Wren tried to tune out the shrieks of delight that came from children splashing around the pool of glistening water. She longed to join them but alas, she was too old. At the very least, she had her chance to stretch her legs after days of being cooped up in a wagon. A few guards circled overhead and she watched them with only half-interest.

I wish I could go for a swim. She dipped her toes in the water. It shocked her skin as it touched her, cool and refreshing, like nothing else in this place could be. It was midday, which meant the perfect time to be in a place like this. A few hours earlier and maybe no one would have noticed had she stripped off her outer layers and gone for a swim, but now there were too many people about. 

Her mother's words wouldn't stop playing through her head. If you aren't married soon, a lot of doors are going to close for you. Wren hated to admit when her mother was right. She wished she could live the life she saw some women who passed through the caravan living. They came and went from the caravan as they pleased and smiled into their partners' eyes as if they had no thought for anything else. But not with Elyn. With him she wouldn't be given such freedom, she was sure of it.

Though it could be worse. There were women who bore the scars of ill matches. Women whose eyes were ringed with bruises. Women who hid their eyes from the light and traveled only at night so as to avoid the whispers. And then there were those that took strays...which no one talked about or mentioned, but no one questioned, either. Instead, there were just whispers of their goings-on where the people involved couldn't see.

The third type of woman made her shudder. They dressed in not much and roamed between the market carts, eyes cold as ice, beckoning to the men that would have them, and they answered to no one. They led secret lives and had secret affairs behind closed doors, like wisps on the wind that no one bothered to chase after come morning. Something about them always seemed so dangerous that Wren could never bring herself to meet their eyes as they flitted about the marketplace like doves with one specific mission.

How many men did she know that had taken part in such an arrangement? Thinking about it made her nauseous for reasons she couldn't name. She quickly shoved it out of her mind again and brought her attention back to her mother. 

This entire situation made her stomach tie itself in knots. Her time was running out. Pretty soon she'd have to choose. She didn't know which was worse, the thought of being a professional stray or the thought of being shackled to someone she found so deplorable. She cringed. If only there was a way--

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. The hair on the back of Wren's neck bristled and she spun around. Her chest let out a big heave of breath when she saw that this time, it was only Armand.

"What, did I scare you?"

"No," she said. She smiled and patted the ground next to her. He sat and she scooted over a bit to give him room. He flopped down less-than-gracefully beside her and laced his fingers behind his head.

"So you haven't been banned from hanging out with me yet?" she teased. The way his eyes darkened when he said it brought a lump to her throat that stayed there.

"Not exactly," he responded, and she nudged him less-than-gently in the shoulder. He winced and scooted away from her. The smile slid off Wren's face and she stared out at the sky.

"Your parents are still pushing you, aren't they?" he said. "Not like I have to be married just because. You shouldn't either." 

"You don't get it, I don't have a choice. You're not a woman and can do whatever you want."

Armand sat up and shrugged his shoulders. He let out a deep sigh and shook his head.

"Can't run a business without a woman," he pointed out, and she had to concede he was right on that point, if only that one. She'd never seen a business run by just a man. "And it's not like I can do anything I want with my brother around."

"I haven't picked yet," she said quickly as she twiddled her thumbs, as if that would make it any better. The space between them grew cavernous. Soon they wouldn't be permitted to spend time together, and these interactions would dwindle to nothing before they vanished altogether. The thought of it made Wren want to cry. Armand opened his mouth to speak.

"There's nothing you can do. I don't have a choice."

The words shot out of her mouth like a lead ballast and sank between them like a stone through water. Seconds ticked by and the very air seemed to thicken and spread, pushing them apart. Wren drummed her feet along the water's edge and tried not to think too hard.

"Do you want to talk about something else?" Armand asked after what felt like ages. Wren sighed in relief as the air thinned out again.

"How has the guard been?" she asked.

Armand's lips tightened a little. He averted his gaze and she tried to meet his eyes only to have him avoid her entirely. He stood and began walking toward a rock outcropping on the other side of the oasis, and she followed.

"Fine. They're feeding me, I guess."

"You're hiding something," Wren said as she folded her arms and gave him a hard look. Her stomach felt queasy.

