The Date

"No way, Evran." Dyrk said through tired lips. He clutched the blanket to his chest as he stared at his friend in the doorway to his tent. "I can't believe you've woken me up for this. I'm exhausted and tomorrow's the day we march out. You should go back to your tent and try to get some sleep."

Evran looked back at him with a wide grin on his face. His eyes were red from lack of sleep but there was still excitement in them that made Dyrk sigh.

"Again, like I said… No fucking way, I will not go on this date." he grumbled under his breath before rolling over onto his side again and closing his eyes tight. The next thing he knew, his blanket had been pulled away completely exposing his bare body. A small scream escaped his mouth as he tried desperately to cover himself back up.

"Damn, you sleep nude? I didn't expect that from you," Evran said as he laughed jollily. "Don't worry I won't judge. Now here, wear these clothes." He said as he threw a set of clothing at Dyrk's chest.

Dyrk picked up the garment's wearily and examined them; it was a completely white set of clothing which included a white robe embroidered with gold, a pair of trousers and a tunic longed sleeve shirt. The clothes looked and certainly felt that they were made of an expensive material.

"Where did you get these clothes?" Dyrk asked curiously.

"Clay made them for me last night. You should have seen how quick he was in making those. It took less than two hours or so. And look at the result! They're perfect!" Evran exclaimed happily. "Now hurry and wear them!"

"I'm sorry but I'm not going on the date Evran. And I also can't wear these clothes. They are nice and all, but I'll look like a bloody priest if I wear them."

"You can't refuse, I've already told Marie about it. She'll be waiting at the meeting spot by now."

Dyrk's eyes grew wide. "What?! What do you mean you told her?!"

"Well, I obviously had to tell her that you were going to take her out on a date. luckily she accepted right away."

Dyrk's anger halted. "Wait, she did?"

Evran nodded. "Yes, it looks like she likes you too. Now get dressed in those clothes, we don't want to make her wait."

A moment later, Dyrk found himself wearing the outfit in question. There was no time left to change his mind, so he sighed and stepped out of the tent.

The cold night air made Dyrk shiver slightly, despite the fact that he wore a pretty thick robe. He noticed Evran's eyes narrow as he examined him from head to toe.

"Shit, you really do look like a priest, with your bald head and all."

Dyrk frowned when he heard the comment.

"Don't worry, I don't think Marie would notice. Now come and hop in the cart."

A small wooden cart sat in the middle of the street. It was just big enough for one person, maybe two, to squeeze into the back of it.

"Why would we need a cart? We could easily walk there."

Evran shrugged his shoulders casually. "It will be more fun this way."

Evran moved in front of the cart and grabbed hold of the handlebars then motioned for Dyrk to climb onboard. With one final sigh, Dyrk climbed inside.

Rows of silent tents passed by them as they made their way down the road. They eventually reached the area where Marie's tent stood and found her standing outside her tent looking rather impatient. As soon as she saw them approach, she waved eagerly.

"What took you guys so long? I thought you'd never show up." she complained as she approached.

Dyrk's cheeks flushed as he noticed the beautiful green dress she wore. The colour complimented her braided brown hair perfectly.

"Alright, hop in beside Dyrk, Marie. Then I'll take you guys to someplace nice."

Marie moved to climb onboard but stopped as she noticed what Dyrk was wearing. Her hand moved to her mouth as she tried to stifle a giggle.

"Why do you look like a priest?" she asked, trying hard to keep herself from laughing.

Dyrk glared at Evran who only grinned back at him.

"It's what he made me wear for this date." Dyrk said as he helped her up into the cart.

"Date? For what date?"

Dyrk looked puzzled, "The one that we are going on right now. You know, the one Evran told you about..."

The blank look on Marie's face made Dyrk's eyes widen in surprise.

"Evran, what did you tell her?"

"Oh, just that we should hang out one last time before we go off to war. I should have maybe included the date part in my explanation."

Dyrk groaned out loud in frustration.

"This...this is a date?" Marie asked.

"No, it's not-"

"Yes, it's a date." Evran interrupted.

