Aiden's Quest

by Dane Bagley

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  Myrtle wore a frown. A frown didn’t suit her well. She lifted her beautiful eyes when Jashion entered. The eyes smiled a bit but the frown on her lips remained. Dromreign’s appearance and the reality that Jashion and others were leaving forced her to think about the world in a way that she generally avoided. Nothing made sense. Myrtle wasn’t stupid, but she’d always been shallow. Depth forced feelings that weren’t easily washed away—unresolved and vague emotions tugged and pulled, hurt and confused her, stirred anger, regret, sorrow, and pain. A good cry would have helped but Myrtle didn’t understand that. She thought that crying made things worse. She hated tears.

  Mirinda had cried and that is what partially evoked Myrtle’s feelings. Mirinda isn’t as perfect as everyone thinks, she thought. She should be stronger. Myrtle didn’t understand that Mirinda’s strength wasn’t in squashing her emotions. It was in keeping her emotions and her various mental selves in harmony and balance. Crying was the right thing to do, and so Mirinda cried. She cried hard. Then, she was prepared to be strong for Aiden. Myrtle wasn’t prepared for anything.

  Jashion felt worried when he saw the expression on Myrtle’s face. “I’m open, this night. Would ye like to spend some time, with me?”

  Myrtle’s expression didn’t change. She was looking in his direction, but seemed to be looking through him.

  “We’ll be preparing and I won’t see ye after tonight until we return. Me thought we could say, goodbye. It might be some time…,”

  Myrtle’s frowned disappeared and she forced a smile. But, his voice wasn’t funny to her, not right then.

  “That will be nice…I don’t…I don’t want you to go. It doesn’t make any sense…”

  Jashion sat beside her and took her hand.

  “The dragon either couldn’t or wouldn’t penetrate our walls. It’s gone. Why do we need to send our military? Let Agedon do what they want. If they get themselves killed, so what. What does that have to do with us?”

  Myrtle looked away and shook her head. Jashion was silent. Myrtle began to weep.