An Awkward Meeting (1/2)

Writers: AL, Anaria
Date Posted: 2nd June 2011

Characters: Rignaer, Zarene
Description: Rignaer meets his bride-to-be.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 2, day 15 of Turn 6

Rignaer was wearing his second best Gather outfit, and paced anxiously
in the courtyard of Amber Hills Hold. He and Zarene would be sitting
down for lunch soon, after which they would head to the Harper and be
properly married. His stomach did flips as he waited for the dragon to
appear, as still having no clue about what the girl looked like, or
much more about her than her name for that matter. He hoped that
things went well, and that having a wife wouldn't disrupt his life too
much.

Zarene was nervous. Of course, she knew the day was coming when she
would be married off - she just wish it wasn't _today_! She held on
tightly to her father in front of her as the brown dragon appeared
above the hold and circled down to a landing. Shards, how she hated
going /between/. She hadn't done it much, but she despised it every
time she _did_ have to do it!

She was so very glad when they were finally on the ground. Zarene
shrugged out of her coat which was far too warm to wear, but had to be
worn because of the trip /between/. She glanced around and reached up
to press a lock of red hair that had escaped from her braid behind her
ear.

"Come on, Zarene." Kozar urged his daughter with little kindness.
"We don't want to keep him waiting!" He turned to the dragonrider.
"Thank you sir. If you'll just give us a few moments, we'll get
someone to tend to the bags." There were a few more words spoken and
then Kozar turned and headed deeper into the hold proper and stepped
into the courtyard, Zarene at his heels.

Rignaer was leaning up against a wall, somewhat out of sight. When the
brown dragon landed, he knew that it was Zarene. His heart thudded in
his chest. This was it. This was the oh-so-important first impression.
He wanted to do it right, and to at least get off to a good foot with
the girl. He pulled himself up to his full height, and walked over,
trying to keep from looking nervously at the ground. As she dismounted
from the dragon, he got a good look at her for the first time. Red
hair, slightly longer than shoulder length, and pleasant features. She
wasn't conventionally pretty, but there was something about her that
Rignaer liked.

Maybe this wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to him.

"Good afternoon Kozar, Zarene," he said formally, reaching out with
his hand to shake Kozar's. He was somewhat surprised that his mother
hadn't come with them, but ever since his father had passed, she
hadn't traveled around much. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"Good to meet you as well, Rignaer." Kozar's handshake was firm -
almost _too_ firm, but he let go easily enough, then turned to his
daughter who bowed her head to the man. Her head remained inclined in
a semi-bow, eyes peering up shyly from beneath those red strands.
"This is Zarene." Kozar stated by way of introduction.

Rignaer met the firm handshake in kind, with strong grip from turns of
hard work. "Will you be staying overnight, sir?" He asked politely. "I
can take you to the Headwoman to get a room setup for you while Zarene
and I have lunch," he explained. He kept stealing glances at the girl
from the corner of his eye. Perhaps this wasn't the worst thing that
could have happened to him!

Zarene's lips flicked upward in a smile, then faded a little.
Uncertainty showed in every fiber of her being, but she did not shy
away. The step may have been slow, but she did move forward to draw a
little closer to the man who was to be her husband. Her father gave
her a sharp glance - a silent command for her to stay quiet. So quiet
she stayed as she felt her father's hand rest upon her shoulder and
proper her even closer to Rignaer. "I had no plans to stay, though
thank you. The dragonrider will be taking me back as soon as the
contract is signed."

**And as soon as I am out of your hair.** Came the immediate thought to
Zarene's mind.

"Oh..." Rignaer said, somewhat surprised. "Did.... did you want to
join us for lunch, sir? Or I could find someone to take you for a tour
of the Hold?" He wanted to get at least a few moments alone with his
betrothed before she became his bride, and something about Kozar's
mannerisms unsettled him. he'd heard rumors of men beating and
degrading their daughters - and worse. Was this Zarene's fate?

"A tour sounds like it could be interesting." Kozar considered it a
moment, then nodded. "A brief tour. I've not had much of a chance to
look around the times I've been here before." He eyed his daughter
who looked away, her jaw tightening, but she remained silent.

"Certainly," Rignaer said. He quickly flagged down one of the
Steward's assistants, and explained the situation.

The Steward's assistant smiled at Kozar, "Were there any parts of the
Hold that you were particularly interested in?" He asked.

Rignaer realized he was holding his breath, and forced himself to
exhale slowly. He would be much happier once Kozar was away.

"Well, I wouldn't mind seeing..." Kozar was lead off by the assistant
and Zarene was left alone with her soon to be husband. She watched
her father til he disappeared from sight, then let her blue eyes drift
back to the man.

Rignaer smiled at Zarene. "So... uh... are you capable of speaking for
yourself?" He asked curiously, hoping that Kozar wasn't trying to hide
anything from him by speaking for his daughter.

"Y...yes." Zarene managed, hands twisting with one another. What was
she supposed to say? She didn't want to say much, she just wanted to
get this over with. She didn't have to talk to be a good wife, did
she?

"Oh... good. So, uh... Did you want to have lunch in the Dining
Caverns, or would you prefer to sit someplace where we could talk
privately. I would really like to get to know you better before we
sign the hides with the Harper," Rignaer said hopefully.

"Either is f..f...fine." Zarene's eyes darted up and down, not able
to stay looking at her betrothed for very long. Why did he want to
talk? Didn't he want to just get married and...and...

Rignaer had the forethought to bring a basket of food with him, and he
picked it up, gesturing for Zarene to follow him. "So tell me about
yourself," he said, trying to start conversation as they walked. He
knew of a good spot for a picnic, where they could talk without being
disturbed. "I know that you were at the Weyr for a while, what
happened with that?"

"I d...didn't Impress." Zarene didn't seem inclined to really talk
about herself. She didn't seem inclined to talk much at all, to be
honest. She did follow Rignaer, not quite drawing up alongside of him
and her hands continued to play nervously with one another. "W...what
a...bout you?"

"Oh, uh... well... I lived at the Weyr for a while, but I didn't have
much interest in dragons, and the Weyr doesn't do much in the way of
farming, so I ended up coming back out to the Hold," Rignaer
explained. "I'm a farmcrafter, although I don't spend much time in the
fields. My love is the nursery. Raising plants from little sprouts."

There was a flicker of a smile and she nodded. "I like plants." She
stated softly, managing to keep her words under control as the subject
went to something that was more relaxing to her. "Especially
flowers."

"Well then, you should love the spot I have picked for our picnic, it
has a lovely view of the **Lady's Gardens**," Rignaer said. "Did you
do anything at the Weyr other than be a candidate?" He knew that some
women at the Weyr took up crafting, and hoped that the girl hadn't
gotten delusions of crafting of her own.

"N...no." Zarene hadn't been allowed and her father had sent one of
her brother's to keep an eye on her. He'd been a candidate as
well...and he had Impressed. It had been her one chance, and
afterward, her father had forced her to come home - especially after he
had gotten a lucrative marriage for her. Well, for him, rather.
"Just...just did ch...ch...chores...and t...took c..c..candidate
classes."

Last updated on the June 10th 2011

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An Awkward Meeting (1/2)