Getting The Story (1/2)

Writers: Jelena, Leigh M-F.
Date Posted: 10th February 2016

Characters: Genna, A'kua, Eionen
Description: Eionen finally has a chance to explain.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 23 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: NPCs Bailan, Falior, and Shastia.

Notes: Rated PG-13 for upsetting topics handled indelicately.

Genna

Inside the agreed-upon classroom, Eionen alternated between pacing and fussing with the little tray he had begged from one of the girls in the dining cavern. It had a pitcher of wine, two goblets, and some nibbles. It was past dinnertime, but he had asked for it anyway. Maybe A'kua would want something to snack on. Eionen knew he wanted the wine. It wouldn't help his flip-flopping stomach any, but it would settle his nerves.

Outside the classroom, A'kua also paced, waiting for Genna. His hands were still shaking, and rubbing them wasn't helping, but he kept doing it anyway for lack of something else to try. Zeiranth was in the back of his mind, as promised, a constant and soothing presence despite how icy A'kua felt inside. Ancients bless that brave baby bronze.

"A'kua," Genna said softly as she approached her old friend, her face filled with compassion. As she stepped within reach, she reached out to give his shoulder an friendly squeeze, meanwhile checking in with Lissath. As they had agreed, the gold had found a spot from where she could keep her eyes on young Zeiranth. Perhaps it was because of her fondness of A'kua, but Genna felt as if the gold still had some kind of motherly affection for her hatchling.

A'kua pulled Genna into a slightly too tight hug, resting his head on hers and closing his eyes. Some of the ice melted on seeing his friend. "Thank you so much for comin'," he whispered, releasing the weyrwoman. "He's in there," he went on, motioning to the classroom door. "This is probably goin' to be as uncomfortable for you as it is for me, and I'm sorry, but- but he's not safe around me. You are," he hastily added. "You have the leash, so to speak."

"I'll keep it tight, I promise," Genna said with a slight smile, trying to keep some humour in the situation for as long as it was possible. However, when she continued, she was dead serious. "I'm there for you and Zeiranth. Lissath is keeping a close eye on him and I'll keep mine on you. If you need to leave, just do and I will make sure he stays out of your way."

"Thank you." A'kua took a deep breath, cracked his knuckles, and pushed the door open.

Eionen had been fussing with the snacks again, so the entrance made him jump. But his eyes softened on seeing his son, and he smiled. "Alu-"

"A'kua," the weyrling cut him off. "This is my friend, weyrwoman Genna. Her gold clutched my bronze. She's here to protect you."

Each word had a glacial snap. Eionen tried not to shiver on hearing it and the implications, bowing politely to Genna instead. "My duty to you, weyrwoman. Thank you both for coming. Can I offer you anything?" He motioned to the tray. "I have snacks and a lovely red wine."

"I don't touch alcohol," A'kua said, tone still chilly.

At first Eionen was confused. He couldn't think of anyone on Pern who didn't try wine once they were of age. Then he recalled what his son had said last night, and blushed in embarrassment. "Oh. Of- Of course. Well, uh- how about you, weyrwoman?"

"No thank you, sir," Genna said with a polite nod. "I'm on duty." She stuck to tea, juice and water strictly when she knew she would be working. And no matter how good a friend A'kua was, this was still duty. A very diplomatical part of her duty, even.

"Shall we all have a seat?" It would be good to put a table - and herself - between the two men.

A'kua silently sat at one of the weyrling desks, and Eionen stayed by the lecturer's desk; it was the only one with room for the tray. "Well, uh- I-" The harper fumbled for words. "I'm glad you seem to be all right, A'kua. I was afraid you were lost or hurt somewhere, in need of my help."

"I needed you when I was a child. Obviously, I'm not a child anymore," the weyrling stated. "So stop wastin' my time and tell me the news from Bex."

Stung by the reminder of how much time had passed, Eionen did. He talked about Falior's attack and why he had done it; he talked about Bailan's unsatisfying marriage to Harston, her brother's marriage, Bailan's miscarriage and her continued care of Shastia's headstone. He mentioned Gordione, once so robust and well built, was starting to become shaky; his hands trembled too much to weave or keep house, so he had hired two boys from the hold to help out. It was possible Gordione would marry again in order to have a permanent caretaker. (A'kua shuddered at the thought of some poor girl his age or younger being bound to his grandsire.)

