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Feel the Silence

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Chuk

Chuk

Posts: 14,177 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Hey, Smeeze. Haven't stopped by for a while to catch up; like you, the start of school is taking its toll. Good luck finding some time to write! I know I always get excited when a chance pops up out of the rest of my schedule.

11-Oct-2011 12:19:55

Dragride2742

Dragride2742

Posts: 67 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Hey everyone! The past months have been going by really fast! I'm sorry for not posting for the longest time but with this new Runescape layout I don't think I'll even be able to read any stories the way I used to. I re read a little bit of your story and I missed your descriptive writing. Looking forward to Christmas adds! P.S. I don't care if some people don't like Christians, or anyone for that matter, saying merry Christmas. I not going to say happy holidays. P.S.S. Sir Casmo why do your posts always say your the Minister of Foreign Affairs?

09-Dec-2011 02:18:59

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Justine and James rode side by side through the forest, their horses only a foot or so apart, so that periodically their legs brushed against one another. Justine rode quietly, staring at the forest around her. She’d never explored this far north of the city. The fauna around her was changing, from the towering, stout maple trees she knew to closer, prickly evergreen trees, and the air was sweet with the scent of pine. They were following a narrow path, well-worn but not obtrusive to the nature around them. They had been riding for a few hours now, and conversation had lagged slightly. She hoped he wasn’t disappointed. She was painfully aware of his eyes upon her. She studied her own hands, examining the supple riding gloves she wore, smooth leather. She’d bought them the last time she went into Varrock, and she was pleased they were so comfortable.
“You’re very quiet,” James observed finally, after many drawn-out minutes of silence.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “It’s just – I’m a little nervous.”
“Whatever for?”
She flushed. *It’s just – I mean, you’ve invited me up to this home of yours, and I, well, we’ve spent time together but I guess I don’t know you very well.”
“I hope I wasn’t too forward. It’s just two friends, going for a ride.”
“No!* she exclaimed. Two friends? That was all? Her face fell. “I just – I wouldn’t want you to be disappointed, that’s all.”
He looked at her, eyes shining with wonder. *Justine, you couldn’t possibly disappoint me.” He reached for her hand, and when she stuck it out, he pulled it in and kissed her through the glove. “You astound me in every way. To be here with you is all I could ever want.”
She flushed again, and laughed a little. “You’re sweet, James. You hardly know me!” A pause, and then, in a wavering voice, “Two friends, huh?”

16-Dec-2011 03:19:01

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
He squeezed her hand. “Whatever you want it to be, Justine,” he said softly. She squeezed back, and he released her. “Tell you what – since we hardly know each other and here we are off to spend the day together, we should learn a bit more, shouldn’t we?”
“What do you want to know?”
He sighed and made a show of thinking hard. “Well. Let’s start from the very beginning! Tell me about your childhood.”
She sat back and relaxed a little, and let her mind drift back so many years. “My mother, she passed away when I was very young. I never knew her. So growing up, it was always just me and my father. And back then, he was more a wealthy trader – he wasn’t quite close with the Ki-with your father, I mean. He was an adviser, but not of similar stature. I was forbidden to go within the castle gardens without supervision…but I did anyway.”
“Of course,” he said, smiling.
“He made sure I was educated, but only to a point, and tutors, well, they’re not much company. I had no one to talk to all day, nothing to do, and no mother to teach me proper ways to be a lady, I guess. My father never really considered remarrying.”
“It’s hard to picture Gray courting someone,” James laughed.
She burst out laughing. “Exactly! I can’t remember a single time he brought a woman home. He just worked and worked and left me on my own. So one day, I was seven, I think – I found a door way in the back of our garden, that led through the castle walls and into your gardens. And then I came upon a…” she trailed off, hesitating. “Well, then I met Lucas. And I guess that was how I spent most of my childhood…with him.”
“It’s okay, you know. You can talk about him, if it helps,” the Prince murmured.

