Angry Words

Writers: Bree, Dana, Eimi
Date Posted: 15th September 2005

Characters: Jio, Miryene, Cinale
Description: Jio confronts Miryene over the lies she told, and Cinale has to step in after angry words are exchanged.
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 7, day 24 of Turn 3

Cinale

Miryene couldn't quite bring herself to meet Jio's eyes as he sat across the rough kitchen table from her. Cinale was on the far side of the kitchen working busily with something, giving them the illusion of privacy without leaving them at the mercy of the gossips. Even in the relative safety of the kitchen, though, she couldn't seem to look at him. Instead she played with the mug of tea Cinale had given her, twisting it around in endless circles.

Jio had suspected before. The bruises she had been sporting could not have all been from accidents. He could even understand that she had not wanted to tell him. But the fact that she was _still_ evading him stung. They had been friends. He had made sure she knew she could count on him for anything. But now, when she could talk to her other friends, why couldn't she even _look_ at him? He sipped at his klah in silence, casting hurt glances in her direction.

She peeked up at him just in time to intercept one of those glances, and winced as if he'd yelled at her. "I'm sorry," she said finally, her voice sounding tired.

"You could have told me, Miryene. I would have helped you." He tried to keep his voice calm and even though he stared straight into his mug of klah.

"I didn't need help for me," she replied, knowing that this argument would probably carry as little weight with him as it had with everyone else.
Sometimes she wondered if she really was rationalizing--pretending that she'd been staying for the children when really she'd been staying because she didn't know how to leave him. "It was the children, Jio. You must understand... they may not be mine, but I still love them."

"Oh, _crackdust_, Miryene," Jio said as he looked straight at her for the first time. "It was easy enough when Daigoro asked you about the bruises.
All you had to do was say the word and the children were taken to a safe place. Over, _done_. That could have happened the first time he hit you.
Why did you stay with him, Miryene?"

She winced again, her eyes going back down to her mug. She turned it again, using the movement to hide the shaking of her hands. "It's over, now. Can't we just forget about it?"

"Yes, of course, it's over now. That's right, it never happened. I just _imagined_ all those bruises," Jio said sacrcastically as he stared back down into his mug. "Just like I _imagined_ you were married to that man."

Mireyne looked up at him, her pride stung. "So you've come here to punish me for not telling you? Is that what you think I deserve?"

"Did you really think I was that _gullible_, Miryene? That I believed all those bruises where accidents?" The journeyman's pride was also stung, but for a reason that was much more than he dared say. He fought to keep his tone from betraying the deep hurt that he felt in that moment. "Why did you stay with him, Miryene? And don't tell me more wherry dung about the children. Why did _you_ stay with _him_?"

"He is my husband," Miryene replied steadily. "He is the father of my child.
Don't you dare tell me you know what it is like to have to decide to leave the father of your child."

"_I_ would never be a father like _that_! You talk about not leaving to protect _his_ children, but you were more than happy to bring your own child into his house!"

"If I were willing to bring my own child into that situation, I would still be there." Miryene's voice had gone slightly chilly. "I don't know why you're behaving so cruely."

"Do you still love him?"

Miryene stiffened. "Friend or not, Jio, that is none of your business."

"Yeah, I guess not. I guess none of this was my business. I was just the guy who was _there_." He couldn't stay a moment longer. Jio knew if he said anything more he would be too tempted to cut her deeper, to cut her as deeply as he felt cut. The journeyman knew the best thing was for him to turn and walk away, and he did so with out a glance back.

The cup she'd been drinking from shattered to the ground behind him. "What do you _want_ from me, Jio?"

"Miryene!" Cinale rushed over and stopped at her side, looking down at the shards of the teacup that lay scattered on the floor. She stifled a sigh -
she'd have to pick those up later before someone cut themselves. Gently she put a hand on Miryene's shoulder and slid down onto the bench beside her.
"What happened, hon?" she asked softly.

Miryene looked anything but sad--she looked _furious_. "Who does he think he is? What right does he have to say such things to me?"

"What did he say, Miryene?"

"He was _cruel_," Miryene replied harshly, wrapping her arms around herself.
"He kept demanding to know why I'd stayed with Jhonnel and if I loved him and telling me it was wrong to stay with him..."

Cinale wondered if Miryene was so upset because she thought his demandings were false, or because it was still so hard to admit to herself that there was some truth to his words. "Did he really demand you to tell him, hon?"

"Yes! He was accusing me! Attacking me!" Miryene shook her head. "I thought he was my friend, Cinale... I made mistakes, but did he have to be so mean?
Can't I have a day or two to think about things before he starts yelling at me?"

"He yells because he cares." At the look Miryene gave her, Cinale held up a hand. "I'm _not_ excusing the way he handled any of this, honey. But," she went on in a softer tone, "I am saying that he cares a great deal for you."

Miryene looked hopelessly confused. "Then why did he hurt me?"

"Because he's scared, hon. And I don't think he knows how else to handle what's been happening."

"Well, I don't need any more pain," Miryene said in a tired voice. "I don't want to see him again... not until he's decided he can do something other than be angry with me."

Last updated on the September 15th 2005

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Angry Words