Evelyn Disgrace

Prologue - The Histories

The Histories of Evelyn Tiras as Watched by Baelux of Remt

"Durgat, Evelyn!"

"Durgat you, Asrin!"

Evelyn Tiras, hair a whimsical mess and possibly with the slyest grin on her face, hit the ball at Asrin Dawl's knees. There was a brief cry of victory before her competitor tackled her to the ground.

"You can't hit a lady, Asrin!" someone shouted. "It's not polite."

Asrin snarled something back, but held his punches. Evelyn sucked in a wonderful breath of air before she spat out, "Be a man, Asrin. You can't touch me, and you had better not. What will your mama think?"

The brown-haired boy rolled his jade eyes. "I don't care what my mama thinks. You ain't telling her. What will your mama think?" Then he threw a terrible punch at her cheek.

Evelyn spewed a mixture of spit and dirt into his face, and then grinned. "Impressive. Now I'm living proof that Asrin Dawl hit a lady. Furthermore, he hit the treasurer's daughter."

Asrin snarled and then rose from the game. A light bruise had started to swell on Evelyn's face, but she smiled it off and yelled, "Next round!"

Durgat's Pitch was the game. Hit the ball below the knees in the tight circle. The District of Vera had a record of many nights devoted to the game. Evelyn was a fair player, winning from time to time. But she was very competitive with Asrin. She hated when he won.

Now some new players had joined the game, and then someone yelled, "Pitch!" and the ball was pitched into the air. It landed near Evelyn, so she dove for it and whacked it toward Asrin. He avoided the ball, but then a new kid swatted and got Asrin out. Evelyn cheered.

Evelyn kept hitting the ball and getting people out, exchanging it with the new kid. She had a pleasant time of it, until the showdown arrived. Her versus the strange boy.

"Name?" she inquired, a friendly smile on her face. She liked this boy for some reason. He had a strong and dutiful demeanor that Evelyn wanted to break, and he looked about thirteen, only a year older than her.

"Jeremy Faux," he breathed. "Yours?"

"Evelyn Tiras. Shall we pitch?"

"Yes."

The ball flew into the air and Evelyn smacked it toward Jeremy's way. But Jeremy was clever and sharp, hitting the ball right back. But it didn't go exactly at Evelyn. It went toward the right. She started to run over there, but Jeremy tripped her and she fell. Then he smacked the ball her way and was declared winner.

"You, cheat!" she hissed. "Durgat!"

Jeremy snorted. "There are no rules saying I can't do that." It was then she realized his accent was clearer and thinner than the thick, robust one she was accustomed to. He was from another district.

Her irritation flashed and she tackled him to the ground. "You're a liar and a cheat. Nobody listens to the rules. This is Vera, and you're an outsider."

Jeremy grinned. "I might be an outsider, but I can easily take you down."

"From the looks of it—"

Smack!

Evelyn fell back and now Jeremy was above her, standing and proving his win. She stood right up and then punched him back. Soon enough, a fight was happening, and the other children had to choose sides. But then she realized it had stopped. Jeremy wasn't doing anything.