” I said. “I’ve got karate after, so I probably won’t see you until tomorrow.”
“I don’t know why you don’t do wrestling instead,” Sarah said. “You could make a lot of friends and get involved with the school more.”
“Karate was recommended by my therapist to help with controlling my emotions,” I said with a shrug. “Besides I like it.”
“Did you finish your part of the project for English?” Sarah asked.
“Yeah,” I said handing a folder my part of the written assignment.
“Love you,” Sarah said kissing me then skipping down the halls.
Time passed as Sarah and I grew closer, she won race after race and I progressed with my skill in karate rising to the top of my class and signing up for several competitions. We spent the summer together and I got a job working at a farm down the road from my foster parents’ house. Peter taught me how to drive a car and a motorcycle. He let me use my money from my summer job to purchase an old Honda motorcycle. I felt at peace with where I was.
My past emotions continued to clash with current ones the knowledge of what was to come souring any joy or sense of accomplishment I might have felt.
My memories sped forward to the next summer before Sarah and I would become Seniors. I’d snuck her out of her parent’s house and we’d raced for a block before starting up my motorcycle and drove out of town. We were miles from the lights of the city and could see all the brilliance and the beauty of the night sky.
“You’re going to get in trouble with your foster parents,” Sarah said turning her head and looking up at me. “Mine too.”
“Only if they find out,” I said back kissing her on her forehead.
We lapsed into silence for a moment.
“What do you want to be?” Sarah asked me.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But whatever it is I want to do it with you.”
Sarah laughed.
“Too corny?” I asked.
“No, I loved it,” Sarah said leaning back against my chest.
“I want to be doctor, I want to help people,” she said.
“I think you’d be good at that,” I said. “I don’t think I would though. I don’t always get along well with others, and I don’t think I have the patience to make it through medical school. I want to build things, maybe an architect.”
“You’re pretty good at drawing,” Sarah said. “I think you’d make a great architect.”
We were silent for a time as I held her in my arms. The summer night cool and comfortable against our skin a light breeze blowing across us. With Sarah right there I felt invincible, like I could do anything and become anyone. She was a source of strength I didn’t even know I could have, and I’d do anything to make her happy.
“I love you,” I whispered in her ear.
Sarah froze and I realized it was the first time I’d ever said that to her. Her breathing quickening, she turned around looking into my eyes. Tentatively she leaned up pressing her lips against mine softly. Our kiss deepened, she slid onto my lap pushing me down onto the blanket we’d spread out. My hands traced her body as our tongues probed each other’s mouths in a passionate desperate need for each other.
Soon I felt her naked skin against mine, the ecstasy of joining together.
When we rode back to her parents’ place, she kissed me as she slid off my motorcycle. I rode home and parked out behind the garage. Jireh let out a single bark, but I shushed him rubbing his ears and feeding him a biscuit to shut him up. I snuck back upstairs and lay down but was unable to sleep, my heart still racing.
Barely keeping from yanking my hand back and storming away in anger I continued to relive my past as I could feel Guinevere watching all the events transpire with me and feel every emotion I was and had been feeling. The deeper you went into the dreamscape the more vivid the memories and emotions became. The enchantment magnified every feeling you had to ten times what it had been forcing you to experience your highs and lows to extremes you never had when they occured. The memories skipped into the middle of senior year.
Shutting the door of my locker I noticed a couple of the football players laughing and keep looking at me. I turned my back on them and ignored them.
“Hey Kung Fury!” one of them yelled.
Keeping my back turned, I kept walking.
“How’s it feel to be a cuck?” he asked.
“What do you want Isaac?” I asked, turning around.
“I just want you answer my question,” Isaac said stepping closer to me.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said sighing.
Isaac held out his phone and what I saw made my heart drop from my chest. It showed Michael our schools star quarterback and Sarah together in his car. There was no way to interpret their actions as anything but what they were.
“Where is he?” I asked my voice low and flat.
“Kung Fury going to get some payback?” Isaac laughed. “Michael’s one of us if you want to get to…”
My foot snapped up in a circle kick. My fist lashed out impacting the face of one his friends next to him. My leg ripped the feet out from under the third guy and he cracked his head on the tile floor as he hit the ground. My foot kicked into Isaac’s ribs, and I placed it on his neck.