16-Dec-2011 03:19:58

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
She was quiet for a long time, gathering her thoughts. “I found him sitting behind a tree, and he was hunched over, reading this massive book. I approached him and asked what he was reading, and he just said, ‘A book!’ as if I were the most foolish girl in the world. Then he noticed how I was dressed * like a wealthy noble girl – and asked who I was. I told him my name, and before he could say anything else, someone called out for him. He threw the book at me and cried, ‘Promise not to tell about this!’ before running away. He was supposed to be doing chores. I found him there again, day after day, and he would tell me about the things he was reading, how he just wanted to be left to read in peace and not have to clean the stables or tend the gardens. He was such a smart boy. We grew very close. He did*’t play with the other servant children…he was different from them, I guess. He was always sort of a loner. I mean, he was friends with them, but we spent most of our time with each other, and he was always sort of an outsider to all of them.”
“You were from such different worlds, it’s odd that you got along so well,” James mused.
Justine shrugged. “We weren’t really all that different, come to think of it. Sure, I was a noble girl and he was a servant boy, but none of that mattered. We had plenty in common. We were both lonely.”
“And to think, if you’d ventured a little further into the garden, you might have found me too!” James chuckled. “It’s a shame…I was a lonely boy too.”
“I’m sorry, blathering on about him like that –“
“It’s all right, Justine. You don’t have to apologize.”
“He was my closest companion for so many years…it’s just hard to…to realize he’s not there anymore.”
James leaned over and rubbed her knee gently. “I know. But it’s okay. I’m here for you. Whatever you need. You don’t have to be lonely, Justine.”

16-Dec-2011 03:21:08

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
She met his gaze and smiled through her tears. “Thank you. Really.”
He squeezed her leg. “You don’t have to thank me, either. Like I said, there’s nowhere I’d rather be than with you. I’m happy to spend any time at all with you.”
She put her hand over his and they rode on like that, through the forest.
***
Finally all the wounded had been treated, and Jonah was anxious to get going again. He declined to make any sort of statement to his men, other than to tell them to be cautious and keep an eye out in case the natives attacked again. Lucas and Sorokin gathered up their supplies and checked on everyone one last time before they resumed their never-ending walk through the jungle. Lucas was shaken by the battle. They’d been taken completely by surprise. They’d lost a good few men, too. What had the natives wanted? He shrugged, hoisting the bow on his shoulder. He’d kept the bow and the arrows, realizing he might actually have a talent there. Sorokin walked beside him, muttering to himself as he inventoried through the bag of medical supplies.
“How’d you learn that – the stitches? I’ve never heard of it before. It’s not in any books or anything.”
“Books? They’re not exactly up to date,” Sorokin replied.
“Did you come up with it?”
“Nah, I wish I could take the credit.”
“Who taught it to you?”
“Take a guess.” Sorokin jerked his head toward the front of the line.
“Jonah? But he’s not even a medic.”
“He’ll do anything to save his men, though. Or himself. That’s how I learned it. He got hurt real bad in the arm. Standard procedure, would’ve chopped it off, you can** save something like that. But he wouldn’t let me. Talked me through sewing him up. ‘Course, he did*’t come up with it though. Says it was all his wife.”
“I did*’t know he has a wife.”
“He don’t – she’s dead, man.”
“Seriously? What happened?”

16-Dec-2011 03:22:08

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Not my story to tell.” Sorokin slung the backpack over his shoulders. “We got enough material to sew a few more guys up…but we’re limited. We can always tear up shirts for thread I guess. We’ll have to get creative out here, they keep attacking us like that…”
“Why don’t more people know about this stitches thing? You should teach it to people.”
“Not my job to teach people, man. It’s my job to keep my people alive.”
“Right…Can I ask you something else? Jonah…has he been here before? Like to Karamja?”
Sorokin laughed. “You are just full of questions, aren’t you? Let it go, man. You got questions, go ask him yourself.”
Lucas shook his head angrily. “I’m just saying, if he knows something about what we’re getting into, he should tell us.”
“Why don’t you go tell him that yourself?” Sorokin snapped.
Lucas hunched his shoulders. “All right, I’m sorry,” he grumbled, and jogged on up ahead a few paces. There he found Rohan and Nathan, walking with Dusty. They marched in silence, alone with their thoughts, and Lucas fell into step with them, comfortable just to hike quietly and not have to say anything at all.
***
They arrived at the country house around midday, when the sun was at its highest. Despite the fact that summer had passed, it was still hot and Justine had begun to sweat uncomfortably. She looked forward to dipping her feet in the lake that James had mentioned earlier. The sight of the large country home was welcome to her sore, hot body. As they dismounted and unsaddled the horses, she took in the beautiful house. It was not extravagant in the manner of the palace, but rather, simple, elegant, understated. It was built of dark wood and was only a few stories tall, with shuttered windows and a stone stable coming off one side.

16-Dec-2011 03:22:59

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