A Mutually Beneficial Arrangment

Writers: Heather, Yvonne
Date Posted: 11th May 2019

Characters: Syis, Elana
Description: Syis and Elana come to a mutually beneficial arrangement
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 10, day 25 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Danrina

Syis hated weeding because it was tedious and time-consuming, but she had learned that if she was to stay at Emerald Falls as a resident, while looking for a husband, that she would need to make herself useful. She didn't have to do anything beneath her status, such as kitchen work or laundry, but she could sew, work in the garden, or work with the children in the creche. She preferred the garden to any of the other two options.

"Oh fiddlesticks," she hissed when she grabbed a plant with a particularly thorny stem. Pinpricks of blood blossomed on her thumb. Popping the offended appendage into her mouth, she glanced around the garden.

"Do you happen to have a piece of scrap material?" she asked the girl, who she judged to be near her in age, that was sitting on one of the garden benches sewing.

The girl glanced down at her basket, which was filled with children's clothing made from rather nice fabric. "No, I don't..." She paused, then set aside her sewing and pulled a small handkerchief from her pocket and held it out to Syis. "I promise I haven't sneezed in it."

"Thank you," Syis wrapped the handkerchief around her thumb. "I'm Syis by the way, I don't think we've met."

"Elana." The other girl ran her gaze quickly over Syis. Her work dress was made of finer material than one usually pulled out of the closet for digging in the dirt, and even though she was working Syis' black hair was pulled back in a rather pretty-- and elaborate-- knot. Syis had some sort of importance, then. Elana perked up a bit. "I'd be surprised if we had met. I've only just arrived recently. I'm a foster," she added with a smile.

"I haven't been here long either myself," Syis sat down beside Elana on the bench and arranged her skirts. "My father is a Minor Holder in the Sunstone territory. I managed to convince him to let me come here in the hopes of finding a husband." She rolled her eyes a little at that. "Where are you from?"

"Just a little cothold a few days ride from here. You wouldn't have heard of it." Elana gratefully set aside her sewing. "Sunstone... that's a Seahold, correct? Did you grow up next to the sea?"

"Yes, not far from it, at least. My sister Danrina lives at Sunstone she's... well... the Lord Holder's mistress is the best way to put it, I suppose. Regardless, she's the one who managed to pull the strings to get me here to Emerald Falls. My father had already been in negotiations with a much older man for my hand in marriage," she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "So I've got to make this work here." It felt good to tell someone. The only person she had to talk to was the shriveled up old chaperone that had been sent with her.

"That's-- that's--" **Absolutely scandalous!** The Lord Holder of Sunstone Seahold had a mistress-- and this was her _sister_!? Syis suddenly became _way_ more interesting. "--awful," Elana finished. "Just awful. But I _completely_ understand. The only offer I got back home was from this old guy up the road who already had a bunch of kids and was looking for a nursemaid. Ugh." She shivered dramatically. "Can you even _imagine_?!"

Syis' face scrunched up. "If I just had to marry a man so old that all he wanted was someone to wipe his chin it wouldn't be so bad, because maybe he would die quickly and then I would be free but... What if I have to marry someone old and they _want_ to... you know..." she waved her hand, "have marital relationships." She visibly shuddered.

Elana laughed at the image. "Oh, no thank you! I'd rather die a spinster." She paused to take a better look at the girl beside her. "But I highly doubt that would happen to _you_. I'm sure you can attract someone who isn't a million Turns old."

"Not necessarily. I don't come from an incredibly wealthy family, nor am I likely to some day be a Lady Holder. Those sorts seem to get the cream of the crop choices from the men. So far I mostly get pimple-faced teenagers, really old men who want a young wife to take care of them, or the middle aged men who've lost their wife and need a mother for their children." It was clear that Syis didn't like any of those options.

"So what sort of man would you rather marry?" Elana asked.

"Someone young, and good-looking, with a promising future. He doesn't have to be the next Lord Holder or anything, but I don't want to be scraping to make ends meet either." Syis checked her thumb, pleased to see that the bleeding had stopped. "What about you?"

Elana nodded. "I want to be comfortable and well taken care of, and I hate people telling me what to do. So I need to marry someone with a little influence. A handsome Journeyman, maybe, or an Understeward. Ideally someone ambitious. I think I would be all right with that." She gave Syis a sly, sideways look. "I think we're looking for a very similar sort of husband, you and I. I have an idea..."

Syis looked at Elana and arched an eyebrow. "You want to share one?" she teased.

That surprised a laugh out of Elana. "Ha! No. Although that might be less work for both of us! Anyway, here's my idea... we _could_ choose to be rivals. But I think that we'll both have better luck if we partner up instead. That way, you can introduce me to the people you meet and I can introduce you to the people I meet. And we can talk each other up-- I will make absolutely sure that any man you set your sights on hears only the best about you. We're both new here and I think that working together will make us much more formidable than wasting time and effort trying to go it alone."

"And I can introduce you to men that you might not otherwise have access to," Syis mused out loud with a smile. "Let's do it, partner," she stuck her hand out to the other girl.

Elana shook it, despite the dirt. "I'm very glad that I met you, Syis."

"Likewise, Elana."

Last updated on the June 15th 2019

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A Mutually Beneficial Arrangment