“Where is he?” I asked again, my voice a low growl.
“He’s on the field doing extra practice,” Isaac wheezed.
I turned to walk picking up speed with every second. I didn’t break into a run, but people began stepping out of my way, the look on my face promising murder to anyone in my path. Pushing out of the school doors, I strode out onto the sidewalk that led to the football field. Scanning the players standing around it looked like they were taking a break.
Spotting Michael I started walking again. With every step I moved faster and faster until I was sprinting. I lifted off the ground and flew like an arrow. My feet collided with Michael’s chest, only his football gear protecting him from several shattered ribs, but I still heard several crack. He wasn’t wearing his helmet and my fists began to pound his face in. My attack had been so sudden that people had just stood around for several seconds.
People grabbed me and tried to pull me back, but I shook them off me keeping up my berserk attack. Eventually I was yanked off of Michael, but his face was a bruised and bleeding wreck at that point, and he was missing several teeth.
“The hell man! What’s wrong with you?” someone screamed at me.
“He knows why,” I said nodding to Michael.
He had sat up and was holding his broken nose. His face was already darkening with bruises and blood flowed freely from a split lip. My own lip was bleeding and my jaw was already sore. I’d been so blinded by rage I couldn’t even say who it was who had hit me.
“Mordred!” a familiar voice called out in horror. “What are you doing?”
Sarah pushed her way through the crowd.
I turned to her, and she flinched at the look of murder in my eyes.
“What’s wrong with you?” Sarah asked me.
“You know,” I said, and she flinched at my words but didn’t say anything.
“At least you’re not denying it,” I said. “You decided I wasn’t enough for you and to trade me in for an upgrade.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Sarah protested.
“Then how was it?” I asked. “You get tired of me, was I your project to see if you could fix the bad boy?”
“No!” Sarah snapped.
Michael pushed his way forward placing himself between me and Sarah. “Back off Mordred,” he said. He meant his words to be threatening but he couldn’t pull it off with the way his voice sounded with a broken nose.
“And you chose this,” I said shrugging off the hands holding me and gesturing to Michael. “Michael Hearth, the guy who’s slept his way through the prettiest girls in school… before he got tired of them.”
I looked at Sarah behind him. “And he’ll get tired of you too, and when he leaves you, you’ll deserve it.”
Sarah flinched at my words, but I didn’t take them back. I buried any love I still had for her letting my anger smother it. The police came and took me away. I was a minor still so there wasn’t much they could to me. I was expelled of course for attacking four students all of whose families were threatening to press charges. I didn’t give a shit.
I collapsed against the wall of the shower, the water running down my back easing the pain of bruises. A sob broke free and I let it out tears streaming down my face to be instantly washed away. My throat was so tight I could barely breathe. Thoughts spun through my mind too fast to even focus on. Sarah’s face, then Michael’s, his beaten in the face. My mother, her bruises after my father hit her, the knife in my hand, the flashing lights and sounds of the sirens.
I sagged to the bottom of the tub letting the water rain down on me as I pulled my knees tight. I cried letting out all the grief and anger. The hot water turned cold, but I didn’t move up letting my body shiver as the downpour from the shower turned icy. I stayed there for hours until I couldn’t cry anymore.
It was a moment I’d gone through many times as a child. First with the abuse from my father, then when my mother had chosen him over me. I remembered crying all those times. Eventually I’d stopped crying and hadn’t cried since then. Every time the tears had wanted to come, I’d shoved them down but now I couldn’t stop. Eventually of course the tears did stop, I buried the grief with my anger.
Pulling myself out of the tub I dried off and sat at the edge of the bed. Jireh came over to me his tail wagging and I smiled a single sob escaping before I locked it down. My hands ran through his course hair heeling the softness of his ears as I scratched under his collar.
Time passed as I was confined to the house. It was fine I didn’t have anywhere I wanted to go. The families did press charges all except for Michael’s. I guess pressing charges against the guy whose girlfriend you were cheating with would have made him look bad. The day of my court case came and my foster family drove me over, their support was the only way I’d been getting through the past few weeks.
I sat behind the desk, my attorney at my side. I didn’t know his name and hadn’t bothered to learn it. He was just someone appointed by the state and would have as little interest in me as I had in him.
