Bringing Home a Gold (1 of 2)

Writers: AL, Anika
Date Posted: 29th May 2015

Characters: Meledei, R'taran, Rizpaulen, Marcina, Toniapaulene, Tarantonia, Rizton
Description: R'taran and Meledei visit Merry Brook and R'taran's family.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 12, day 14 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Corowal (Indirectly)
Note: Part 1 of 2

After his talk with Meledei yesterday, he and Qharterioth had made a
quick trip home to inform them of the upcoming visit. Given the
circumstances, it was best not to surprise everyone besides his mother
would never have forgiven him for arriving with a goldrider without
giving her time to prepare. Though his father had been his usual
brusque self, wanting his son's assurance that this was not a search,
his mother had actually seemed quite pleased.

When they arrived above the minor Hold the afternoon air was cooler
than that at the Weyr and the clouds looked ready to offer up some
moisture, R'taran had Qharterioth circle around the Hold both to give
Meledei a look at his childhood home as well as to give the holders a
chance to admire the lovely, petite queen. Despite current attitudes
toward the Weyr, the appearance of a gold dragon was cause for awe and
admiration, something to tuck away for re-telling on a cold winters
night by the hearth. A single ray of sunlight escaped the clouds as
if to welcome such a rare and esteemed guest, shining on Elleth's hide
so that the pale gold shimmered with a silvery tint like molten liquid
providing quite the contrast to Qharterioth's deep brown hide.

The wind whipped playfully at them, strength given to its grasping
fingers by the speed at which her dragon flew. Eventually, the two
creatures settled on the ground and Meledei freed herself from her
helmet. Braids tumbled out to sway against her back before going
still as she surveyed the scene before her. People had already begun
to congregate outside, children whispering and pointing at the pair.
The rider grinned and waved, then dismounted before she began to pull
her gloves from her hands. "It's funny, despite certain attitudes,
people can't help but admire dragons.

Despite attitudes, people couldn't help but need them for Thread made
sure the dragons were necessary. Meledei folded her riding gear and
carefully placed it in a satchel upon Elleth's leathers before she
reached down to smooth out her skirt with her hands. She had been
careful to place herself behind so that others wouldn't see her
peeling off the pants she'd worn beneath her skirts. The blue linen
was pale in hue, plain enough to be somewhat casual while the cut of
the dress was elegant enough with its modest collar ad three quarter
length, scalloped sleeves to indicate that some thought and effort had
been put into what she wore.

While she was there, Meledei tugged off her boots and inserted her
feat into the white slippers she'd brought along. Such a quick change
was normal for dragonriders, particularly females who wanted to wear
dresses rather than pants. Once she was more presentable and her
items had been tucked away for later, Meledei straightened and turned
to her companion. "Shall we?"

R'taran gallantly offered his arm to Meledei. "Have I mentioned how
lovely you look today?" he asked, giving her an appreciative grin
before he turned toward the curious onlookers. Rizpaulen stood out
easily in the crowd, a single towering mountain amongst the mere
foothills until his adult sons approached, to stand somewhat behind
him. Tarantonia's vibrant auburn hair, braided and put up with
hairpins was readily distinguishable beside her holder husband.

As they approached, Meledei let her gaze shift over those who had come
to greet them. While R'taran and his brothers had their differences,
there was no doubt they were related. She inclined her head toward
the Holder and his wife, but waited to speak until R'taran did so
first.

"Meledei, these are my parents, Holder Rizpaulen and Lady Tarantonia."
He noted his mother's eyes widen at the use of her title and he
thought her cheeks might have even colored, but it was her due now.
His father had worked hard to see that Merry Brook was once again
granted minor Hold status and she'd been there beside him all those
turns. "Father, Mother, this is Meledei, rider to gold Elleth."

"We welcome you to Merry Brook Hold, Lady Meledei. We are honored by
your visit, and hope you will pass on our humble regards to your
queen," Rizpaulen said with a formality that almost made R'taran
wince. That was his father, however. Though he was plain spoken and
those might be the most eloquent words to ever pass his lips,
Rizpaulen would follow tradition and offer what he deemed a suitable
greeting even if it were word for word from a harper's lesson.
skin of her face bounced forward ignoring the glare of her austere
father. She gave R'taran a quick hug. "You did it! You really, truly
brought a real queen dragon!"

The exuberant child who appeared to be around ten turns rather than
the twelve she could claim stopped in front of Meledei, blue eyes
shining in excitement. "We really are very happy to have you Lady
Meledei, and your dragon is ever so beautiful," she said thrusting a
fresh bouquet of flowers into the goldrider's hands as she'd been told
to do although in her enthusiasm she'd botched the timing.

Meledei's verdant eyes twinkled with amusement at the child's
exuberance. "Well thank you, I think so too and Elleth thanks you for
your kind words." The last part was for the child and her parents and
Meledei's attention returned to the elders. "I'm very glad to meet
you. R'taran talks about his family a lot."

Rizpaulen nodded his head respectfully, pleased to know that his son
remembered them while he was away at the Weyr, and turned to a man in
his twenties who looked much like his father only slightly smaller.
"This is my eldest son and heir, Rizton, and his wife Marcina," he
said pausing to allow for responses.

"It's a pleasure," Rizton said simply bobbing his head.

"I'm pleased to meet you," Marcina curtsied. The look in her hazel
eyes when she looked Meledei was one of barely hidden envy. The cut of
her dress revealed bulging belly. She wasn't one to hide her
pregnancy.

"A pleasure." R'taran seemed to have a fairly large family, something
Meledei had never experienced. Although her parents loved her, they'd
never had any other children, though she wasn't sure if that had been
planned or not. What would it have been like to have a brother,
sister, or multiple of them?

Last updated on the June 6th 2015

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Bringing Home a Gold (1 of 2)