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Writers: Heather, Miriah
Date Posted: 3rd December 2020
Series: The Hallmaster's Ladies

Characters: Enamra, Thayde
Description: Enamra and Thayde discuss Candidacy
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 7, day 19 of Turn 10
Notes: Follows "DCW-DH: I Didn't Know"

Enamra

Thayde

Enamra felt jittery the entire day after the incident at the beach
with S'pel. She struggled to put it behind her, to just forget about
what he'd said. **A rider. Searched. I can't do that. I can't go to
the Weyr. I'm married!** She could admit, though that she felt almost
wistful about the prospect, until she remembered what she'd have to do
if she did Impress. Fight Thread. The thought terrified her and put a
complete halt to even the smallest thought of accepting. She had Bolo
and he was more than enough, she told herself firmly.

She readied the dinner of steamed oysters and vegetables, a small
plate set out for her and Thayde. She didn't want to tell him about
what happened. What would he say? Would he want her to go? It wasn't
far away. What would happen to them if she did have to go?

The door to their quarters swung open and Thayde stepped in. Today he
was dressed like a Hallmaster in a tailored tunic and breeches, his
hair pulled back and tied at the back of his neck. It was an extreme
departure from how he liked to dress - in some form of shorts, an open
shirt, and his sandals, but it was the attire that the job sometimes
called for when there were visitors.

He took a deep inhale, savoring the smell of the food as he dropped a
couple of books and a few hides on the couch and then circled back
around to the dining area. "This smells amazing," he said, greeting
his wife as he circled his arms around her from behind and pressed a
kiss to her neck.

Enamra relaxed in his embrace, leaning back against him, with a
smile. _This_ was where she belonged. "Thank you. You look very
nice. Official things today I guess?" Though he did look very
handsome in his official attire, she much preferred him in his usual
clothes. "You might want to change before supper, though. I'd hate
for oyster juice to spot your tunic."

"Oysters, hm?" he growled suggestively, before giving her bottom a
playful pat. "I'll go change." He left her, stripping off clothing as
he walked to their bedroom.

His pat brought a soft giggle. "You don't need any help, but a little
boost never hurt." She responded playfully as she set out the plates
and began to serve his plate, then her own. "So what was so important
today, Thayde? Was a Lord Holder visiting or something?"

"No, but we did have a couple of dragonriders down on official Search
for Candidates." Thayde said as he sat and lifted his water glass to
his lips. "The hallbrats always love it when the dragons show up."

Enamra went still, not immediately sitting before clearing her throat.
"Oh yes...uhm...Embly and Roblyna got to see them." She quickly tucked
a piece of hair behind her ears, cheeks flushing just a little.
Hurriedly sitting, she began tucking vegetables quickly onto her
plate. "Did they come and talk to you?"

"Yes, one of them, the male dragonrider, was a little strange, I
thought. He kept looking at me as though I had an extra head growing
out of my neck." Thayde shrugged a little. "I ended up approving for
them to take two Candidates, one an apprentice, and the other a
journeywoman, which is a slight inconvenience because she had the
potential as a great instructor."

Paling just a little, Enamra swallowed hard. "Oh... so he didn't..."
she cleared her throat quickly, fiddling with her oyster knife in her
hand as her words rushed out." Well, that's good. I mean, for the
next clutch, right?" She'd never been able to lie very well, or keep
things from Thayde, and it showed as she quickly stuffed a mouthful of
vegetables into her mouth.

Thayde froze, hand on his fork, as he studied his wife's face. What
had she said? That Roblyna and Embly had met the dragonriders? "You
met the dragonriders too, then?" he said, piecing it together. "Were
they nice to you?" His tone instantly became protective.

She looked at him, startled by the tone in his voice, but it took a
moment for her to chew the food stuffed in her cheeks. So, instead she
quickly nodded before making an effort to swallow. "Oh...he was very
nice." She couldn't meet his gaze for long and looked down at her
plate. Enamra shifted in her seat, the words bubbling out of her mouth
before she could stop them. "He said I should go to the Weyr. To Stand
for the clutch." She glanced up at Thadye and quickly spoke again.
"But I said no."

