A Dusty Hem

Writers: Eimi, Heather
Date Posted: 8th December 2017

Characters: Sanora, Tibaline, Ribinia, Kiora
Description: Sanora tries to fit in with the other Amber Hills ladies, but things don't go exactly as planned.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 2, day 2 of Turn 9

Even though Sanora could have requested a wagon or runner for her walk
from the Vintner Hall to the main Hold, she enjoyed the uphill walk.
She found the exercise invigorating, and her cheeks were red from it
when she arrived through the doors of Amber Hills. The hem of her
dress was dusty and a little muddy from the trek, and her shoes were
even worse but Sanora didn't even notice. She'd grown up on farms and
didn't mind getting a little dirty.

As she walked down the corridor, Sanora pulled her bonnet off and then
peeled out of her gloves. She smoothed a stray hair into place and
knocked on the door. It was the first time she'd been invited by one
of the ladies living at the Hold to have some tea and perhaps play
some cards. It seemed like a good way to waste time, Sanora thought,
but as the Hallsecond's wife at the Vintner Hall, she wanted to make a
good impression... and it wouldn't hurt to have a few friends at the
Hold too.

The door opened and she was greeted with a bright and cheerful smile.
"Sanora! Welcome!" Tibaline, the hostess of this particular
gathering, looked at the Hallsecond's wife reddened face, the state of
her dress and gasped. "Oh, my dear, how thoughtless of me! I am
mortified! I should have thought to send a runner for you. My
sincere apologizes! I certainly had not intended to have you _walk_
all this way. Please, come in and sit down. You must be exhausted.
Ribinia, please pour Sanora a drink."

Another of the guests of a similar age and coloring as their hostess
hurried to fetch a glass of wine for the Hallsecond, but paused
suddenly. "Sister!" She waved over Tibaline and whispered loud
enough for the room to hear. "This wine didn't come from the Hall!
She'll know the difference!"

Tibaline's smile faltered slightly. Damn her husband and his eye for
a bargain! "She's just the wife, not the Hallsecond himself. She
won't know. Just pour a glass." Turning back to Sanora she reached
out her hands beckoningly. "Oh, Sanora, you're still standing! Here,
please, sit and rest your feet."

Sanora had to bite down on her lower lip to keep from laughing at the
absurdity of the women being so worried about the wine. She would know
the difference, of course, one did not live with a Master Vintner and
not have vintages forced on them for 'taste tasting'.

"I assure you, Tibaline, I'm fine. I chose to walk, it was quite
invigorating, actually." From the looks of Tibaline's very round hips,
Sanora wondered if the lady shouldn't consider walking herself
sometime. Sanora took the seat that was being forced on her, clutching
her bonnet and gloves in her lap.

"Oh," their hostess said with a smile, though it was obvious from her
eyes she didn't know quite what to say to that. "Well, the weather is
certainly pleasant, isn't it."

"Enjoy it while it lasts. There will be snow soon enough," one of the
older ladies said with a sigh. "How I envy those Holds along the
Northern coast with their sunshine and fine weather all Turn round."

"Yes, Kiora, but they also have to contend with hurricanes and
tsunamis. I feel much safer here in Amber Hills," Ribinia said as she
poured another glass of wine to set on the tray.

"But don't forget, sister, we have the earthquakes," Tibaline said
with her head bowed as she remembered the destruction of her home at
Amethyst Cliff.

"That's right," Kiora nodded, and then turned to Sanora to give an
explanation. "See, like you, we are none of us originally of Amber
Hills. We came here to live under Lord Benaroy's care when the
earthquake destroyed our home."

Ribinia lifted the tray and carried it to the table with a long sigh.
"How I miss those days. I will never get used to the smell of all
those stables."

"I rather like the cold and snow," Sanora confessed, tucking her
things down into the chair beside of her so that she could take a
glass from the tray. "It's always so beautiful on the mountain
peaks." Her eyes glanced around, noticing all of the delicate, heeled
shoes the other women wore, while she had on her best pair of walking
boots that were covered in dirt and grime from her walk. Silently she
slid her crossed ankles back to hide underneath the hem of her dusty
skirt.

"Oh indeed. I used to have a painting of it on my walls at Amythest
Cliff," Tibaline said with a sigh.

"Back at Amethyst Cliff you didn't have to go out into the snow or
even _see_ the snow unless you wanted to." Kiora had grown up in
walls of stone built into the cliffside. It had taken her some time
to get used to Amber Hills and so much sunlight pouring in all the
time.

"I rather like watching the hills turn white from my rooms here. At
least there is heating," Ribinia said as she looked around the circle
for the reaction of the others. "Of course," she added, "I miss the
constant temperature that living inside the cliff brought." She was
satisfied to see Tibaline and Kiora nod to that.

"Didn't you find that a bit stifling sometimes? I'm afraid sometimes I
felt claustrophobic while I was there." Having grown up out in the
open on a farm, living in a structure, or even visiting, one that was
built into the side of a cliff made her feel like she was being buried
alive. Sanora brought her glass of wine to her lips.

