Take Your Opportunity

Writers: Heather, Miriah
Date Posted: 10th December 2020

Characters: Enamra, Aydrisia
Description: Aydrisia gives Enamra some advice that will not make Thayde happy
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 8, day 16 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Thayde, Jalodwyn, H'riv, Gyllie

Enamra

Aydrisia let herself into Thayde and Enamra's quarters when no one
answered the knock. Glancing at the timepiece on the wall and
remembering apprentice schedules as she did, the Master Dolphineer set
herself about readying some snacks and putting some tea on while she
waited for her daughter-in-law to get home.

Enamra opened the door with an armful of hides, looking tired and a
bit overwhelmed. She felt as though the instructors were trying to
stuff her brain full of information that she didn't quite understand
and it took her so looking to read through everything that she always
felt behind. Not seeing Aydrissa at first, she began to walk to the
office Thayde had set up for her, looked up at the table and gave a
shriek of surprise, the hides flying out of her arms to scatter over
the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear, I didn't mean to startle you," Aydrisia said,
leaving her chair to help pick up the things from the floor.

"I'm so sorry, Aydrisia." Enamra hurried to help her. "Thayde didn't
tell me to expect you. I would have had something ready for you." She
picked up her hides with help, then stacked them quickly on the table.

"Oh, I surprised him, too." Aydrisia said as she gestured toward the
table. "I know you are in apprentice classes now so I thought you
might be ready for a snack and some tea when you got in."

"Thank you." Enamra saw the tea and snacks and felt a flash of real
affection for Thayde's mother. She knew exactly what she might need.
"A snack tea does sound very good right now. But I can't take too
long. I have to cook Thayde's supper before I start to study." She
sat, pushing the hides to the side.

"Nonsense," Aydrisia waved her hand, "I will fix you both a meal
before I go, that way you can rest your feet a bit before you tackle
your studying. Sit, eat, I want to catch up with you. It's been a
while since we celebrated your birthingday."

"That would be very nice of you. Thank you, Aydrisia." She poured a
cup of tea for herself and the other woman, then picked up a small
cracker. "Well, obviously you know I've apprenticed."

"Yes, Thayde told us in his letter. The first few months of
apprenticeship are difficult. It's been Turns but I still remember
that." Aydrisia smiled kindly.

"I don't read or write very well, so it's a little harder. Most of the
others are much younger than me. Children. I knew it would be like
that, but, most of their parents are dolphineers too, so they're
already ahead of me."

"I know it feels like that now, but as you go and new material is
introduced, it will level the playing field and you'll find yourself
at the same place as the other apprentices. Trust me, I've taught
plenty of apprentice classes and after a few months I couldn't tell
the ones who came from dolphineer families and those who didn't."

Enamra breathed a sigh of relief. "It sounds horrible, but that's good
to hear. I feel so silly sometimes. I'm the only married one in our
classes. They go to their barracks after lessons and I come here."

"That must be difficult on you, trying to be a wife and apprentice."
Ayridisa said.

Nodding, Enamra nibbled at her cracker. "It is. I don't have as many
chores as they do, but I have different responsibilities." She sighed,
then put down the cracker. "I wonder sometimes if I should have even
started." Her shoulders fell a little.

"Why did you? Decide to apprentice, I mean?" she asked.

Her brow knit. "I thought it might be something I would be good at. I
love to swim and I love the dolphins. Perhaps, I thought I could
understand Thayde a little better if I did. He's so much more educated
than me." Her smile was a little sad. "But, maybe it was just a silly
thought. I was Searched." She looked up Aydrisia. "and Thayde wanted
me to go to the Weyr. So, I thought..." She shook her head. "I thought
this would be better."

Aydrisia thought of what Thayde had said about his fear of Enamra
going to the Weyr. "Did he say he wanted you to go? Or is that just
what you feel he wanted?"

"He said he thought it would be a good opportunity for me and I could
try and see if I liked it." And now, it seemed, there was a reason
behind it. Maybe it would be better if she did go. He could be with
Jalodwyn and their daughter. She was close to his age and she'd given
him a child, something she knew he wanted, despite his protests.
"Maybe I should."

"Maybe," Aydrisia murmured. "Thayde told me about the baby you lost."