Isaac and his friends had reported me attacking them to the police. My history of getting into fights had led to this hearing. I was seventeen now so I wasn’t sure what would happen, given my good behavior for the last three years I was hoping it wouldn’t be too severe.
The judge read through the papers at his desk before looking down at me.
“I see a history of fights, battery, and assault in your juvenile record,” he said. “However, you broke the pattern and haven’t had any reported problems for the last three years; what changed?”
I shrugged. “They had it coming.”
The judge scowled in disapproval. “You can’t stay with your current foster family any longer. Although they have requested you be allowed to stay you’ve been suspended from your school and there is a restraining order against you from the boys you assaulted, I also have reports of you assaulting another boy even if he didn’t press charges.”
I said nothing.
“Given your age and history there aren’t many families willing to take you in,” the judge continued. “Since you’re not an adult yet you also can’t live on your own. However, your family has offered to take you back in.”
My head snapped up and I twisted around scanning the small courtroom. It wasn’t big but I hadn’t cared enough to look at anyone. Scanning the few people there I stopped on a man and woman with two children sitting beside them. I recognized them both even if had been almost a decade since I’d last seen them.
My father’s hair had more grey in it and the scowl I remember on him so clearly was gone replaced by a look of concern. My mother’s hair was tied back, and she wore a simple bouse and skirt. Two children who had to be around ten and twelve were sitting their looking nervous and bored the way children do in formal public settings.
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“They have requested time to speak to you in private and I’m granting it,” the judge said. “We’ll take an hour break for lunch and resume afterwards.”
I sat across from biological parents, my foster parents by my side. I stared at them saying nothing as they talked at me and my foster parents and legal counsel.
“This is probably the best outcome you can expect Mordred,” my Lawyer said. “if you don’t go with your parents, you’ll sent to a juvenile detention center until you’re an adult.”
Not turning to acknowledge he had spoken I finally addressed the room.
“If I’m a monster, then what are the people who made me?” I asked. “You talk about my anger, but it’s my father’s gift to me. You say I can’t let things go? What about the woman who chose to stay with her abuser and abandon her own son?” When I said that I turned to my mother who flinched and looked away.
“All my failures are of your creation, but I’m the one who’s been left to suffer them,” I said my voice ringing out harsh and accusing.
“Mordred…” my mother said. “I’m sorry for how we treated you, it wasn’t right but we’ve…”
“What?” I asked scornfully. “You’ve changed? Good for you! You started over with a new son,” when I said this, I looked to my younger brother who I hadn’t even known I had. “Well, it’s too late too undo your mistakes; I don’t forgive you. The two of you destroyed my childhood and you think you can just swoop in, and it all be water under the bridge.”
“No, fuck you,” I snarled. “I’d rather go to jail than have to spend a day with you again.”
My foster parents tried to convince me to give my parents a chance, but my mind was made up. I was allowed to pack up my things. I hugged Jireh goodbye breathing in the musk of his fur as tears rolled down my face. I hugged Peter and Amanda goodbye and left. I finished my GED in juvie.
I pulled back my hand letting the dreamscape end. Guinevere turned and met my eyes.
“That,” I said. “Is the real me.”
“I don’t care,” Guinevere said taking my hand. “Whatever monster you think you are, I trust you.”
She pressed my hand against the pedestal, and we were both sucked back into the storm of memories. Once again, we watched out childhoods pass by my memories passed and I looked at my parents face again. When there faces faded to black, we didn’t’ continue with my story, instead looking on Guinevere’s past.
Guinevere was around twelve or thirteen now. Master Sazu stood on a balcony above her, and she looked up and nodded to him. With a snap of his fingers a dozen cages were opened and real, not summoned, monsters were released. They raced towards her, and she held her ground, her face expressionless. A panther with the tail of a snake leaped at her, she ducked gutting it open as it passed over her and her sword flicked out removing the head of its tail as its corpse passed over her. A ram with a dark stony carapace charged at her.
Guinevere pivoted on one heel and used her momentum to drive her sword through its side pushing against the pommel of her sword with other hand to add the extra needed force to break through its armor. The other monsters came at her in ones and twos, they weren’t all the same type, so they lacked the concerted effort of a unified pack of monsters, but their attacks did not relent as they tried to kill the thirteen-year-old girl.
