Strangers In A Strange Land

Writers: AL, Vix
Date Posted: 25th June 2008

Characters: Tanas, Marida
Description: Tanas and Marida try to figure out what to do together after dinner.
Location: Garnet Valley Hold
Date: month 10, day 1 of Turn 4

Marida was just shutting the top of her trunk when she heard Tanas opening the door. She glanced back, the lid secure, her treasures hidden within. She rubbed her hands upon her apron, then made her way into the main area, smiling slightly at her new husband at his return. "Hello..." Dear? Her mother called her father that, but it seemed such an odd thing to say to Tanas, "Tanas." She turned to the stove as she spoke, the smell of meat mingling with spices and sweet greeting the weaver. "Did you have a good day?"

"Not really," was his reply as he shut the door behind him. He had been trying out some new dyes, experimenting with mixtures of plant leaves and none of them had turned out as he hoped. He had left his workshop with a headache from the heat of the vats and the odors the materials within them had produced. Then he had started for home, forgetting that he now lived in one of the cots until he was almost back to his old room in the Hold. He was now tired, hot, and not in a good mood.

"Oh..." That had not been the greeting that Marida had hoped. "I'm sorry." She stood there a moment, hands playing at one another, then finally stepped forward, a hand reaching out to him. "Dinner is ready. I'll put your coat away...if you like."

He became aware of the aroma within the cot – far different from that in his workshop and reminding him that he was quite hungry. "Fine." He handed it to her and looked around the room critically. All was quite clean, no dishes dirtied except those upon the stove, the table set for two, the floor and furniture surfaces dust free.

Marida looked down as she took the coat, then turned and disappeared into their bedroom. She hung it in the wardrobe and made her back to the other room and into the kitchen area. "Sit down. I'll bring you a plate." She offered softly.

All of this felt wrong to him. Yes, he was accustomed to being served his dinner – in the anonymous comfort of the Hold dining hall, not here, in what was now his "home." The place was comfortable enough, pleasant enough, but it still did not feel like it was his. Still, he had married this woman, doing what was expected of him, wedding her, then bedding her, and now living with her. He sat in his chair, the chair that he had used that morning for breakfast and that he assumed would be his chair from now on, and waited for her to bring him his meal.

The sound of the gentle clattering of dishes could be heard, then after a moment, went silent. Marida appeared, setting down a plate before Tanas. Poultry had been sauteed with onion, garlic, and lemongrass in some sort of sauce and poured over rivergrains. A thick slice of fresh baked bread sat on the side of the plate as well with a bit of half melted butter on top of it. Marida set down a glass of beer, then turned and went back into the kitchen area, only appear a moment later with a plate for herself and a glass of water. She sat silent, hands in her lap, as if waiting to eat only after Tanas began.

He picked up his fork, slowly, but enticed by the aroma of the meat and the bread. He started slowly, taking a small bite, his breath hissing in to cool it. After that first bite, he blew on the next, but at it eagerly. "Good," he said past a bite of bread, scooping up his next mouthful.

The compliment brought a smile and Marida picked up her fork and began to eat as well. She remained silent, eating slowly, taking sips of her water from time to time, and glancing at her husband out of the corner of her eye occasionally, pleased that her cooking was well received.

He admitted to himself that the food was quite good – as good as what he would have received in the Hold dining room, warmer than by the time it would have reached him at the table, and without having to jostle elbows with anyone else. Perhaps married life did have its advantages.

He cleared his plate and set aside his fork, glancing around the room. "You've kept yourself busy today." Marida nodded slowly as she finished chewing. "Yes." Cooking and cleaning. It wasn't really anything exciting, and she was certain that Tanas wasn't interested. She wasn't about to tell him how she spent the time she had to spare before he got home. "How...how was your day?" Well, he had already said it wasn't good, "I mean...did you get a lot done? Maybe get your fabric dyed?"