Though the other ladies had the manners to stifle their gasps, all
three paused noticeably with their glass halfway to their lips.
Finally Kiora spoke for the three. "Not at all."

Sanora noticed the hush among the other ladies while Kiora spoke, "You
are all stronger women than I am, then. I was glad when we were able
to come here where everything is more open." This making friends was
going to be more difficult than she had thought.

"Of course, we were born to it," Tibaline said with a pacifying smile.
"We all miss the home of our youth."

"And the Vintner Hall was always so spacious and lovely with the
vineyards surrounding it," her sister nodded, following her lead.

"The vintners still talk about how wonderful the wines were that were
made there." Sanora said, she'd heard plenty of conversation about it
since she'd been at Amber Hills. She wouldn't say it out loud and
shock the women further, but to her, wine was wine, whether it was
made at Amethyst Cliffs or Amber Hills.

"The best on Pern," Kiora agreed with almost a far off look in her
eye, as if she was looking back through time to recapture that moment.

"Though I'm sure the wines your husband made were of the highest
quality," Tibaline said with a sweet smile.

"I'm sure he thinks so," Sanora replied, knowing had Capwick been
there he would have known she was joking.

That got the ladies tittering. They could all appreciate poking fun
at the male ego. "I would love to try one of his vintages," Ribinia
said recovering her composure.

Sanora's lips quirked up, "Well, if you ladies like whiskey and white
liquor than, by all means, I'll bring some." She lifted her eyebrows
teasingly before clarifying with, "he's a distiller."

"Oh!" Ribinia looked both embarrassed by her mistake and shocked by
Sanora's admission. "I didn't know they let them be Hallseconds."

"Oh, sister," Tibaline said with a bit of a forced laugh as she patted
her sister's shoulder. "You know any vintner can be Hallsecond.
After all, they let Daigoro be a Hallsecond and he was only a brewer.
At least a distiller has specialized skills."

It had been easy to let everything slide until this point, but a
slight toward her husband made Sanora's lips purse slightly as she
tilted her head, "And what is it that your husbands do?"

"Oh! Mine is an understeward," Ribinia said sitting up straighter in
her chair. "He helps to oversee the collection of tithes and prepares
our tithe to the Weyr."

"And mine is a merchant of precious stones and metals. He buys high
quality amethysts from the miners still in the area, and exports them
to places that need them." It was obvious that Tibaline was quite
proud of her husband, and touched the jeweled necklace around her neck
in emphasis.

"When my husband lived, he was a Master Harper overseeing the
education of the Hold children. But he passed away the Turn before
the earthquake," Kiora said with an air of dignity. "And he was
rather fond of your husband's whiskey," she added with a nod to
Sanora.

Sanora pointed a finger at Ribinia, "So your husband is a hide pusher,
and yours," she pointed to Tibaline, "shops for jewels and ships them
places? Those are such difficult, difficult things to do," she
crooned, tsking softly as she shook her head, "how _do_ they find the
time to pay you two ladies the proper amount of attention?" Her smile
was sweet as she looked at them, wondering if they would decipher the
insults.

The two ladies most definitely did feel the burn and did not know how
to respond. Kiora, however, did not seem to be tongue tied. "I
believe I heard that your son is a low level 'hide pusher', is he not?
Has he found time to marry yet?" she asked before taking a sip of her
wine.

"Oh no," Sanora waved her hand, "he's too busy sowing his wild oats."
She batted her eyelashes, not at all put out by Kiora's comment. After
the ugly verbal fights she'd had with her first husband, this was
nothing, an appetizer at best. "But then, I suppose your daughter
knows about that, correct, Kiora? Your youngest was rather far along
in her pregnancy when she married, wasn't she?" The words were
delivered behind a smile.

Kiora also had lived a full life and was not at all intimidated by a
newly made woman. "She was, and has given me plenty of grandchildren
besides to comfort me in my old age. I do find it surprising that you
might brag about your son 'sewing wild oats' and not allowing my
daughter the freedom to do the same. Every child is a blessing, no
matter how they are got. And," she cautioned as she pushed herself
back from the table, "I would be careful what barbs you choose to
throw. You have two young daughters and have yet to see what their
future holds. After all, they are surrounded by young men who are
indulging in a craft that has not been known to encourage wise
decisions. Ladies, our glasses seem to be getting low. Perhaps it is
time to call it a day?"

Tibaline and Ribinia rose as one and turned accusing eyes towards
Sanora for ruining a pleasant afternoon.

Sanora tossed back her head and laughed, "Ah, the difference, dear
Kiora, is that my daughters were raised by me, and not you. Parenting
can sometimes make all the difference, can it not?" She stood and
deposited her bonnet back onto her head and tied the ribbon beneath
her chin. "Ah, this was exhilarating ladies, I shall be starting on my
walk back. Do enjoy the rest of your afternoon." Sanora pulled her
gloves on, already thinking she couldn't wait to get back to the Hall
and tell Capwick about her exciting visit with the ladies of the Hold.

Last updated on the December 10th 2017

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A Dusty Hem