Would You Consider... (1/3)

Writers: Chelle, Eimi
Date Posted: 28th May 2010

Characters: Ioven, Parale
Description: Ioven comes on Parale getting ready to meet yet another suitor
Location: Garnet Valley Hold
Date: month 9, day 18 of Turn 5
Notes: Part 1 of 3

Ioven was a little surprised when the foster mother opened the door.
She hadn't been wearing _that_ dress when he picked his girls up that
afternoon! "Am I interrupting something?"

"Just getting ready for a meal." She turned and left the door open so he
could come inside if he wanted. Grabbing a scarf that was lying on the
chair, she began to tie up her hair very carefully.

Obviously not just a meal, if she was being so careful to dress up like
that. "That's a nice dress," he said, stepping into the room, fishing
for an answer to assuage his curiosity.

"Thanks. I dyed it myself." Then, she grabbed for the earbobs that were
going to adorn her lobes. "What brings you by?" Didn't he have children
to watch?

"Oh, um, Syren forgot her blanket when I picked her up this morning.
She hates sleeping without it." Earbobs? She obviously wasn't just
going down to the dinning hall. "Dinner with your family tonight?"

"Oh no..Apeline wants me to eat with Rishki." She finished attaching
the delicate things then turned around to look at herself in the small
glass. Frowning, she pinched her cheeks.

Apeline sounded like a feminine name, but Rishki could be either. He
found the possibility unsettling. "Rishki?" he asked innocently. "I
don't think I've heard of her..."

"Probably not, since he's a woodcrafter who cuts logs." She giggled and
decided that would do. Walking to her kitchen, she began to put up some
things since she wouldn't be eating in her quarters.

A man? Parale was having dinner with a _man_? And making herself all
pretty for the occasion? The idea that his mind had been mulling over
for some time now seemed to be in jeopardy. Was she already already
considering a man? "Are you good friends with this woodcutter, then?"

"Not yet. Apeline's husband knows his brother." She bent up and put the
last glass away, then went rooting for Syren's blanket.

Well, thank Faranth for _that_ at least! "So, if you don't know him,
why does Apeline want you to eat with him? Is he new to the area?" he
asked, trying to sound curious as he watched her move about the rooms.

"She wants to help me before I'm all dried up." She laughed again,
recalling the earlier conversation she had with her friend. "Apparently
he has good prospects."

"So you're... looking for a husband then?" Hopefully the question
sounded natural rather than interrogative. But if she really was the
woman his daughters liked, it was an important question. He had to know
just how long he had to think this fool plan over!

"Have always been. Is that not a holder's goal? To get married and have
children if they can?" Throwing some pillows aside, she managed to
locate the blanket and came walking back out with it. She'd shifted her
scarf in the process and began to fix it after handing over the linen.

"I suppose so..." He cleared his throat, wondering if _now_ might not
be a good time to mention his thoughts to her... If she was looking for
a husband with potential, he certainly had plenty of that. And he had
already proved that he could have children, and he had no problem
providing for his girls. Why _wouldn't_ she consider marrying him
except... "You know, journeymen, though, they can find themselves moved
around from time to time..."

"Of course but then they become masters and they stay put. And a man at
my age is probably looking at knots in the next decade so that isn't too
bad." Unless he was a lout, but she didn't want to think about that.

"So, you'd only marry a man looking to get his Master's knots?" He had
put that train of thought on hold when Venrys was born, followed by
Syren. And then his wife got sick... Masters knots took a lot of time
and energy. He didn't know when he might try for them again...

"Well, I don't think a fellow should be content to just be a journeyman
for the whole rest of his life. I mean, he should want to better
himself, learn more, and all that." Otherwise, what was the point of
being a crafter, really?

"Eventually, yes," he agreed with a slow nod. "But there's a lot of
work involved. Wouldn't you want him to be around more while you're
bearing his children?"

"Children are womens' work. I can do my duty. And anyway, he
would be working for me and the children so I would understand."
Parale had no qualms about that. She wanted her children to have
a father, but she wasn't going to be completely dependent on any man.

"I see." He pulled absently at a thread on the blanket. That would
mean time away from his girls. But if they had a mother, they wouldn't
need him so much any more. Truth be told, he had been happy that he had
postponed working on his master's knots. He enjoyed the time with his
family. And yet, he could not be a mother, and they _needed_ a mother.
"I suppose a man like that, you'd be willing to follow him anywhere,
eh?"

She frowned at that, looking at him. "I'll never go North. Never."

"Oh, well, who _would_?" he said, rather surprised at the mere
suggestion. "But other than that, you'd go wherever he went?"

"Maybe not a Weyr either. Even though I went the once... I wouldn't
want my children in that." A quick once-over to make sure she had her
things together and she tried to judge the time. The bell hadn't yet
rung.

