The King Returns

Chapter 18 - Kiss don't tell

The next morning, Almar woke up feeling heavier than usual. He could still feel the guilt of what had happened the night before. The picture of Eir running out the door, crying, was in his head. It repeated itself over and over, without ever fading. 'What should I do now?' Almar thought to himself in helplessness.

On the way to the training field, Almar met up with Lusha. Just like she always did, she started being slightly rude, joking around however this time, Almar was in his own little world. Lusha noticed that he wasn't really paying her any attention. She got a little pissed and gave him a punch in the arm for any kind of reaction. And he did respond, but not exactly like he used to. He just flinched a bit and then let out a heavy sigh. Now Lusha knew something was strange.

This time, Almar and Lusha practised fighting close combat but Almar kept fumbling and stumbling, leaving openings left and right for Lusha to just beat him. He wasn't focusing. The point were Lusha finally had had enough was when she managed to punch him so hard in the cheek, he fell down on the ground and just laid there, not getting up. 

  "What's with you today?" Lusha asked, sounding annoyed however, a hint of concern could be detected in her tone. 

  "What do you mean?" Almar asked, stroking his cheek with his hand, he sat up on the ground. 

  "You're not focusing. Focus, stupid!" Lusha said. 

  "I am focusing!" Almar defended himself, looking up at her. 

  "Then why aren't you fighting like you usually do?" Lusha asked, raising her eyebrow in disbelief. 

  "Well, maybe I just feel like getting beaten up today?" Almar said and put down Lusha's foot from his shoulder.

Lusha's eyebrows suddenly furrowed in concern. 

  "Has something happened?" she asked, crouching down opposite Almar. 

  "Not really. I just haven't been sleeping very well," Almar replied, looking away in another direction. 

  "Oh, I get it. It's that crybaby elf that's distracting you?" Lusha asked, supporting her chin with her fist. 

  "Do you mean Eir?" Almar asked, a little confused. 

  "Yeah, who else?" Lusha responded with a laugh, giving him a mild punch in the shoulder. 

  "Eir is not a crybaby. Sure, she can be a little emotional sometimes, but I think that can be said about me too," Almar said with a sigh. 

It got silent for a while. Then, a small grin spread on Lusha's lips.

  "You know, there is a rumor that's going around the camp," Lusha said with a mischievous little smile. 

  "What?" Almar asked, his eyebrow raised up in curiosity. 

  "People say that Eir and Sasha have been close lately , very close. Some even think that they're secretly dating," Lusha said with a small giggle. 

  "That's just stupid, baseless rumors. And you call me stupid, when you believe that crap?" Almar replied. 

  "You tell her, human," Eira said, her head popping out of the bag. 

  "Come on, I have seen how you look at them. Admit you're at least a little jealous over the fact that she spends more time with him than you," Lusha said with a teasing laugh, standing up on her feet. 

  "I-I'm not jealous! And besides, I don't know those sorts of feelings," Almar said, also standing up while keeping his gaze steady on Lusha. 

  "You sound jealous, you look jealous. Know what? I think you're in denial," Lusha said, laughing even louder now.