"Sit down and enjoy the ride Marie, tonight's going to be a long night."

***

As they rode passed the outskirts of the camp, Dyrk couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He hadn't said a word to Marie since she had gotten on and now, he felt awkward in her presence. But he also felt elated with how close she was to him, sitting next to him on the bench seat of the cart.

Evran broke the silence first.

"It's getting pretty cold out here, you must be freezing in that dress Marie."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I have been feeling cold for a while." She said as she rubbed together her hands.

Dyrk noticed Evran turn his head to him and wink. Then he mouthed the words 'your robe'.

Dyrk wanted to scowl at him but understood that Evran was just trying to help him.

"Do you want to wear my robe? It will keep you warm." He asked Marie.

"Oh, sure if you don't mind."

Dyrk removed his robe and handed it over to her. A few seconds later she slipped it on and smiled happily.

"Do I look like a priest now?" Marie asked with a grin.

Dyrk chuckled, "No, but you do definitely look better in that than I did."

They continued on riding for half an hour until they finally reached a lake out in an open field. After dismounting, Evran led them towards the shoreline.

"Why are we here?" Dyrk asked, "And how did you even find this place?"

"I randomly found it while exploring the countryside near our town," Evran answered, "and you'll soon find out why we're here."

Evran knelt down at the edge of the bank and reached out a hand to touch the water. A moment later, ice slowly formed around his fingers. Then in an instant, the entire surface of the lake froze solid.

"Alright, now that's done you guys can finally skate."

He turned to see Dyrk and Marie staring at each other in confusion.

"Skate?" Dyrk repeated.

"Oh you haven't ice skated before? Well let's fix that."

With that, he motioned for the two to step on the ice. Both hesitated, but once again, Evran urged them forward.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Marie asked.

"Sure, it's safe. But you should really hold unto each other when skating, otherwise you might fall and break something."

Dyrk felt Marie's hands grab hold of him tight as they stepped unto the ice. Once more, the world seemed to slow down for him. His breath caught as he felt her close. But he had no time to think of her as his feet slipped and slided across the slippery surface of the ice. He valiantly tried to keep his balance as he struggled to maintain control. All the while Marie clung onto him as tightly as possible. Only after they leaned against each other for support were they able to regain their footing.

"Well that wasn't so bad, huh?" Evran called out from behind them. "Now don't be cowards and go out to the middle."

Dyrk suddenly felt himself be shoved from behind. He let out a yell as he slid forward. Marie screamed out too, as she was dragged along by the momentum. As they reached the centre of the lake, Dyrk found himself spinning in circles along with Marie. At first he was frightened because of the lack of control, but slowly found himself enjoying the bizarre experience. Dyrk's face lit up as he watched Marie laugh and giggle with glee.

But her laughter was cut short as her feet suddenly slipped out from underneath her. With the reflexes of a cat, Dyrk grabbed hold of her waist and pulled her close to him. For a brief second, their eyes met as their bodies were pressed up against each other. Dyrk blushed furiously and looked away quickly.

"Thank you for saving me." Marie whispered softly.

The sound of her voice caused Dyrk to lose all sense of reality. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. The warmth of her body sent shivers running through his veins. He suddenly could hear nothing else but the beating of his raging heart and the gentle rhythm of Marie's breathing.

Back on the shore, Evran watched with a huge grin on his face. He felt proud in how he had helped Dyrk out. He was certainly going to make Dyrk start calling him the Dating Master from now on. But as he watched them skate, a repressed memory flashed into his mind. An image of him and his mother ice skating in the middle of winter came back to life. He remembered being happy then; his mother laughing joyfully as she spun in circles around him.

His memories abruptly ended there though. He hated thinking about the past. It always brought pain. So instead he focused on watching the two young lovers glide gracefully across the frozen lake. But yet the thought of his mother didn't leave his mind. In fact, it only grew stronger. The guilt he felt on the day of her death threatened to consume him. He clenched his fists tight together and struggled not to cry.

"I'm sorry, mother."