Rumor and Gossip

Writers: Yvonne
Date Posted: 31st December 2019

Characters: Elana, Gibella
Description: Elana asks the right questions
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 1, day 15 of Turn 10

"So _I_ heard a rumor," Elana said as she put the basket of mending down in the laundry. She glanced sideways at where the head seamstress was, then turned back to Gibella, who was the biggest gossip in all the laundry. "Do you know Sellimere?"

Gibella nodded. She'd done her shining brown hair up in a bun today, but little wisps had worked their way free to frame her round face and they bobbed fetchingly around her ears as she leaned forward. "She's such a sweetheart! Why, did you hear something about her?"

Elana nodded and leaned closer, leaning on the table between herself and Gibella. "I heard she's seeing someone."

Gibella's eyes went wide. "Oh! No way. Good for her. After what happened, I hadn't thought… but then, she _is_ such a sweetie, I knew that her time would come! Do tell. Who is it?"

**After what happened?** That was interesting. Elana curved her lips into a smile. "You forget that I'm new here. What's Sellimere's story?"

"Well, I shouldn't say… it happened a long time ago." Gibella sighed and rested her chin on her hand and her expression went a bit dreamy. "Three turns ago now? Maybe four? I can't remember. Anyway, she was seeing this young man who lived in a cothold about a day away. I can't remember his name. I think his family worked in an orchard. They'd been exchanging letters for a while, and then one restday they were discovered _without clothes_ behind a haystack!" Gibella shivered delightedly. "Carnally rustic, although personally the idea of lolling about on a blanket with my skin exposed to all sorts of creepy crawlies-- I'm made of finer stuff, I tell you!"

**Oh Sellimere!** Elana shook her head, both amused and not surprised. Sellimere was pretty and not all that smart. But this wasn't pre-Plague Pern anymore. People _cared_ if you canoodled before marriage. A lady's reputation was the most important thing she owned. "So what happened then?"

"Oh, it was a big scandal. Sellimere's family tried to marry her off to this man, but _his_ family was having none of it. Apparently he'd been promised to another girl and his family had no desire to have him wed Sellimere anyway. Have you heard about her mother?"

There was more!? Elana shook her head.

"Well." Gibella leaned a little closer, her eyes glinting wickedly. "Just after Sellimere was born, her mother ran off to the Weyr, abandoning her family! And _then_ she Impressed a green dragon! I know it's supposed to be a great honour to have dragonriders in the family, especially now that Thread's here, but I _also_ hear that if one family member Impresses, the chances of more Impressing are high. So Sellimere's children will probably get snatched off to the Weyr if she's not careful. And who knows-- maybe running off to the Weyr runs in families too."

Elana ignored the part about greenriders, although it made her glad of her choice to keep quiet about her greenriding twin. "Well, _I_ heard that she's seeing Redmin."

"No!" Gibella gasped, then clapped her hand over her mouth. "Seriously? Good for her. He's such a nice man, but oh, Ambra isn't going to like this one bit!"

That niggling idea that had come to Elana while she was searching for the ring in Sellimere's room became a bit clearer. "Oh really? Why not?"

"Why, her reputation of course!" Gibella giggled. "She has said in the past that she hopes that Redmin marries well, so that _she_ can get a good match herself. Redmin's the star of their family, after all. I mean, I'd heard a rumor that he was exchanging letters with a fosterling from Topaz Sea Hold who is a cousin or second cousin or something of the family. If he married her, then Ambra would have a better chance of marrying someone important. At least, that's what _she_ thinks."

"Well, isn't that interesting!" Elana said brightly. "I bet you're right-- Ambra won't like that at all."

"She'll come around if Redmin does end up courting Sellimere," Gibella said confidently. "Sellimere is such a sweetie, and that incident in the haystack happened so long ago. Who even remembers it these days?"

Elana laughed. A story like that would likely follow Sellimere around for the rest of her days! **Silly thing!** Still, the chat with Gibella had given her an idea. She stuck around long enough to hear the afternoon's gossip, then left the laundry with its chattering ladies behind.

Last updated on the January 4th 2020

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Rumor and Gossip