"Griffon's been pretty insufferable lately,  but what else is new? He needs to let loose a little and find himself a girl or something." Armand laughed, but Wren's stomach flip-flopped uncomfortably again. She gave a halfhearted laugh in response. That must be it.

"Rannok joined the guard. Is he still following you around?" he said before she could find anything else to say.

"No," Wren responded. Much to her relief she hadn't seen him since they'd run into each other at the oasis the other day. She had little desire for a second meeting, though

"Good," Armand replied.

Wren paused for a second and stared at him. She swallowed hard again and tried to look at him as sternly as possible.

"Tell me what's going on. Now."

"Nothing, Wren. It's fine." He threw his hands up in the air in protest of her questions and rolled his eyes. "Can you stop asking?"

"You don't need to lie to me," she said. She could see through him as clearly as parchment dipped in water. Armand was always in trouble. Why would today be any different?

"I'm not," Armand replied in a faraway sort of voice. His face darkened as if a shade had gathered above his head. Wren knew that look. The tips of her ears grew warm with an unwelcome sort of irritation. How dare he lie to her? Both of them knew it, but no one was saying anything. She stared down at the ground and thought carefully about phrasing that would not put Armand off.

"What happened?" she repeated after an awkward several seconds of searching for the best thing she could come up with.She could almost hear him bristle.

"Nothing. Just the usual bullshit."

"You're lying to me. You always lie to me. I tell you everything and you lie," she said. As the words left her mouth she snatched desperately at something, anything she could say that would take them back.

She glanced at Armand's face. His mouth curled upwards in that hint of a smile that did nothing to hide his barely-contained anger.

"What makes you think I'm lying?" he asked in a carefully measured tone.

Wren wasn't sure what to say. It was obvious, wasn't it? Then again, Armand was no idiot. This was a carefully crafted response designed specifically to shut her up. Her face grew hotter and redder, and she stared at him in a way that demanded an answer. He sighed deeply.

"Wren, it's nothing. Griffon found out about the dagger. No one else knows. Everything's fine."

"You promised."

"I know," he said. "Trust me, he'll forget about it by tomorrow. Can we just drop it?"

"You don't need to lie to me," she said.

"I'm not lying to you!" he snapped.

"Yes, you are. Do you think I'm stupid? If it was no big deal you would have told me about it."

"God, Wren, can you just shut up?"

Of course. Nothing Armand did was ever wrong. She stopped walking so fast he nearly walked into her and stared him straight in the face.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you always lie to me? You could have just told me. If you weren't such a--" I thought I could trust you. She resisted the urge to clamp her hand over her mouth so she could shove more words back down before they could escape.

Without warning his eyes frosted over and all the animation smoothed right out of his expression. It made her want to take a step back.

"Not everything revolves around you. You weren't there. But fine. You know what? Go marry Elyn. He won't have to steal things for you."

Wren stepped back as if he'd just hit her. Her stomach sank. So he was just like everyone else, then. Only there for one thing. She should have known better.

Armand took a step away from her and shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "That wasn't okay."

Wren shook her head.

"No, it wasn't," she replied. She turned around and walked in the other direction. She glanced back to see if he was following her, but he just stood there with his head in his hand. She fought back the tears that threatened to spring from her eyes. This isn't worth it, she thought. Maybe by tomorrow, it would be okay. But right now, it hurt.

She wondered how long it would take her to find somewhere to hide. She weaved her way between pitched tents and through pens containing animals that brayed and clucked and stared in her direction as if mocking her conspicuousness. Eventually she made her way back to her parents' wagon and found it mercifully empty. She hoped no one would bother her. Considering where she was, it was very likely no one would be able to see her.

It was safe to let a few tears out, now that she was alone. She dabbed at her eyes and did her best to be quiet. The longer she went on in this place, the smaller her world seemed to shrink, and the weight of it squeezed her out the sides and left her feeling thin and exasperated. She bit her lip until the taste of iron flowed into her mouth and folded her hands onto her head.

Soon she'd be alone. Completely, utterly alone. And there was nothing anyone could do to save her.

    ---

What Armand said to Wren really wasn't nice. Was his reaction justified, given everything he's done for her? What should he have done differently?