Family Affairs

Writers: Heather, Miriah
Date Posted: 15th May 2019
Series: The Hallmaster's New Wife

Characters: Thayde, Enamra, H'riv, Aydramine
Description: Two of Thayde's siblings show up unexpectedly to meet his bride.
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 11, day 6 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Jylanya

Thayde

Enamra

"I remember now why I prefer the sea over the air," Aydramine groaned
as H'riv lowered her to the ground.

"Wimp," the brownrider snorted, following his sister down with a nimble leap.
Aydramine made a face behind H'riv's back.

"I saw that."

The dolphineer rolled her eyes. "Where is Thayde?"

"The two times I've visited him here he's been in the infirmary
working. I suppose we can try there first." H'riv thumped Uuketh's
flank as he turned and walked with his sister. They drew stares, an
unfamiliar dolphineer, and a foreign dragonrider, but they were on a
mission and did not stop until they reached the cavern that housed the
infirmary.

"Master Thayde's not here. You might try his quarters in the Hall." An
apprentice told them, to their dismay.

"Come on, I think I remember the way," H'riv grumbled.

--

Enamra stared at the checkered board, the tip of her tongue poking
through her lips as she thought. Thayde had introduced her to the game
and she found that she was actually good at it. She studied the
placement of his dark wooden disks, then at the placement of her own.
With a grin, she moved, her pale wooden disk hopping over one of his
men, capturing it without leaving herself open. She snatched up his
disk, added it to her steadily growing pile, then looked up, eyes
gleaming. "Gotcha."

Thayde's eyebrows lifted. How had he not predicted that movement? "The
kitten has claws after all," he teased with a grin as he studied the
board for his next movement. He held a finger on one of his pieces as
he debated his move. He couldn't see a way that he wouldn't lose at
least one of his pieces in this next move, which meant he would have
to sacrifice one, perhaps lure Enamra's piece into a trap. "Your
move," he said as he slid his disk into place.

"Mew." Enamra grinned, then studied the board again, her eyes darting
from piece to piece. She stuck the tip of her thumb in her
mouth, sucking lightly at the tip as her eyes narrowed. She paused,
then slid a piece into place, not taking his disk, but not allowing
him a move either.

Thayde's jaw dropped as he watched the move she executed. "Well,
you've done it. I can't move any of my pieces." His eyes narrowed
playfully. "You cheated. You've acted all innocent but you've played
before."

She beamed at him. "No, actually. Not until you taught me. Does that
mean I win again?" Preparing to wipe the board clean of the disks,
she was startled by an unexpected knock on the door. Her eyes went to
her husband. "Where you expecting company?"

"I wasn't," Thayde admitted as he rose. He pivoted and turned to drop
a kiss to the top of Enamra's head. "A kiss for the victor." The first
few times they'd played he'd 'taken it easy on her' but she had caught
on a lot faster than he'd anticipated and by the end, she was truly
trouncing him. He had worried that teaching her checkers would go as
well as her learning to read, but it seemed that she was a natural at
it.

Swinging the door open, and expecting to find an apprentice, Thayde's
eyes widened when he came face to face with his brother instead.

"H'riv?"

The brownrider, who was about Thayde's height but thicker in the chest
and shoulders, boomed out a laugh and wrapped his arms around the
dolphineer. "Little brother," he slapped Thayde on the back.

Thayde couldn't help but share in H'riv's laugh, although his eyebrows
raised as he was pulled into the hug. Over H'riv's shoulder he could
see one of his sisters. "Aydramine? You too?"

Aydramine's hands were on her hips. "Yes, me too. Are you going to
invite us in?"

"As soon as H'riv releases me," he wheezed.

H'riv loosened his hold and Thayde hugged Aydramine as well before
stepping aside. "Come in," he said. "What brings you here?"

Aydramine bristled. "As if you don't know. You get married and don't
even have the decency to invite your family?"

Thayde looked a little chagrined, but the mention of his marriage made
him remember his manners. "Enamra," he turned back to her, "come and
meet my brother and sister."

Enamra watched with slightly parted lips, surprised at the exuberance
of the greetings between Thayde and the strangers. His siblings? He's
spoken of them, but she'd not thought of them coming here, especially
since he'd said they lived up north. She rose quickly, glad that she'd
chosen one of her new dresses this morning. Nervously, she approached,
glancing at Thayde before giving a curtsy. "Hello."

While Enamra was looking down with her curtsy, Aydramine shot Thayde a
wide-eyed look, which he knew immediately was a reaction to Enamra's
age. He would be lucky if Aydramine didn't give him a black eye later
before she left. H'riv hid his surprise the most, possibly because
he'd lived at the Weyr for Turns and had practice with handling
unusual situations.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," H'riv captured her hand and pressed his
fingers to her knuckles.

"When mother said you'd gotten married we didn't believe her,"
Aydramine admitted before pulling Enamra into a sisterly hug. "Welcome
to the family, dear."

"There wasn't much time to tell everyone," Thayde admitted, which
resulted in Aydramine and H'riv both looking toward Enamra's abdomen.
"She's not pregnant," he said flatly, knowing what they were thinking.

"It's nice to meet both of you." The hug wasn't expected, but Enamra
returned it, though a bit awkwardly. "It was kind of hurried." At the
assumption, she flushed, her hands going to her belly. "No, I'm not.
Thayde's a good man. He married me to help me." Her cheeks flushed.
"I'm sorry you weren't able to come. But he's told me all about his
family." Remember her what she was supposed to do, she stepped back.
"Please come in and have a seat." She hurried to the small cooking
fire and set the kettle on to boil. "I'll make tea."

"Good man," Aydramine humphed beneath her breath, poking Thayde
sharply in the ribs.

"Yes, believe it or not," he laughed, tugging on Aydramine's braid.

H'riv looked around the quarters. "It certainly looks better in here.
You needed a woman's touch," he said with approval.

"I do my best to keep it clean and tidy." She moved to quickly pull
cups out of the cupboard, then picked up the game board to move it out
of the way. She offered a bit more of a smile and it was warmer.
"He's taking care of me, so it's my job to take care of him." She
placed the cups on the table, then moved to the cold storage cabinet
to pull out cheese. Her movements were quick, precise and more
practiced than they first had been. "You're our first real company. "

Aydramine's eyes were lit with a blazing fire when Enamra said it was
her "job to take care of" Thayde. **Definitely getting a black eye
later,** Thayde told himself. He could tell by his sister's thinly
pursed lips that she was doing everything within her power not to say
something contradictory to Enamra's statement...

Last updated on the June 15th 2019

[Prev: Unwelcome News] Series: The Hallmaster's New Wife [Next: Family Affairs (2/2)]

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Family Affairs