The Green Dragon - Part 2

[Orual]

"Do you want me to go?...Or do you think you can find better for me than a new family somewhere out there? I trust you, Rie."

Rie was not an emotional young lady. She was generally able to keep her feelings below the surface and wait out most of the storm. She did have lots of brothers, after all, and if she got hurt playing she couldn't let them know or they'd tease her. (At least, her twin would.) For the most part, she was able to calmly observe her circumstances, even if she didn't act as the circumstances suggested too often. But this took her completely aback, threw her off her stride like nothing else ever had. She opened her mouth a little, then closed it. This was no time for her normal off-the-cuff remarks, no time for impulsive behavior. She had to think about this. But Don was just sitting there, watching Rie expectantly, waiting for an answer.

Biting her lip, partially out of force of habit and partially to keep back the tears that threatened to come, Rie found nothing to do but fall to her knees and throw her arms around Don. "Don," she said hoarsely. She felt two hot tears running down her cheeks, and hastily wiped them away before the girl could see them. She took a deep, shaky breath and, composing herself, sat back on her heels, her hands on Don's shoulder.

"Don," she said again, this time clearly and firmly, "it's been a while since I've seen my family, but I think about them every night. I know how important family can be. Brothers--and sisters, I imagine--are the greatest treasures a person can have. When my grandmother died, that is, my mother's mother, it was only my aunts and uncles who kept her together while she grieved. My grandsire had been dead since I was a baby. If it hadn't been for her siblings, I imagine that she would've fallen apart. You can't imagine how many times I've looked at you and heard you talk about your family and just wanted to cry, because how could that have happened to you? How is that fair? Child, I almost lost faith in the world after I heard your story." She laughed humourlessly. "But I know that the world isn't always fair, but I realize that I'm an ungrateful, spoiled lass with no appreciation for the blessings that I have."

She took another deep breath. "You have a hard choice ahead of you, Don. A very hard choice. But it's your choice. I don't think that I can interfere.

"Oh, Don, I don't want you to go. You're the closest thing to family that I have here, you and Nuru. But if you feel like you have to go, far be it from me to step in your way! This is your life, Don. You're a big girl, you really are, you're far more mature than I am. I ran away from everything that I had, and I can't go back now. But you're smarter than that--you make up your mind. I'll support whatever choice you make."