A New Life (2/3)

Writers: Yvonne
Date Posted: 9th April 2019

Characters: Elana, Alina
Description: Alina makes a surprise stop on the way to Emerald Falls to spend a little time with her sister
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 10, day 18 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: J'ackt, Jerinne (NPC), Corowal

Alina

Black, blacker, blackest. It was over so quickly for Alina, but Elana felt every heartbeat in the void. They came out of /between/ into bright sunshine and air so fresh it seemed to sparkle. Imarith angled her wings and they circled to land. The green dragon's shadow raced over a green, hilly landscape dotted with wildflowers and small copses of trees with white trunks.

"Where is Emerald Falls Hold?" The wind snatched at Elana's words, but somehow her twin sister caught them.

"I wanted to talk to you before I dropped you off. It's been so long since we were together!" The dragon landed and Alina excitedly undid her straps as Elana fumbled with hers. "I can't believe you're actually fostering at Emerald Falls Hold. What do you think changed Aunt Panna's mind?"

"I have _no_ idea. I have no idea what she wrote to Father, either, that persuaded him to let me go." Elana finally undid her straps and let her sister help her off the dragon. Imarith was only a green-- what would it be like to get down from a brown dragon? Or a golden queen?

"Well, whatever she said, I'm glad she said it." Alina sat on the grass and gestured for Elana to join her. The bent stalks gave off a herbaceous scent, and she absently plucked a stalk and slipped it in her braid. "I tried talking to Father. I really did. But he was having none of it."

Elana sank onto the grass beside her sister. Behind them, Imarith curled into the sunshine and spread her wings to catch the rays. "I suppose they didn't want to lose two daughters. At least not so close together. Why, if you hadn't run off to the Weyr, I bet they would have fostered me at least two Turns ago."

"I didn't run off…" It was an old argument. Alina sighed and let it go. "Do you know what you'll be doing there?"

"No idea. I told Mother that I'd be happy to care for Aunt Panna since she is so old." Elana snorted. "But that won't last long. As if I would let myself be chained to some old biddy. Aunt Panna said she'd speak to the Headwoman for me, though, so perhaps I will be set some other task."

"What would you want to do?" Alina asked.

Elana sighed and leaned back on her hands, tipping her face toward the light. "I don't know. Something that doesn't take much effort and puts me in the path of a lot of very good looking men with good futures!"

Her sister smiled, looking a bit wistful. "I am _so_ looking forward to you courting! I can't wait to hear all about it."

Elana's smile slipped as she looked sideways at the greenrider. Alina looked so strange in her riding jacket and leather pants. It was shocking the first few times she'd forgotten to change into a dress before getting on her dragon, and that was the least shocking part of her sister's new life. "Do you… ah… still see that, that bronzerider?"

Alina glanced up, suddenly guarded. "J'ackt, you mean?"

Her sister shook her head. "You know how I feel about that…"

"And you know how I feel about him." Alina plucked three more stalks of grass and began to braid them together. "He and I… I don't know." She stopped herself before telling her sister about the attack on J'ackt, Jerinne, and the ring he'd offered her. Elana would probably say something horrible and they'd end up arguing. The greenrider sighed. "Weyrs are so strange. I've been there for a few Turns now and I still feel like a stranger. And J'ackt is… not what you think."

"I know exactly what I think of him, and I think it should just _end_. Especially now." Elana put a hand on her sister's arm. "Could you imagine it, if anyone at Emerald Falls Hold found out that my own sister was a greenrider, and _also_ is friendly with the most notorious bronzerider at the Weyr?!"

"You don't need to tell anyone that." Alina glanced up. "Besides, ours isn't the first Holder family to have dragonriders in it. It won't be so… unusual at Emerald Falls Hold."

"Yes, but I want to get _married_." Elana paused, trying to find the right words to make her stubborn sister understand. "What would people assume about my character knowing that not only that you're a greenrider but that you are associating with people like him?"

"He has a name," Alina snapped.

Elana shrugged. "I'm not going to say it, and I really don't think you ought to associate with him at all, let alone consider him as a… as anything other than someone who happens to live in the same Weyr as you. I honestly don't understand you anymore. For goodness sakes, he's violent. He's attacked people. He's ruinous for you and he'll be doubly ruinous for me."