"That's everything," Eionen said. "The most important part is, Bailan is very, very sorry for how she treated you, and she's happy you got out. I think you should write to her, let her know you're all right."

A'kua's stony expression didn't shift, but the harper thought he saw something flicker in his son's dark blue eyes. "If that's everythin', then it's your turn," he said, voice still frigid. "Ma told me a lot about you, but not why you're such a whore."

"Hey!" Eionen sat up straighter. "I'll thank you to stop calling me that!"

"Would you rather I called you a slut?"

"Wha- No!"

The weyrling's face finally changed into the darkest grin Eionen had ever seen. "Why are you so offended? Judgin' by the way you treated my mother-"

"She came to me."

A'kua paused. "Excuse me?"

Eionen nodded sharply. "Shastia came to me," he repeated. "She brought wine, we shared it while we talked in the back of a trader's wagon, and when I invited her to bed, she asked me to be gentle. She did not say a single word on the subject of being engaged to Falior. For all I knew, she was an unattached woman with no promises to keep. I don't knowingly couple with attached women or girls too young for such things, so I don't appreciate being called vulgarities."

A'kua's grin faded, leaving him with a stunned expression. So his theory was right: Shastia really had been waiting for Eionen to come back so she could go with him.

Genna had found herself a seat in between the two men, sitting at neither one's side so no one could take offense. That and she'd be all the quicker to stand between them, should A'kua fail to keep his anger in check. She was trying very hard to keep a neutral expression, meanwhile scanning both Eionen and A'kua for signs of trouble. This wasn't her conversation to have and she would try to interfere as little as possible.

Eionen relented on seeing his son's expression and Genna's wariness, though what he had to say next wouldn't help either one. "However, I do admit there have been many women in my life. And I have to confess that's another reason why I was searching after I learned about you. I started sending out borrowed fire-lizards to every lover I could remember, asking if I had any children." Eionen had to summon his courage. "It's possible you have a little sister. Her name is Firelloa. She's thirteen now, living in a small hold in Dolphin Cove Weyr's territory."

"I can't believe you," A'kua hissed after another stunned silence. "How many siblings do I have thanks to you?!"

"It looks like she's the only one," Eionen said, trying not to feel uneasy.

The weyrling brought himself under control with an effort, though he was shaking. "Which brings me back to my question of what turned you into a whore," he snarled.

"I told you, stop calling me that." Eionen looked down. "As for why I bedded so many, that's a very painful and personal story I don't want to share in front of-"

"I don't care if it hurts!" A'kua shouted. "You _owe_ me, you sick bastard!"

"My parents were married, thank you." But he did owe the boy. Eionen had to psych himself up. "I wasn't much older than you when I made Journeyman. I was assigned to a small hold about a week's journey from the Harper Hall, to teach the children. There was a girl there. Erisalle." Eionen's nails dug into the wood of the desk even as his expression softened. "She had a natural gift, and despite the craftban, she had taught herself to play her family's heirloom lap harp. She couldn't sing or dance, but her compositions were so beautiful, and so was her playing. We became very good friends even though I was ten years older. I wasn't supposed to offer to teach her anything, but I did anyway after she accepted. Those who can't, teach."

The harper shook his head. "She got even better so fast. Her music could move me to tears, and make me dance and sing perfectly. And aside from that, she was a marvelous person. I fell truly in love for the first time in my life. I'd had some girlfriends growing up, but none were like Erisalle. When I declared myself to her a year later, things got very heated very fast, though we never fully bedded each other. A year after that, when I thought I had enough saved up to provide for the start of our life together, I told her that when I came to dinner the next evening, I would ask her father for her hand. She kissed me, and...."

Eionen paused, throat working and shoulders hunching. "And for once, she didn't say 'Let me take care of you,' like she always had before. I thought that meant I could touch her in turn, but when I put my hand up her skirt, I realized she had been lying to me." He made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "She- Ancients damn it all, even now I still call her 'she'." His fingers curled into a fist, nails scraping the wood, and he looked up at A'kua, an expression of incredible pain on his face. "Erisalle was a _man_."

The next thing the harper knew, his son had fallen out of his chair and was literally rolling on the floor, laughing so hard he was starting to tear up.

Last updated on the February 21st 2016

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Getting The Story (1/2)