He scowled at the reminder. "I tried to mix a new dye but it didn't work out as I'd hoped." "Oh...I'm sorry." Marida went silent for a moment, picking at her food before offering, hopefully. "Maybe you'll have a better time next time."

"Maybe tomorrow." He sat back, the sight of his plate reminding him. "I assume that you've gone shopping? If you can figure out how much you'll need each sevenday for running the household, I'll see that you get it." He remembered something that he had overheard his parents discussing many turns ago. "And a little something for yourself as well." "I didn't need much." Marida admitted softly after finishing another bite of food. Something for herself? The idea made her think about what she could do with a little bit in the way of marks. She could get some more supplies - she was getting a bit low.

He nodded. "Just let me know what you need." He placed his utensils on top of his plate in preparation of clearing the table, then remembered that was his wife's job.

Marida stood and took up his plate, though she wasn't quite done with her plate. She took it and rinsed it, then came back to finish her food. Another few bites and it was done and she went back to fully wash all the dishes. She came back to the table a moment later, rubbing her hands against her apron again, then finally asked, "Would you like me to draw you a bath?"

He had been sitting at the table, avoiding speculation on what he should be doing for the rest of the evening by reviewing his efforts of the day and planning modifications in his techniques that he could use the following day. He _would_ get that color he envisioned, though it was taking longer than he had planned.

Her words startled him, causing him to frown. Bathing? Not something he had seen as a priority, more something that he did when he remembered and had the time. Still, he sniffed and realized that his clothing – and probably his body as well – held the mixed odors of the plant materials he had added to the vats that day, some of them quite pungent. "Uh. . . why not." Marida bobbed her head, then turned and headed into the bathing room. She started the water, tested its temperature, then let it run while she fetched fresh towels for Tanas. When it was done, she went back to her husband. "It's ready for you." She said softly, standing a little off to the side, hands working at one another.

He had waited at the table, wondering exactly what he should do next. He hoped that she did not intend to stay in the room with him as he bathed. They had been intimate, but only in the confines of their bedroom and as expected. That intimacy did not extend to bath times, did it?

Rising from his chair, he nodded as he passed by her and into the bathing room. A curtain covered the doorway between the small chamber and the bedroom, but afforded little real privacy. He hurriedly stripped his clothing from his body, shoving it with his foot so that it was outside the bathing room, before climbing into the tub and submerging himself into the warmed water.

Marida was in no frame of mind to be intimate. In fact, the intimacy hadn't really been...well, it was rather...they weren't close. They weren't even friends. They were just two strangers who happened to be married one another. So as Tanas bathed, she set about finishing the dishes and making sure everything was straight and clean. It was, but she had nothing better to do, and she wanted to avoid the other room until Tanas was clothed again. Finally, she just pulled out a chair, sat, and waited. She supposed she should have a bath as well, but she had let Tanas go first. Hopefully he would be as polite about her privacy as she had been about his.

Was this what married life was supposed to be like? Had her mother and father been like this when they had first gotten married? They loved each other now, Marida knew that. Saw that. Yet, they had been an arranged marriage. Her own mother had insisted to just do her duty and eventually they would learn to love one another. Marida couldn't push away the doubts about that. How could he love her?

His first impulse was to rush through his bath, getting dressed in case she should take it upon herself to enter the bathing room – though why she should do that he had no clue. Instead, the water felt soothing and he submerged himself with a sigh, allowing the warmth to soak his aches and pains away. He surfaced, reached for the sweetsand, and lathered his hair before sinking below the water once more.

He had to admit that he felt much better for a good meal and clean body and that he was enjoying Marida's attentions to him. He had not been expecting the little tasks that she undertook for his comfort. He decided that he would buy something special to reward the girl – and he did consider her to be no more than a girl, though she was only a few years his junior.

His hair now clean, he set to work on his body, scrubbing it thoroughly and then rinsing. He turned up his nose at the film that had gathered on the surface of the tub, residue from his own body's filth and definitely unwelcome. He pulled the plug to drain the water and rose, grabbing one of the clean towels and briskly drying his hair and then his body.