Alina threw the braided grass into the wind in irritation and watched it float away, her mouth set in a firm line. "Who I choose to associate with is none of your business."

"Not when it impacts me. It will be difficult enough to find someone to court me if they knew that I have a greenrider for a twin, let alone all the rest." Elana sighed heavily. The conversation had gone exactly as she'd anticipated. Alina had become blind to the nuances of Hold life the moment she'd set foot in a Weyr. Weyrs corrupted. "Look… I didn't want to have to suggest this, but… but what if we didn't tell anyone that we're sisters?"

Alina turned to her sister, stung. "Are you serious?!"

"Having a greenrider for a twin might impact my chances of marriage." Elana hesitated, trying to choose her words carefully. "You know what people say. I know it's not true, you're my _sister_. But people say things, and they say things about greenriders in particular."

"And you're embarrassed of me," Alina said flatly. Behind them, Imarith's wings snapped shut and the dragon rumbled in displeasure.

"No! Never!" Elana put a hand on Alina's arm. "Just… maybe let's not visit for a while. We can still write. At least until people get to know me."

The greenrider's eyes narrowed. "You can't be serious."

"It isn't a big request. And you _know_ how people talk." Elana shrugged helplessly. "People say that greenriders are loose women. They'll think I'm the exact same as you. And I know that you don't want to ruin my chances of a good match."

"That's not--" Alina rubbed her hands against her eyes in frustration. Her sister's rejection had come out of nowhere, and it hurt. "If this is some sort of trick to try to get me to stop seeing J'ackt, it's not going to work.."

Elana drew back, suddenly irritated. "If you weren't associating with such people, this whole thing would be much easier to manage."

"All you're concerned about is yourself!"

"And why shouldn't I be? I'm starting a whole new _life_, Alina. I want to step out on the right foot and make sure that people see me for who I am, not who my sister is!" Elana ploughed on, hoping that Alina hadn't caught the little slip. Alina was a greenrider. She was _someone_. Elana was just another girl from a farming cothold in the middle of nowhere and it wasn't fair. Elana had always been prettier and better liked, and now for the first time in her life she felt like she was standing in her sister's shadow. She made a frustrated sound. "Why won't you help me? All I'm asking for is a few months of discretion until I can build my own reputation. You seriously want to wreck my future?!"

Alina glared at her for a long moment, then relented. "Of course I don't," she said tiredly.

"Well then." Elana put her hand on Alina's arm again. "It'll just be for a little while. And we can still send letters. But maybe by runner and not by dragon, all right?" And she could always wait to start talking about her dragonriding sister until _after_ Alina had sorted her personal life out and gotten rid of that Holdless bronzerider. Being a loose greenrider with poor morals was bad enough without having a man like J'ackt besmirching her reputation.

"Fine," Alina muttered. "But I can't believe you'd ask that of me."

"It's not for long. I just want to make sure that everything's perfect for my arrival." Elana bumped shoulders companionably with Alina. "Come on, this is exciting! I'm fostering at Emerald Falls Hold! How long do you think it will take before I meet the Lord Holder?"

The greenrider shook her head. "He's probably still mourning his Lady wife."

"So maybe he'll smile at me and feel better. The Harper Hall is right there too. Remember that Turn's End that we went there? It was such a beautiful place… and Harpers are intelligent. Maybe I'll catch a Harper's eye." Elana batted her eyelashes at her sister, trying to jolly her out of her sour mood. "Maybe he'll write a song about me."

Alina smiled, but it was a bit mean. "I bet you meet a farmer."

"Oh, ew!" Elana pushed Alina, and the greenrider giggled in spite of herself.

"You'll marry a farmer and go right back to living in some dinky cothold!" Alina said, half in jest, and half because she hoped it was true. It was a mean thought-- but Elana had started it.

"Not in a million Turns. I'm destined for greater things," Elana said loftily. She lay back in the sweet smelling grass and stared up into the blue, blue sky and smiled.

Last updated on the April 12th 2019

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A New Life (2/3)