1Written for Beater One, on the Bats team (prompts: 1. (word) flood, 2. (word) crimson)
One Million Words Competition: 1,321 words
If You Dare Challenge: 657. True Feelings
Book Quotes Boot Camp: 27. You really should stay away from me. – Twilight.
Best Friends
"There was a flood," Emily Elontell said, gasping for air as she had just come running.
"Where?" Carter Cax asked.
"At your place!" she exclaimed. "It was terrible! All your furniture was floating everywhere! The river bank was flooded and in no time, your house was flooded!"
He looked at her. "You're joking, right?"
She burst out laughing. "Why do you never fall for my tricks?"
"Well… maybe it's the fact that you play one on me every single day?" he said sarcastically, but couldn't help but smile at her. "Besides, you just have a puerile manner, you know that."
Carter Cax and Emily Elontell were best friends. They had met in the vast grasslands of Alberta, and became friends. At that time, they had not known that the other was also a wizard/witch, but had later realized it.
The only problem was that Emily Elontell was born from a lady family, while Carter Cax… was from a simple farmer family.
Emily's family disapproved of their friendship, but their bond was too strong to break that easily.
Emily was a complete tomboy; always getting herself dirty from playing in the mud, and finding ways to prank Carter.
Carter was an introvert; he was shy and liked to keep to himself—unless it was with Emily, who he told everything.
As the years went by, they realized what their true feelings were. They were best friends, but they both liked each other, although they would both blush a crimson red if someone mentioned this fact or hinted it, whistling or hooting at them.
"Come along, Carter, come to my home and let's have tea!" Emily said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, pretending to be a girly girl.
Carter burst out laughing. "That does not suit you at all, Em."
"Excuse me! I am so hurt!" she said, putting on her best hurt face.
He couldn't stop laughing, and eventually, she was laughing with him until they couldn't stop laughing.
"Emily! What are you doing on the ground over there with… that boy? Come along!" a voice came, interrupting their fun.
Carter immediately stopped laughing and stiffened.
Sorry, she mouthed to him and got up. "Coming, mother!"
It was her dream to please her loving father—and the only way to do that was following her mother's orders. Of course, she wouldn't do all the ladylike things that were required of her, but she would do some of them, as much as she hated them.
He waved bye to her, and turned and walked home, letting out a sigh of disappointment.
"You know, you really should stay away from me," he said one day to her.
"Why would I do that? You're my best friend!" she said, for once a bit of real hurt bleeding through her voice.
"Your parents don't approve of me," he said promptly.
"My dad does!" she exclaimed.
"You know what I mean… your dad doesn't even count. Your mom's decisions become his. He is powerless to her," Carter said.
Emily was quiet. She knew that it was true, as much as she hated it.
"I wish that she listened to what I wanted, sometimes. I mean, what's wrong with you? If I ever decided if I wanted to… you know, marry you or something, shouldn't I be able to?"
"W-what?" Carter spluttered, blushing red.
"I'm just saying, you know, hypothetically," Emily looked away bashfully.
"Y-yeah, hypothetically."
"Anyway, if hypothetically I wanted to marry you… wouldn't it be my freedom to? I mean, if you even had hypothetically accepted my proposal. Not that I would be the one proposing… hypothetically, I mean," Emily hastily said.
Carter let out a laugh.
"Why are you laughing?" she asked.
"I've never seen you being so bashful and… I don't know, more… feminine?" he said.
"Wait till you see me in a dress," she muttered under her breath.
"What?!" he exclaimed, not believing what he'd heard.
Whenever he saw her, she was in overalls or pants. Anything comfortable to wear—and a dress surely wasn't comfortable.
"Mother's forcing me to wear a dress to this party… apparently there will be a lot of suitors there…" she mumbled.
"Am I invited?" he blurted out.
"What? Of course you are, you know what, I'll get something of father's that fits you for you to wear!" she grinned. "I can't wait to see mother's expression when she sees you all handsome and dressed up."
He blushed.
He entered the ballroom, and looked around in awe. The ceiling was charmed to change to fit the music that was playing. The orchestra that was playing was a famous wizard orchestra.
The ballroom was overflowing with people, most of them handsome suitors for Emily.
His fists clenched in anger as he imagined her being with someone else. She was his Emily; he would not give her to anyone else.
He sighed. She would probably end up marrying some rich man who had connections with their family. He would probably be much more handsome than Carter.
He didn't really have a choice in the matter.
He turned around to observe the people, when he saw someone who looked like they were shining.
It was Emily: she was wearing a golden gown, with diamond earrings that went brilliantly with her red hair. Her hair was let down and straightened from the messy tangles that they normally were—she usually just hastily tied her hair. Her face had makeup on it, and she was wearing crystal slippers.
She was beautiful, and all the men couldn't stop staring at her.
Her eyes travelled around the room until she saw him. She waved enthusiastically and grinned. She walked over to him carefully, making sure that she wouldn't trip over her long gown.
"Carter! You look great!" she marvelled.
"Not as good as you…" he said in awe.
She blushed and turned away. "Mother, look! This is Carter!"
He turned and saw her mother glaring at him with a bit of a surprised expression on her face.
"She thinks you're handsome!" Emily grinned at him. "And you are!"
"Em… you look really, really beautiful right now!" he couldn't find any other words to say.
"And you look really, really handsome!" she grabbed his right hand, pulling him towards her mother.
He gulped in fright.
"Mother, this is Carter. You know him. My best friend. He's also the man that I want to marry!" she said loudly, so that everyone else in the ballroom could hear.
The ballroom that had once been full of buzzing, was completely silent.
"Emily Elondell! You will not marry this man!" her mother hissed.
"Oh yes I will. And you can do nothing to stop me," she said, sticking her tongue out at her mother.
What had caused her great courage, he did not know.
She then proceeded to kiss him right in front of her mother, which he could do nothing but stand there.
She pulled away, and muttered into his ear. "You will marry me, right? I wasn't stupidly mistaken that my feelings were also shared by you?"
"Y-you weren't. I'm just… in shock," he said in reply, staring blankly in front of him as Emily's mother fainted.
"So… what happened afterwards?" little Carmella Cax asked.
"Yeah, what happened?" eight year old Elijah Cax asked.
"Well, we ended up marrying, and then you two were born!" Emily Cax said, beaming at them.
"And now, it's time for you two to sleep," Carter Cax said, smiling down at them.
"Awwww! Tell us more!" Carmella whined.
"Nope! It's way passed your bedtime! You guys need to get to sleep, or the nargles will come and bite you!" Emily said making biting noises.
This threat worked every time.
The two kids flung themselves at their beds and hid beneath the covers. "Goodnight!" they whispered.
"Goodnight," Carter and Emily said in reply as they blew the candles out.
A/N: I don't even know what that was-I apolgize.