He wished she would just answer the question already! "All right, other
than the North or a Weyr or a desert island or a tunnel snake hole, you
would be willing to go anywhere?"

She gave him a slightly confused look. He was acting quite strangely.
"If he was my husband, I would have promised to do that. And what
has you so interested anyway?"

The thought occurred to him that if any time was a good time, this was
it! And yet, as he opened his mouth, he thought better of it. What
would she think, him just blurting out such an absurd proposal? One he
wasn't even sure he _wanted_ to make! You didn't just rush into these
things! You didn't just shout them out any time the fancy struck!
These things take careful planning or else you could end up either being
rejected, or making a serious mistake. Whichever way, he'd look the
utter fool. "I just... I was just making conversation, is all."

But Parale had scented a lie there, and she wasn't going to let go so
easy. Moving closer to Ioven, she attempted to figure him out. "Oh
aye? Do you think I might be rushing into things with Rishki? It's just
dinner, after all."

Oh shards... Rishki. What if she had dinner with the man and thought he
was her perfect match? What if they formed a deep connection? That was
something he could not offer her. Not yet, anyway. Not for a while.
He wasn't ready. But Rishki might be... "I just think it's just a
dinner is all. I just... hope you aren't looking for too much out of
it. I would hate to see you hurt. Expectations and all that."

He didn't want to see her hurt? That was nice. "Or dragged about the
continent, either then?"

"Well..." Wasn't that what he was considering doing himself? "Not if
it's not worth it to you."

"Oh so you would just have me sit here for the rest of my life and
gather dust? I think not." She moved past him and gathered her shawl.

"You're hardly gathering dust," he protested, not having meant that at
all. "I just mean that if you're going to follow a man around the
continent, I think he should be willing to give you what you need to
make it up to you is all. I mean... What would make it worth it to you
to leave your home and start somewhere new? What do you want?"

"I want so many things, but I'll settle for a good man who can keep me
fed, clothed, and housed; give me children; and be kind." She gestured
for him to precede her out the door. She had to start making her way
to the Dining Hall or she'd be late.

"So are the masters knots something you would _want_, or something
that's negotiable?" he asked, backing out the door so she could pass.

Good shards were they still on that? She came through and shut the door,
then started walking. "Well if I married a holder, he wouldn't be having
knots."

"But Rishki isn't a holder, is he," Ioven pointed out.

"No, he's a woodcrafter." She shrugged. "Really, though, right now it's
about dinner." And they walked to the entrance. She saw Apeline, Orlo,
and there was the woodcrafter. He was at least twice her size. Suddenly
afraid he might break her in two, she stopped in her tracks.

Ioven wasn't looking at the woodcrafter. He was looking at her. "But,
if he would promise you the food and the clothes and the children and
the kindness, and promised you the knots would come with time, would it
be enough?"

"Faranth yes..." Wondering what she was going to do, she turned around,
looking. She needed to hide. Stepping behind the smith, she wondered
what she was going to tell Apeline.

He turned around to face her, thinking that she was trying to hide from
_him_. "I'm sorry, Parale, I didn't mean to push you..."

"What?" She turned him back around. "Listen, you stay here, and I'm
going to walk that way...and if anyone asks, I had a stomachache." Wait,
people had seen her in the hall. How would she explain that one?
Whining, she exclaimed, "By the egg..."

"You mean you're not going to dinner with Rishki?" he asked, grabbing
both her arms in relief.

"Would you look at the man? He's like a tree." She gestured in that
direction, with her arms. "Still and all, my mother taught me to mind my
manners." Taking a deep breath, Parale looked like she was going into a
storm.

Ioven watched as she bravely stepped forward to meet her fate. The man
might look like a tree, but he might be the gentlest soul that ever
lived, and might make her happy. He didn't want to take that chance.
Not before he had a chance to make up his mind. Just as she was about
to take her seat he stepped into the room and hurriedly followed her.
"Oh, Parale, thank Faranth. Here you are!"

She looked at him like he was mad. "Umm..yes.... I am."

"Excuse me," he said with a nod to everyone else at the table, but then
thrust the blanket he had been clutching out to her. "I'm so sorry to
interrupt, but it's Syren. I can't find her anywhere. I found this
outside your door. Do you think she might be hiding in your rooms? You
know how she likes to play games."

It took her a moment to catch on, but she was quick. "Ohh...you lost
her? Dear Faranth! What on Pern am I supposed to do with you?" She turned to Apeline and the rest. "I'm so sorry, I really have to go at the moment.
Maybe we can do this another time?" Nodding at Apeline to do whatever
was necessary, she disappeared with the smith.

Last updated on the May 28th 2010

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Would You Consider... (1/3)