When it was done their blood and guts were leaking into the sand of the training area.
“Well done,” Sazu said.
Guinevere flushed with pride and excitement at his praise. “When will I be ready to run a dungeon?” she asked.
“Your not ready to handle that sort of thing alone,” Sazu said.
“Agreed,” a powerful voice said. “Which is why she should have a party.”
Merlin stepped out into full view on the upper balcony. “You have taught Guinevere well, but she requires testing. I’ve several young nobles around her age ready for their first forey into a dungeon.
Sazu’s frown deepened further. “You want to send her into a dungeon with an untested group?”
“Has she been lacking in her training?” Merlin asked calmly.
Sazu straightened indignantly. “I’ve full confidence in Guinevere; she could fill any role needed in a party, she cannot cover for an entire party though.”
“I’m not sending her with dregs,” Merlin said. “These are nobles who have undergone the same training as Guinevere has.”
“I assure you they have not,” Sazu said coldly. “You told me I would have full control of her training.”
“This is not training,” Merlin said smoothly. “As my eldest daughter it is her duty to serve as my representative, I require the other nobility to see that she has not fallen behind them.”
“When this goes badly it will be on your head,” Sazu warned. “Not mine, and above all not hers.”
“Understood,” Merlin said although their was an edge of annoyance in his voice now.
“Then so be it,” Sazu said.
--
Guinevere stood nervously with the group of four other children her age. Their equipment was resplendent and ornate. Sazu had permitted her to only take one magical item with her. Her hands gripped the storm grey leather of the artifact sword passed down her mother’s line.
Eira- (Artifact II), Type: Sword, Created by Viviane the goddess of Duelists and Honor as a gift to his wife Guinevere. The sword is aligned with her bloodline and only one of her descendants can wield it. It is an artifact and cannot be destroyed by anything except anther deity.
The sword does a moderate amount of additional frost damage on each hit.
The sword inflicts Brittle on any armor it comes in contact with.
*Brittle: Hardness of armor reduced by 1 while armor is chilled.
Sazu didn’t want her to have an abundance of magical items already. It would affect not only the loot the dungeon rewarded but also any titles she might be awarded.
A larger boy stepped forward he wore thick heavy plate armor engraved with runes. “My name is Latrel, I am the firstborn son of Baron Galahad. I propose I act as team leader for this dungeon run.”
Two other boys immediately moved to support him. There was one other girl there, she carried a heavy repeating crossbow. She looked at Guinevere but neither said anything to naysay the three boys in their party. They stepped into the dungeon together and were greeted by the system notification.
Welcome to the Dungeon Frozen Hearts.
Rewards will be increased slightly due to your party being one under the max size.
Dungeon Rank:
Mortal
Max Party Size:
6
They continued for a hundred yards before running into their first monster. Guinevere’s father had made sure that neither she nor any of her party members had been allowed to study up on the dungeon beforehand. They would have to act as if this were an unexplored dungeon and learn as they went.
The first creature towered four feet over Guinevere. It was covered in white fur and horns like a mountain goat. Letting out a roar its arms, which hung down to the ground propelled it forwards as it charged Latrel who was acting as their tank.
“Iron Bastion!” Latrel shouted.
Adolescent Yeti Warrior, Dungeon Creature, monstrous-humanoid/yeti, Mortal, Power Level: 15
Guinevere hadn’t ever earned a new ability. The few captive monsters she’d slain hadn’t been judged a great enough threat to warrant an ability by the system and had only let her upgrade a few of her abilities.
The yeti’s fist hit Latrel’ shield. To his credit he didn’t fold under the attack; he did slide back unable to absorb all the force. The boy to his right stepped forward and plunged a halberd into the yeti’s chest. The other boy teleported behind it and swung down his sword cleaving into its spine. The yeti died and they pushed onwards.
The next room had three more yetis and proved a more troublesome endeavor. Guinevere blocked and spun out of the way of the attacks the yetis were resistant to cold damage, but the razor-sharp edge of her sword still cut easily through their hide. A little more bruised the boy with the halberd, Petre, used a healing ability to fix the small amount of damage they had taken.
They continued to press through the dungeon like this, but Guinevere had an uneasy feeling the farther they went. She had heard stories of dungeons and this one was just too easy.