The Hallmaster blinked a few times at his wife as silence settled
between them. **Searched?** It was a possibility that Thayde had never
considered once he and Enamra had really decided to make their
marriage a real one - not just a formality. He had waited so long to
consummate their marriage because of her age, because he didn't want
to hem her in when she had so many possibilities for her life and
future.

"Did you say no because of me?" he asked.

She didn't know what to make of his expression. Was he happy? Upset?
Angry? She couldn't read him at that moment, but his question
surprised her. "What? Well, yes, but I don't want to fly Thread
either. It's scary and I'm married to you and I like dragons, but I'm
happy with Bolo too. It means I'd have to leave and I don't want to
leave you. We wouldn't be married anymore if I Impressed. I don't want
that. You're my husband and...I want to have babies with you and love
you."

Thayde wanted those things too, but he also wanted to give Enamra
every opportunity on Pern that she had never had access to before. "I
want to be your husband and I would love to see you have my babies,"
his expression softened a little, "but you're sixteen. When I was
sixteen I had the decision of whether I wanted to be a dolphineer or
not, or whether I wanted to do something else. I had the freedom to
explore different options and see what I really wanted for my future.
I just want you to have that same freedom." He pushed an oyster across
his plate before looking back up at her. "If you want to go to the
Weyr, be a Candidate, and try it out, you can. The Weyr is within
walking distance, we could still see each other often."

"But you _are_ my husband! I'm your wife! I don't care how old I am!"
Enamra protested, now clearly distressed. "I...I made vows and I sleep
with you every night and I make your dinner and clean and..." She put
down her fork, biting her lower lip. "If I Impress, then we won't be
married anymore! I don't want that. I love you. And I'll have to sleep
away from you and maybe let other men..." She shook her head. "No. I
can't do that. I made a promise to you."

"A piece of parchment doesn't make you my wife, not in my heart,
Enamra." A part of Thayde was very relieved that Enamra seemed to have
no desire to go because he certainly had no desire to lose her. He
didn't doubt that it would be difficult if she were to go to the Weyr,
but if it was something that ultimately brought her happiness, he
would do it.

She stared at him. "Do...do you want me to go?"

"I would love nothing more than to keep you chained to our bed," a
little smile broke across his lips. "But... this could be an
opportunity for you to just try out being a Candidate and see what you
think. If you hate it you can come back, I'm not going anywhere."

But he might. What would happen if she did Impress? She'd have to fly
Thread. Her marriage would be over. She'd have to leave him
permanently. "I don't understand why you're not angry and why you'd
want me to do this." Hurt layered her words. Had he gotten tired of
her? What about having babies? "Thayde...it's like...you're wanting to
let me go."

Thayde came around the table and knelt by his wife's chair as he took
her hand. "Of course I'm not wanting to let you go, sweetheart. I just
don't want you to wake up when you are thirty and wish you had done
something besides be my wife."

She clung to his hand and spoke softly. "I don't want to go to the
Weyr, Thayde. I'm happy here. Really happy. I don't want to risk
giving that up. Not for anything. I love being your wife." She took a
breath. "I thought about maybe..." She shifted in her seat,"..becoming
a dolphineer. If I maybe could apprentice since I'm getting better at
reading. I was going to talk to you about it and see if you thought it
would be okay."

A smile broke across his face. "I think apprenticing is a great idea.
I want you to choose the things that make you happy and do them."

Relief filtered through her and her shoulders relaxed. She wouldn't go
to the Weyr, no matter what the Searchrider said or did. Enamra smiled
and then bent to wrap her arms around her husband's neck to press her
cheek against his. "I want to try. I know it's going to be hard work,
but I think I can do it. And...I want to really help you with more
than just home stuff. I want you to be proud of me too."

"I am proud of you," Thayde insisted. "Come to think of it.... That's
probably why that dragonrider was looking at me so funny. He'd met my
wife and was wondering how someone like me got lucky enough to have a
wife like you."

That brought a soft laugh and a relieved kiss on his cheek.

Last updated on the December 7th 2020

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