Did You Hear?

Writers: Yvonne
Date Posted: 24th August 2020

Characters: Elana, Sellimere
Description: Elana and Sellimere gossip over laundry
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 2, day 27 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Jayala, Vestian, Alina, Corowal

"Did you hear the news from the Harper Hall?" Sellimere leaned across the laundry line, her eyes sparkling. "Master Vestian named a woman as his Hallsecond!"

"No!" Elana glanced over her shoulder, then leaned toward Sellimere. The other drudge might have been a total bore but she certainly had the best gossip. "That can't be right. Women aren't Harpers!"

"You haven't seen Master Jayala?" Sellimere blinked in surprise. "She sometimes plays at Turn's End celebrations. I'm surprised that she got promoted but I'm not _that_ surprised that Master Vestian gave her the knots, to be honest. I heard a rumor that they were considering her for Hallsecond under Master Almonteo too."

A woman Harper… for a moment Elana felt a flash of envy so intense she thought she might scream. Harpers were influential. They were _important_. Harpers spoke with Lords and Weyrleaders and got to make decisions about things that mattered. Never mind that she had zero talent for music or art, and the only reason she'd escaped extra Harper classes was because she'd cheated off her twin sister-- Elana wanted to be a harper. "How… how did she get harper training, anyway? I thought women couldn't apprentice."

Sellimere shrugged and bent to pin another pillowcase on the line. "Oh, well, some do at the Weyrs, you know. But then you'd have to be at a _Weyr_." She wrinkled her nose. "Even if I could apprentice, I wouldn't go to a Weyr to do it. What if I accidentally Impressed a dragon?"

Given what Elana knew of Sellimere's history, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. "If you could apprentice, what would you apprentice as?"

Sellimere paused, her hands full of damp laundry. "I don't know. Maybe… oh, maybe Healing. But only the part where you grow herbs and things, and not the part where you have to set broken legs or deal with blood."

Elana laughed. Even if Sellimere was as interesting as the wet laundry she was holding, at least she knew her limitations. "Or sewing people up-- how disgusting is that!"

"I much prefer laundry," Sellimere said with a smile. "What about you?"

It was Elana's turn to pause. The wind picked up and gusted down the rows of sheets, sending them flapping and tugging at the strands of bright red hair that had escaped from underneath Elana's sunhat. For so long her only goal had been to foster here at Emerald Falls Hold, but now that she _was_ here she was starting to chafe against her new life. The errant breeze helped to cool her envy enough that she could reply without sounding choked. "Maybe… I like to think that I'd be a harper. I wish I was a harper."

"I think you'd do better at the Weaver Hall," Sellimere said. She pinned another pillowcase on the line. "You embroider so beautifully and your stitches are practically invisible. No wonder you do the mending for the Lord Holder's children."

"What I'd really like is to be able to sew for the Lord Holder's wife, once he remarries. Think of the gowns…" Elana sighed, her mind flitting away from impossible Harper blue to a rainbow of fine silks and satins.

"Fancy gather gowns are only fun until you have to wash them. Honestly, I am perfectly happy without having to deal with a Lady Holder's fine things. I remember how often we got yelled at by the Headwoman for being too rough with some of the fabrics the Lady wore. And oh my… you should have seen some of the things she wore _under_ her gowns!" Sellimere said merrily.

Elana grinned. "Ha! So much for being proper. Maybe they're a pain to wash, but wouldn't it be nice to wear silks like that…?"

"Well.. don't tell anyone, but I might be sewing myself something for under _my_ gown for when Redmin and I get married," Sellimere confessed. "Although I am terrified that I might leave them out and someone might find them. It's one thing for a Lady to wear things like that under her skirts, but someone like me…?"

Elana filed that away for future reference. "You think Redmin will propose?"

"Mmm." Sellimere smiled slyly and didn't answer the question. "How come you're not stepping out with anyone, Elana?"

Now _that_ was a good question indeed. Elana ducked behind a sheet to pretend to pick up more laundry, hoping that Sellimere sense how much that question stung. She'd been here _months_. "Oh, you know how it goes," Elana said lightly. "I just haven't met the right person."

"You will! It took me aaaaages to find Redmin, but it was worth the wait. He's so kind, and smart too. And handsome! I think he's so handsome. And I love the way he listens to me, like everything I have to say is so important…"

It was here that Elana tuned Sellimere out. Her friend could talk for candlemarks about Redmin, and if she didn't ignore her Elana would probably puke on the hem of her gown. It wasn't fair that someone like Sellimere was seeing someone with a real future, like Redmin. It wasn't fair that she didn't get to wear satin gowns or silky underthings. It wasn't fair that she wasn't a harper. It wasn't _fair_, and Elana was tired of being patient.

She just wished she knew what to do about it.

Last updated on the September 29th 2020

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Did You Hear?