A New Life (3/3)

Writers: Yvonne
Date Posted: 9th April 2019

Characters: Elana, Alina, Panna
Description: Elana arrives at EFH and meets her Great Aunt Panna
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 10, day 18 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Jayzine, Corowal

Alina

This time when the green dragon returned from /between/, it was over the biggest building that Elana had ever seen. Emerald Falls Hold was huge-- a tall, sprawling grey structure set against a cliff with towers sprouting up from the corners like trees. A wide paved courtyard surrounded the building, like the skirts of a lady in a curtsy. There had to be room for hundreds of people within its walls, and there were numerous cots with slate roofs scattered in the fields nearby. She could see people everywhere-- working, walking, or just standing together to enjoy the sunshine. And soon she'd be one of them!

Imarith finally backwinged to a gentle landing in the middle of the courtyard. Elana sat still while her sister unstrapped herself and dismounted. The Hold looked even bigger from the ground. The walls were intimidatingly tall. Everything was new and exciting and full of possibilities.

"Are you going to get off?" Alina asked, sounding a bit peevish.

Elana wrenched her attention from the Hold walls to grin at her sister. "It's so big! And I'm going to _live_ here!"

"Well, you look like you're planning on living on Imarith's back." Alina dropped the second of Elana's bags on the ground, then used the dragon's elbow as a step-stool so that she could reach the straps around Elana's waist. "Are you ready?"

"I've been ready my whole life." Elana couldn't keep the grin from her face. She held out her hand imperiously for her sister to help her down from Imarith's back. Arriving at Emerald Falls Hold on a dragon - what an auspicious start to her new life! She paused to pick up the lighter of her two bags before walking up to the massive front doors, knowing that Alina would follow behind her.

It was a nice day and the giant metal doors were open. A guardsman stood just inside and he nodded as Elana mounted the front steps. "Hello, miss. Welcome to Emerald Falls Hold. How can I help you?"

"I'm here to foster with my Great Aunt Panna." Elana flashed a winning smile. It was too bad that the guardsman wasn't young and handsome, but one couldn't have it all.

"This is Elana of Nadol Cothold." Alina came up the steps behind her and dropped the bag at Elana's feet. Her expression was neutral, but Elana could see that she was irritated. "Here to be fostered. She'll need a runner to take her to Panna and to help carry her bags."

The guard nodded, then made a note in a book on a stand by the doors. Perhaps he recorded everyone who came and went from the Hold. "We can take it from here, greenrider."

Alina nodded, then glanced at her sister. Elana smiled and hoped that Alina would remember her request in the meadow. Her dragonriding sister swallowed, then nodded formally. "I wish you well, Elana."

"My best to you and your dragon," Elana said formally. She felt a pang as her sister turned and left, but that quickly changed to excitement as a young man about her brother's age ran over, summoned by the guardsman's wave. The boy's knots were similar to the guard's. Perhaps he was in training?

"Follow the lad. He'll take you to Panna's apartment. I take it she's expecting you?"

Elana nodded. "Thank you for your help, sir!" she called over her shoulder as she followed the boy into the Hold. It was huge. The front entryway was so large on the inside that there was a balcony around the edge for people on the second storey to see what was happening below. Beautiful tapestries softened the grey of the wall and drew the eye up the stairs. Elana followed the boy through hallways that were so wide that she wouldn't be able to touch both sides with outstretched fingertips. The ceilings were high, giving it an airy feel even though the building was so big. And the people! There were people everywhere, and Elana didn't know a single one of them. It was thrilling and she couldn't suppress her smile even if she'd wanted to.

Elana was soon lost. The halls, although grand, all looked the same to her eyes. The boy eventually stopped at a door that seemed indistinguishable from the others and knocked. After a few long moments, it creaked open to reveal a short, white-haired woman with a cane. Her eyes were sharp as she looked Elana up and down. "Well. You must be Elana. Come on in, child."

"Thank you. And thank _you_." Elana bent to retrieve her other bag, which the boy had carried. She nodded to him before sweeping into her new home.

Which was… disappointing. The apartment was small and a bit dim. There was a single small window with a deep sill high up on the wall, clearly designed to keep errant Thread from inside the Hold. There were a few glows strung up around the room to chase away the rest of the gloom. The apartment centred around a large hearth with an iron dog for cooking and boiling water. Next to it was a good pile of neatly stacked wood. Two worn chairs faced the fire and beneath them was a blue rug that had seen better days. A large pantry off to one side was scarred from use, but it was full of tidy rows of fine, clear glassware and sturdy plates.

"You can sleep there," Panna said, gesturing to one of the doors with her cane. "I've sourced some fresh sheets and a blanket for you."

"Thank you." Elana picked up her bag and went to investigate. The room was small, but she had a whole bed to herself-- a luxury she had gained when her sister was Searched and had dreaded giving up. The room smelled faintly of lavender. She stowed her bags beneath the bed to unpack later, then came out to meet her great aunt.

Panna had returned to one of the chairs by the fireplace. She gestured for Elana to take the other one. "I suspect you already know that I was not in favour of fostering you."

This was not the welcome she'd wanted. Elana nodded slowly as she sat next to Panna. "Thank you for doing so. Opportunities are… limited at Nadol Cothold."

"They are limited here, too." Panna shook her head. "Lord Corowal has laid the groundwork, but it takes time for minds to change." She sighed. "And you're here to be married."

"I am!" Elana smiled at that. "As I said, the opportunities here are much greater than at home."

Panna pursed her lips. "Well, if you've gotten it into your head that you'll somehow sweep in and marry the Lord Holder, let me be the first to disabuse you of such a silly notion."

The thought had crossed her mind, but only as a daydream. The Lord Holder would marry someone to deal an alliance with, not some farmer's daughter with dust on the hems of her skirts. It still stung to be called out about it. "You don't think I'd make a fine Lady Holder?" Elana asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Her aunt fixed her with a sharp look. "You'd make a terrible Lady Holder. The Blood trains for leadership all their lives; that's what makes a Hold thrive. They know what they're doing. You, on the other hand, know what… How to sew? Farming? That's not good enough for a Lady Holder."

Elana looked down at her hands. Panna, she decided, was a horrible, humourless hag of a woman. But she wouldn't let that stop her. "I'm here to make a good match. With the right person." She fixed Panna with a glare of her own. "And I mean to make it happen."

Panna's lips twitched. "Well, you've got a spine at least. That's something. I can't abide weak willed people." She sighed and adjusted her grip on her cane. "I've lived alone my entire life. I wasn't keen on having another person in my apartment. Hopefully the Headwoman will find a new place for you sooner rather than later. But for now you are here, and I'll do my best to do right by you."

Her ears had perked up when Panna mentioned moving out. Maybe she wouldn't be as stuck with Panna as she thought. "Thank you," Elana muttered.

Panna continued as if she hadn't heard. "I'll take you to see the Headwoman soon. Don't think you'll be spending your days going to teas and on walks with young men-- you will work to earn your keep here, like the rest of us. You'll do whatever the Headwoman assigns you to do, and you'll do it well. You'll take your dinners with me, in the dining room, and you will be in your bed every night before the tenth candlemark. And as I am fostering you, you will follow my rules or I will send you back to your father faster than you can blink."

Elana frowned. She was here to foster, not slave away for the Headwoman! But to make Panna happy, she nodded. "I understand, Aunt Panna."

"Good." Panna paused. "You mind your good reputation, and I will find you a good husband."

**The sooner, the better.** Already Elana could tell that fostering with Panna was going to be the biggest trial of her whole life.

~*~

Last updated on the April 12th 2019

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A New Life (3/3)