Kindly edited by @CollinHarrison4
"You push too hard," Kelton said to Rolic. The argument was growing tiring after so many days. Rolic had squirmed into it slowly as if he could pile disconnected assumptions one upon the other to prove his misguided theory.
"We are nearing the temple," Rolic said, adding a shrug as if it were an excuse. "I only desire you to consider the last-of-the-line. It would strengthen the tale and add fierceness to those who follow you."
"Consider?" Kelton chuckled. He took a small leap over a muddy rut in the road. It had rained the day prior, making for an uncomfortable night. "I have been pushed and pulled about by many things since I ended that Brother long ago. None have pushed as hard as you."
"The dream," Rolic said. A fact to be sure, but not one that Kelton would allow to be more than it was: an incessant morning ritual.
"Aye, it struggles as hard as you," Kelton agreed. Then he smiled, remembering Juno's way of caressing the dream away. "Though now it bends me more toward my love. I think Juno is jealous of it." He made sure Rolic saw his happiness. "Does it make me a demon to enjoy such a thing?"
"It is more than a tale; that is all I am saying," Rolic said.
"Or it is only a story," Kelton countered. They shifted to the other side of the road to avoid a portion that still held ankle-deep water. "My hair is red, not of fire - that alone matches as much as it does not. The idea that all will fail if I do not capture Serenity's heart is self-defeating. It was not for her that I returned. Juno is why I am here, not Serenity. Why do you fear Juno so?"
"It is not fear," Rolic said. "She has a strong mind and will die for you. If you were a merchant or farmer, there would be no better choice. But it is a queen you seek, and that requires a purity that Juno ..."
"Step careful," Kelton warned. He had been anticipating the discussion to deteriorate into Juno's past. Rolic had been tentative at first, but now he was grasping at feeble straws. "Your past is no better than hers, and you had a choice in it."
"Aye," Rolic said, surrendering with a sigh.
"I care not for what was," Kelton said. He indicated a clear path near the trees that would avoid an especially muddy portion of the road. "Nor will I get pulled further than I desire. Serenity is in my dreams, so I shall allow her to remain so she may find her part in the story, nothing more. It is as far as I am willing to go." He stopped and turned fully toward Rolic. "Juno is my heart. I fear what I would do if someone were to come between us."
Rolic stopped, then smiled. "You were less stubborn before you traveled across the sea."
"Me?" Kelton said, turning back to the road. "Mayhap, you should argue this with Juno."
"I fear a stone wall would be more giving," Rolic said. His voice quieted. "I am not in her favor these days."
"She does not trust you," Kelton said. "Though it was her words that convinced me to take this journey. Odd how she thinks you are trustworthy enough for this." He stopped again, this time without turning around. "You had words with her that I am not to ask about. She thought it best I travel unburdened by them. The true burden is not knowing them, yet my love asks me to trust. So I trust. That is the depth of my love, for curiosity gnaws hard at my patience. Tell me you were not false with her."
"Nay, I was not," Rolic said. "What is coming will prove it true enough. My sorrows for using her in this. I saw no other way."
"And you call me stubborn," Kelton said with a chuckle. They started moving again.
