A Pleasant Way To Pass The Time

Writers: Eimi, Yvonne
Date Posted: 9th May 2008

Characters: Thalia, Penryn
Description: Thalia's boredom enlivens Penryn's evening
Location: Garnet Valley Hold
Date: month 9, day 26 of Turn 4

Penryn frowned, rubbing absently at his sore knee. The discomfort was shoved to the back of his mind out of practice, but it was just one more annoyance in an already frustrating day. Perhaps that was why he groaned a less than inviting "What is it?" to whoever it was pounding on his door. It seemed to echo the throbbing in his knee and pulsing of his head.

"Just me!" Thalia said lightly. She breezed into Penryn's office and sat down on the chair opposite, smiling obliviously. "I just had the most brilliant idea, and I absolutely _had_ to tell someone. I hope you don't mind-- I haven't interrupted you, have I?"

Penryn just stared dumb-founded at the Lady for a moment. This burst of sudden enthusiasm that had found it's way into his office was so random and unexpected, it completely slapped all the negative thoughts he had just been thinking straight out of his head, and he was left momentarily speechless. Leave it to Thalia to know just when he needed a break. He couldn't help the smile that slowly began to spread across his face. "No, I don't mind."

"Oh, good!" Thalia said in relief, letting go of a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "Well, it's sort of silly, but I was thinking... wouldn't it be nice to divert part of the nearby creek to run past the Hold? It would be so nice to hear running water during the day... well, I know it's terribly impractical, but wouldn't it be lovely? I could have a little bridge in my garden. There was one at Topaz Sea Hold, in one of _their_ gardens... I'd imagine it's gone now, but it was no bigger than a table, and there was this little path that ran over it..." Thalia trailed off, then suddenly realized how much she'd been talking. "Oh dear, I'm talking rather a lot, aren't I?"

"No, you're not talking too much." He found the sound of her voice much more appealing than the scortching hidework he had been wrapped up in all day. "I think it would be lovely." Though highly impractical and certainly not top on the list of priorities. Diverting a creek and building a small bridge were no small tasks. But he didn't want to break that to her yet. She looked so happy, and her smile seemed to make his day seem a lot less dull and fruitless. "I wish I could have seen that garden."

"You know, I'm scared to go back. I think it would break my heart,"
Thalia said quietly. Penryn's smile faded as he looked at the serious expression on her face.
"They're already trying to rebuild the Hold. I'm sure they won't let such a beautiful garden go to waste."

"Why would you work on a garden when there are roofs to be fixed and cots to rebuild? It's rather impractical... but thank you all the same."
Thalia managed to summon up a small smile. "At least Topaz Sea Hold remains. Amethyst Cliff Hold wasn't nearly as lucky."

It bothered him that she was thinking such negative thoughts all of a sudden. "I think a creek would be perfect in your garden," he said, hoping pull a smile out of her and make her forget all those sad thoughts.

"Do you think so?" Thalia smiled again and got a far-away look in her eyes. "Maybe some day... before Aslian gets too much older. I'd love it if he could play there. Catch frogs and the like - the things that boys do."

"Maybe he and Bryalen can play in the garden together," Penryn suggested, pleased that the sparkle had returned to her eye.

"Where did you play as a child?"

"Me? I was usually hanging around the training grounds, watching the guards go through their drills and playing guards and thieves with my friends." It all seemed so long ago. "My father even gave me a wooden sword for one of my birthing days, and I'd carry it around with me while we marched around in circles. I was probably a ridiculous sight."

Thalia smiled as she tried to imagine a young Penryn, and failed. "I'd imagine you were adorable rather than ridiculous. One of my brothers was the same. He had this awful wooden sword that he'd whack anything that moved with."

"And you found that adorable?" Penryn asked, an eyebrow arching suspiciously.

"Well... not entirely..." The Lady sighed. "I'm raising a boy, and I honestly have no understanding of what goes on in his little head. I played with dolls and dug around in my mother's garden. Aslian is more interested in breaking things, apparently."

"Breaking things already?" The steward chuckled. He was a boy indeed. "Well, it could also be the age. Luckily Bryalen still enjoys just drooling on them."

"Just wait until he's mobile. Then you and Ryalane will have a challenge on your hands!" Thalia quieted a little as she spoke Penryn's wife's name. "I... suppose that I'm keeping you from them."

Penryn tried to keep his smile in place as he thought best how to answer that question. He had found Ryalane crying in their quarters, her son sitting at her feet in an equally hysterical state, and had thought it best to take the boy to a milk mother's while he dug into another pile of hidework. The steward had learned months before that it was better if he was not home when Ryalane was like that. How could he comfort a woman he could not touch? His presence only seemed to make things worse for her - adding guilt to her sorrow. But Thalia didn't know. She shouldn't know. If he told her, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from pouring it all out to her, and it was not her problem. "I... am not expected yet."

"Oh." That was puzzling - it was well after the evening meal. "Well, if you are not expected at home as of yet, would you have the time to indulge me in a game of cribbage?"

"I suppose I could," he smiled, thinking that sounded like a very pleasant way to pass the time. "As long as you are kinder to me than the last time we played."

Thalia wrinkled her nose. "But what's the fun in that?"

Last updated on the May 18th 2008

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

A Pleasant Way To Pass The Time