The One

THIRTEEN

The Ashes and the Sand fidgeted around the two middle girls.
The busty one and the one who was the tallest, well proportioned and had lighter eyes.

The sexy and perfect one, jeez how obvious could these guys get.

Roran joined them but the injured Sand stood there with Morten, studying.
Morten wondered if he was doing the same thing he was, but Agnus's story nibbled at him.

Was he trying to get different information?

Morten shook his head, that wasn't the mission right now.
He was supposed to make sure he was going to be picked over Roran.
All the girls had men at their plateaus? 

Although, Teddy was just rambling at the woman who looked confused by the boy standing there.

All but one.

The small freckled one.
He could wait for the other sand to go there, but maybe he should try and save her from this odd one out situation.

He walked to her and pulled out his gift, the unusual jewelry Agnus had suggested.

She looked up at him as he approached,
her face bright with a close mouth smile.

He sighed, as he stopped in front of her.

"Are you ready for the stupidest gift here?" He said in a cheery apologetic voice.

Her face contorted into such an animated frown of curiosity and confusion it almost made him laugh really loud.
He cramped up his face, you're an adult man... with a jawline!

He turned his hand to reveal a polished wooden ring, slightly bending towards her as he offered it.

She blinked, pursed her lips to the side and worried her eyebrows looking from the ring to him.
"You sure?" She said.

"Well," said Morten, "I have other options but I left them in my room... "

She grinned at this, her nose wrinkling and her eyes squinting.
" What? You've got girls in your room? "

"What? " Stammered Morten.
" No, I mean... gifts?"

Roran chuffed loudly from a little bit away.

"Ooh, I meant.." she wiggled her fingers to her right, where the two prizes of the bunch were being charmed. She smiled with her mouth closed and raised her eyebrows, sighing.

"Oh, no. Nooo." He said, not sure how to respond.

She smiled wider, her eyes squinting again.

"Too pretty? Too much body?" She proposed.

His expression faltered, did she know he was just here because she was left?
well it made sense if he wanted to win and saw her as an easy way to, no competition.
So why pretend?
He decided on honesty.

He shook his head, " Naah,
I mean,
you are all certainly too good looking for me.
But no one had approached you, so I might as well." He shrugged.

She smiled, he noticed one corner of her mouth smiling much more and her eyes were ever so slightly cross eyed.

"Well, if you don't care.. then I don't either!" She shrugged back, squinting her eyes closed as she did it and then clasped her hands together bending over to look at the ring on his hand.
" A wooden ring?" She asked.
looking from the ring to him.

Her slightly cross eyed look confused Morten's brain.

He nodded, " It's wood from a very rare tree.."