Apology Needed

Writers: Chelle, Paula
Date Posted: 11th November 2014

Characters: Veerona, Milga
Description: The two of them go down for a picnic and have a discussion about life developments.
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 9, day 1 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Irabel, Naton, Jylanya

It was clear that Jylanya had decided that she still wanted Naton and
Veerona didn't understand this decision. Why would Lany want to be friends
or anything else with a liar, after all? Vee didn't remember much about her
childhood before her mother died but she understood that lying was a _bad_
thing and people should be punished for it. So why was she being punished
and Naton wasn't?

As a result, she'd found herself pushing away. She did her chores as she was
expected to and then she disappeared into her room or to the harper room to
read. Reading was a way to pass time and escape quietly. Sometimes, though,
when she was lucky, someone came and took her somewhere else. Sometimes it
was Irabel. Sometimes it was Milga.

Milga knew her little friend was going through a difficult period. She had
stepmother herself, so she could understand how she felt and why. With
Jylanya's permission, she had taken Vee away from hall. She had picnic in her
backbag. "Do you want to collect seashells or take a swim?" she asked when they
reached a little cove she knew of. You could still see the Weyr's cliff walls from
there and she had seen dragonriders and their dragons there before. If they were lucky,
they could meet one today. At least the dolphins wouldn't be far off if they
went for a swim.

"Umm...swim. I have enough shells." No point in getting more since she didn't
feel up to making any necklaces. Swimming was a good relaxing thing and it
helped her to focus her mind on something else. Vee held Milga's hand as they walked,
clinging to her. Milga hadn't disappointed her at least.

"Right, swimming it is," Milga smiled. She removed her backbag and placed it
to a shady spot. "Last one in the water is Bottom crawler!" she kicked off her boots.

It took some time since Vee had to take off her shoes and then her dress.
Wading in slowly, she let the water come up as high as it could, then she stopped
for a moment. She'd have to swim if she went any farther because she wouldn't be able
to touch.

Milga wanted to run and dive into the deep water, but she realized that she
was responsible for Vee. So she stayed close to the little girl.

"Milga...I member you said that you miss your Da sometimes. Well sometimes I
miss my Mama." Looking up at the sky for a moment, she jumped when the waves
came so they didn't reach her head.

"Yes, it's okay to miss them," Milga replied and watched Vee curiously. "Are
you worried about something?"

"Lany says she's going to marry Naton." This clearly distressed her. "But he
lied to me, Milga. And Lany shouldn't marry a liar. Liars are bad!" She shouted
that last part before catching herself and going quiet again. "I don't want him to be my
Da."

"What did he lie to you?" Milga asked. As far as she knew, Naton had always
been honest, a good man. She liked him.

"He came to talk to me one day. And he asked me if I was okay with him and
Lany and I said Lany needs friends and friends are okay.
He never said anything about being married but he acted like he did!" She
shook her head, getting angry again. Veerona felt like she
had been taken advantage of. Then she remembered the part that really upset
her. "I told Lany. And I asked her to pick me, not him.
She picked him Milga. Not me. She loves him more." And that caused her to
cry all over again.

"Don't cry," Milga said and pulled her into an embrace. "It doesn't mean she
don't love you. She wants you to be a real family. She, you, Naton."

She let herself be held for a bit, enjoying the contact since she hadn't
been embraced in sometime. "Well I can't. He shouldn't have lied."
To her, that was that. As a child, she still viewed most things as black and
white and she didn't want to share Jylanya anyway. The fact that
Naton had indeed done something wrong in her eyes gave her feelings
justification. "See, my Mama loved my Da but he was no good. He never
came back. Lany shouldn't love a bad man. Her feelings will be hurt like
Mama's." When her mother had died, Lany had taken her. If Naton married
Lany and Lany died, then he would be her guardian and Veerona almost
panicked at that notion. He'd leave just like her Da and then she'd be all
alone. Her arms pulled tighter around Milga.

Milga stroked her hair and wondered what she should say. She didn't want Vee
to think she was siding with Naton and Jylanya. "Fact number one: grown ups
lie. Sometimes they lie to protect us, sometimes they lie because they think
we can't handle the truth. Sometimes they don't even know they are lying.
Fact number two: grown ups decide. We just have to live with it. Like I had
to live with my stepmother. Now, she's a bad woman. Naton is very nice one
compared to her." Her own view of the life tended to be cynical and
mistrustful.

That didn't sound very fair. "They're going to have babies. Lany said so."
That seemed to make the entire situation worse. Lany was having babies with
a liar who would disappoint her? And then what would she do with the baby?
Vee shook her head and sighed, letting go as she tried to puzzle it out. "I
guess I just won't come out of my room for six turns."

"But if you lock yourself up, then who's coming with me for picnics?" Milga
tried her best to sound plaintive. "And, yes, babies are almost inevitable."

"Maybe Bel can go with you. She likes picnics. Course you could come to my
room." The child didn't bother to reason it out. Eight turn old logic only
got so far. She was reading quite well though so she could do that in her
spare time in her room easy enough.

"Maybe I don't like Bel," Milga said with mock pout. "Have you ever thought
about giving a try? Try how it feels to have Naton in your family? A test
period?"

"How come you don't like Bel? She's nice. She reminds me of Mama sometimes."
That little admission came with a sigh and was one of the reasons why
Veerona insisted on hanging around Irabel besides enjoying her company.
Jylanya was a busy important woman, but crafting women were a different
breed in the south and Veerona found them curious. "Before I would even
think about anything, he would have to say he lied, say sorry, and be
punished for what he did. Cause that's what happens when you do bad things."

"I didn't say I don't like. I said maybe. I don't know her well, she's a
grown-up," Milga replied. She was still young enough to say such things.
"Would it help if Naton apologized to you?" she asked. If it would help, she
could tell that Naton.

"Maybe. I don't know but it would start." Veerona knew that was what you
were supposed to do when you did a bad thing. She still didn't like the way
that Jylanya hadn't said anything to Naton even after he'd done it. Instead
it had felt like she was mad at her when it wasn't her fault!

Milga felt even more strongly that it was just some sort of
misunderstanding/miscommunication. Not that she was going to say that to
Vee. She was so clearly upset about the whole thing. "If only life would
make sense," she muttered. "Come on, let's get back to the beach and eat
something."

Last updated on the November 30th 2014

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Apology Needed