A peek around the curtain told him that the bedroom was empty. He entered thoughtfully, a towel wrapped around his waist. He wondered what he should wear, what constituted acceptable wear for around the house. Finally he settled on a pair of loose-fitting trousers – too loose to wear around his vats and dyes but comfortable at the moment – and a favorite shirt, one that had seen too many dye splatters but still felt soft against his skin. He decided that he could do without shoes and returned to the cot's common room.

His entrance broke Marida out of her reverie and she stood. She glanced up at him, managing a small smile. There was little change, for he had only taken a bath, but even that seemed to help soften his features a bit, make him look less gruff. "Do you need anything else?" She asked softly, "If not, I...I should bathe as well."

"Go right ahead," he told her. He recalled the slight film in the tub and wondered if he should have cleaned up after himself but decided that she could handle it.

Marida stood and made her own way to the bathroom. She cleaned up before running some fresh water for herself. Once the tub was filled, she went back into the kitchen area to put on some water to boil in preparation for making some klah afterwards. It should be done by the time she had finished bathing.

He watched her as she walked back into the room, noting her efficient actions, but saying nothing. After all, what was there to say?

She bathed quickly, not really thinking about the fact that Tanas could walk in at any moment. Once clean, she dressed, then went to check the water. It was boiling and she set about making klah, two mugs worth, one for her, one for her husband. Once it was ready, she set it on the table, calling to him, then sat down herself and sipped.

Married life. It wasn't really exciting. It was pretty much like what she had been doing at home - her old home. Except now, she was alone with her husband in a place without anyone familiar. She had no one to talk to. Before she could talk to her mother, or other women. Here...it was just Tanas. What could they talk about?

He had found his jacket and in its pocket a slip of paper on which he had made notes about that day's experiments. While she was gone, he had jotted down some other ideas. He reached for the klah cup automatically, reminded more by its aroma than her presence.

With a start, he set the cup aside. If he had klah while working, it usually cooled before he had time to taste it, but this was hot. He gave her a quick smile and picked up the cup again, this time sipping at it and savoring the taste. "Not bad." He glanced toward her again. "So. . . what do you usually do with yourself in the evenings?" Marida's hands had started playing at one another again. She glanced over at her husband and shrugged slightly. "Talk with my family. Um. Sometimes, we'd make bread for the next day or work on mending, or play games together." Card cames had been a popular way to pass the time for her and her family. Of course, she would usually retreat to her room and draw, but now she would be unable to do that.

He frowned as he tried to remember what his parents had done in the evenings but had not really paid much attention when young and then had left for his apprenticeship before he had even reached his teen turns. "Games? Were there children about?" "No, we would play them after they were in bed." Marida placed her elbow upon the table and rested her chin in her hand. "Card games and chess. That sort of thing."

"Oh." He remembered the other apprentices at the Weaver Hall and the games that they played in the evenings, but he had not joined in with them, had let his pride stand in the way. "I. . . I never learned any of those games, at least not beyond those I played as a child." Marida cocked her head, regarding her husband in silence for a moment, then offering. "If...if you will let me get a chess board and some cards, I can teach you."

At one point in his life he had convinced himself that he would not enjoy such things, even though the other apprentices had seemed to enjoy themselves. Now, faced with this evening and more to come with this woman, he nodded. "That would be alright." A hint of a smile played over Marida's lips and she nodded. "I'll get some tomorrow, then." Perhaps she could find a deck of cards and a board that no one wanted.

"Tomorrow," he echoed, wondering how they would get through tonight.

"Yes, tomorrow." Tanas' thoughts were echoed by Marida. Neither of them had anything in common that she could see. They were still strangers, and she was uncomfortable around him. Would that ever change?

Last updated on the June 28th 2008

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Strangers In A Strange Land