"But the point is, you're not doing anything!" Aliana shot back. "You're sitting on your butt in here, wimping out of everything, refusing to be proactive, and expecting everyone else to do everything for you. And I'm sorry, but I can't take that. I can handle someone who tries and fails, but I can't handle someone who doesn't try at all."
“I have been trying!” Kyle cried. “But...but...I’m scared! No matter what I do...I always mess up...”
"Okay, so did you try to get it published?" Aliana asked. "And if so... then, who did you go to? And what did they say?"
“I...I didn’t...” Kyle said shaking his head. “What I meant was...everything I try to do...I always screw it up...”
"Well, that's not true," Aliana argued back. "You haven't screwed up your writing: pretty much everyone I've shown it to has agreed that it's good. But the things you did screw up... you usually screwed those up by being impulsive, like when you jumped out of that coach without thinking and broke your legs. So, all you need to do is be aware of your own impulsiveness, and try your best to work on it."
Kyle shook his head. “B...but...you know it won’t go well...can’t...can’t we just marry now?”
"No!" Aliana hissed angrily. "You haven't demonstrated to me that you're ready for marriage. And you don't appear to be listening to a word I'm saying - so, I'm going now. See you later."
Aliana slammed Kyle's door behind her, and stomped out of the room without giving him her customary kiss. On the way back, she happened to pass by a young, muscular guard with a golden beard, whom she knew had a crush on her. She knew that Kyle would probably get jealous if he saw her with him - and so, she decided to hatch a sneaky plan.
"Must be awfully boring standing in the same spot all day," she remarked. "Now, how would you like to be my personal bodyguard for the rest of the day
?"
The guard looked uncertain. “Er...I’m supposed to stay here though...”
Kyle sighed plopping on his bed. “See...I always messs up...”
"Oh, I can easily find you a new guard," Aliana assured him. "There's bound to be someone off-duty who can take over from you. And you won't get in trouble: I'll be with you, and I'll explain why you're not in your spot
. So... are you going to do it?"
“Umm...I guess...” he said blushing lightly.