Enamra bowed her head, her eyes moistening as she nodded. "Yes. It
was an accident."

"Miscarriages, though awful, are fairly common," Aydrisia said,
reaching out to place her hand on Enamra's. "I have five children,
Enamra, and three miscarriages scattered between them. Are you hoping
to be pregnant again?"

Lightly gripping the hand that laid on hers, Enamra nodded again.
"We've been trying, but Thayde's been..." She tried to speak
delicately, "distracted lately."

Aydrisia studied the younger woman's face. "What about you, Enamra?
Have you been ... open... to his attention? I know if Thavior had
another child and woman, I would probably have snatched him bald and
still be withholding from him in the bedroom."

Her gaze shot upwards and eyes widened. "He told you?" Her face paled
and she couldn't help the stinging in her eyes as she blinked back
sudden tears. "I didn't know that you knew. I..." She licked her
lips. "I've never refused Thayde. I'm his wife."

"It was actually H'riv and a friend of his that let it slip," Aydrisia
lips pursed at the thought of Gyllie. "Enamra, not refusing your
husband and being _inviting_ of his attention are very different."

H'riv? Again? Enamra frowned and pulled her hand away, now
uncomfortable. Thayde had always initiated their lovemaking, she'd
never had to do much more than be there for him to show interest, at
least until lately. And now that she saw Jalodwyn every day it was
hard not to be mad at him or remember how painful discovering it had
been. "If you had to see the woman that your husband decided to sleep
with and get pregnant everyday, would you be inviting?"

"If I had accepted his apology, then I would have to be, otherwise he
might quit trying to get in my bed." Aydrisia's mind went back to some
of the spats she and Thavior'd had over the Turns. Thavior had spent
plenty of nights on the couch at different points of their marriage.
"You said that he'd been 'distracted' lately... Sometimes men are
stupid, dear, and you have to get their attention."

"Thayde's not stupid," she interjected quickly, defending her husband
on impulse, then quieted. Did she want to invite him right now? What
else could she do? She mulled over Aydrisia's words. Did she want to
give him up to Jalodwyn? She loved Thayde and he said he loved her.
What kind of wife would she be if she just gave up? He was _hers_
wasn't he? A hint of stubbornness appeared, firming her jaw. "Well,
maybe sometimes he is."

Aydrisia smiled a little. "Good," she said, as if that were settled.
"Now let's revisit this whole being Searched thing," her eyes lit with
excitement. "Not just anyone is Searched, you know. On Hatching Day
there might be a little dragon on the Sands looking for you. If you
weren't married, would it be something you would consider doing?"

Enamra looked up, surprised at the excitement in the other woman's
eyes. "I know it's very special. I adore H'riv's brown. Uuketh is so
gentle and sweet." She sucked in her lower lip; she knew the answer
immediately. "If I wasn't married, I'd be a drudge, Aydrisia
and...yes, I'd go. Even though I'm afraid of Thread and fighting, "
She sighed, "I'd want to try. But I _am_ married now."

"Sweetheart, you are sixteen, and up until now all of your decisions
in life have been made for you. This is one time where you can explore
your own options, without fear of reprisal. Everyone deserves such a
chance, even you, even if you are married."

"But if I Impress, our marriage will be over." There, she said it.
"I'll lose him."

"A marriage is a piece of paper. You might not be his wife in title,
but that doesn't mean that you would lose him." Aydrisia's eyes
softened. "And sometimes, as hard as it is, just like with a garden,
things have to be pruned before something new and beautiful can grow."

Enamra fell into a silence, considering what Aydrisia had said. Slowly
she reached out to grip the older woman's hand. "If you were me...what
would you do? Would you leave?"

It was a serious question, but Aydrisia had never been afraid of
serious answers. "I would go to the Weyr and see if I liked it, see if
it was for me."

To make her own decisions, to leave Thayde even for a short time and
go to somewhere completely new was a frightening, but exciting
thought. What would it be like, she wondered? Would she hate it? Would
she love it? Was it possible that she would have a dragon of her own?
"I think..." She caught her breath, amazed that she was about to say
what she was. "I think maybe I should go. Maybe you and Thayde are
right. Maybe I need to at least try."

Last updated on the January 13th 2021

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Take Your Opportunity