“We should be seeing more monsters,” Guinevere said. “Where are they?”
“They probably ran off when they saw how many of them, we were killing,” Latrel said shrugging his shoulders and continuing to march on.
“Dungeon spawn don’t know fear,” the other girl whose name was Iriela cut in scornful of his answer.
“I think we should backtrack and look for any side tunnels we might have missed,” Guinevere said.
“The record for a team clearing this dungeon on their first attempt is two and a half hours,” Latrel said. “I’m here to beat that record and I’m not going to jeopardize that because you feel a little uneasy.”
The two boys who were obviously his yes men immediately backed him up and Iriela and Guinevere had no choice but to follow them. They kept moving deeper into the dungeon as Guinevere nervously scanned the tunnels around them.
They entered a large cavern. The white and blue walls reflected their light source all around them. Guinevere’s nerves were on total edge as she looked about and didn’t see a single dungeon spawn.
“Something’s wrong,” she said.
This time everyone was on edge, but Latrel stood straighter.
“Listen Guinevere,” he said. “I realize you think you’re something special because of your father but I’m the party leader. We’re pushing forwards.” He stepped forwards his two companions reluctantly following him in.
Guinevere stepped into the cavern fully followed by Iriela. That’s when the trap went off. Howls echoed down the tunnel behind them. Ice fell from the ceiling as holes appeared. Yeti’s began hurling javelins made of hardened ice at them. Guinevere barely avoided being skewered. A deeper more guttural roar rose and echoed about the cavern.
A massive yeti stepped into the cavern three times the size of the other creatures. Its horns curled back around and its had a pair of thick tusks as well. Unlike the rest of the yetis who at most would use a club or crude spear this monster carried a heavy axe and wore armor made of bone and hide.
Abnel the Cruel, Gifted- monstrous-humanoid/yeti, Mortal, Rank: 55
Warning! This is a random wandering boss, it has increased the threat level of this dungeon. Killing it will provide additional rewards if you can survive.
“We need to run,” Guinevere said.
“No one runs!” Latrel said slamming his shield into the ground. “Anyone who tries I’ll kill you myself! We can beat this thing if you follow my orders.”
Guinevere knew they couldn’t and wasn’t about to die to satisfy this boys pride. Master Sazu’s words echoed back in her mind from an old lesson they had. “Sometimes we must do evil things to ensure that the least amount of people suffer.”
Guinevere stepped forward, her sword plunging straight ahead. Latrel looked down in shock at the blade emerging from his chest as he collapsed to the ground.
“You two,” Guinevere snapped her voice filled with authority as she channeled her father. “Get her to safety, I’ll slow them down and meet you down the tunnel.”
They were shocked and stunned staring at the corpse of their leader.
“Now!” Guinevere shouted.
Whether it was panic or her tone of authority they began to run. The wandering boss roared and Guinevere turned to face it. There was no way they could outrun this thing but perhaps she could slow it down. It charged her and swung its axe. She bent backwards under the axe and snapped back up her sword clashing up and cutting deep into its wrist.
Abnel had to abandon its twohanded grip on the axe. Guinevere rolled under it as it smashed its fist towards her. She sliced it up into its groin and even on a monster that strike was extremely effective. Howling in agony the yeti slashed blindly about it. Guinevere parried one strike that would have only grazed her and dodged another.
Her stamina was running low, but she paced herself. “Mirror Block,” she said using one of her abilities she had since birth. “Royal Blade. Winter’s Aura, Winter’s Touch.”
While Winter’s Touch and Aura wouldn’t do much against a creature like this they also gave her a passive resistance to cold damage. She rolled under another strike her sword glowing with the power of royal blade. She hacked into the yeti’s knee. It stumbled backwards and she summersaulted over another strike from the axe.
A single hit would kill her here. Latrel’s shield would have been shattered by the first hit from that axe. Wandering bosses were notorious for being twice as powerful as the main boss of a dungeon. Luckily, they were rare but only the most prepared of teams or those very familiar with a dungeon would take one on.
Roaring Abnel charged her again blue blood sprinkling the ground from all its wounds.
“Stand your ground,” Guinevere said.
She held her position bending under the axe strike and pushing against its edge with her sword. She thrust up her sword digging into the artery on the yeti’s neck. It stumbled past her blood fountaining out. Finally, it collapsed to the ground letting out one last growl before going still.
Guinevere ran into cover to escape the barrage of ice javelins from the ceiling. As she ran, she received several notifications from the system.
Ability Gained, Ice Flash (Rank 1): You use temperature to displace yourself and reappear elsewhere. You can teleport up 15ft dealing minor frost damage to all enemies within 3ft of the location you just vacated.
Cost:
3 mana per cast
Cooldown
30 seconds
Upgrade this ability to increase the range and damage dealt and reduce its cooldown. Each upgrade increases your Spirit by 1.
27 rank points gained.
Congratulations you have completed a hidden objective and earned a title. Objective kill one of your own party members.
Reward: Cold Blooded
*Cold Blooded: You deal two extra damage stages against those who perceive you as an ally.
The notification made her sick. She hadn’t wanted to kill Latrel, but she had needed to make sure her other team members survived and now she was being rewarded for killing one of her own party members. She pushed down the guilt and vomited and kept running. The bodies of yeti’s littered the ground where her surviving party members had cut their way to freedom.
She stepped out of the dungeon and was immediately confronted by a furious Petre.
“You killed Latrel!” he shouted, having obviously had enough time to process the event. “When his father learns what you’ve done, you’ll hang for this.”
Guinevere didn’t defend herself. Her own inner voice was telling her the same thing.
It turned out Guinevere wouldn’t hang. When your father was Merlin there weren’t any consequences at all for you. That made Guinevere even more sick, but she kept a smile on her face as her father praised her for her quick thinking.
“I knew you were ready,” he said giving her a proud smile.
--
Years passed in training again. Guinevere turned from a lanky awkward teenager into a lithe beautiful young woman.
She ducked under the strike of a tail cutting it off at the base and driving her sword through its chest. Another of the forest drakes dropped on her from the trees above. She skewered it through the neck flicking it off her blade. Breathing out heavily she looked at the massacre around her and turned to Master Sazu for approval.
“Well done,” Sazu said giving her a sad smile.
Guinevere bowed to him her sword going out as she bent one leg backwards. “All thanks to your training. What next?”
“Your training is done,” Sazu said. “I have nothing left I can teach you.”
“What?” Guinevere asked shocked.
“This is goodbye,” Sazu said stepping forward and extending his hand. “You have grown so much from the little girl I first met but our time together has passed.”
“But… I thought,” Guinevere said her heart twisting in her chest.
“I can tell you believe you have feelings for me,” Sazu said kindly. “But I’m not the one for you. You’ve been like a daughter to me, and I care for you… but I can’t care for you in the way you want.”
Guinevere bowed her head a flush of embarrassment and shame coming to her face.
“You have a great destiny in your future,” Sazu said. “And I will watch your life to see what you make of yourself.”
“Where are you going?” Guinevere asked.
Sazu hesitated for a moment. “I have friends in Dracon I have not heard from in a long time, I intend to go check in on them.”
“Will I ever see you again?” Guinevere asked.
“If fate wills it,” Sazu said.
Guinevere’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Don’t you mean if the gods will it?” she asked wondering how he got the expression wrong.
“You’ll understand one day,” Sazu said.
Guinevere watched him ride away the little flame she had kept burning for him dying out.
Guinevere and I pulled back our hands back mentally and emotionally drained by having to experience each other’s and our own magnified emotions. As the darkness of the dreamscape faded our eyes met again. I wasn’t sure what she expected to see from me, and I also wasn’t sure how I had expected her to react.
“I’ve seen who you are,” Guinevere said. “And I still just see another human.”
My hands moved of their own accord. I pulled Guinevere against me as my lips found hers. A tremble passed through her. She reciprocated my touch for a second then pushed back breaking free. A flush rose up her cheeks. She turned and fled to our hut. I was left standing there unsure of my actions or why I had taken that step.
Good for you, Voidra said. I’ve been waiting for you to make a move on her for weeks, but Karnen said it was a bad idea.
When you tell someone to do something it usually means they should do the opposite, Karnen said. But I do agree you should have moved in on her awhile back.
“I need some quiet,” I said with a sigh. “If the two of you could keep your conversation to yourself for a while, I’d appreciate it.”