Things To Do (Part 1)

Writers: Bree, Eimi, Yvonne
Date Posted: 15th April 2006

Characters: Shadux, Royani, Mariss, Chupsin
Description: While the Lord Holder, Steward, and Vintners meet, Shadux and Royani take care of Mariss
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 11, day 2 of Turn 3

Mariss finished wrapping her hands clumsily in the dirty bandages she'd worn to Amber Hills Hold, not having anything else to wrap them in. It was hard to wrap them properly when they hurt so much, and when there was someone waiting for her on the other side of the bathing chamber door. But oh - it was so nice to be _clean_! **A little pain was worth it,** she thought. No more jam in her hair (or glass - a nasty surprise, that) or mud on her face or the cuts on her legs. She felt somewhat human as she pushed open the door with her dirtied laundry wrapped in a tight bundle beneath her arm. "Thank you for the dress, Royani."

"Of course," Royani replied with a warm smile, reaching out to take the laundry deftly from Mariss. She pressed it into the hands of a nearby drudge, her eyes already having moved on to the bandages. "Oh, Mariss! Are your hands all right? Has a healer seen to them? You can't keep them in those horrible bandages... Shadux, is the healer still with your father?"

"Yes. I was going to take her to the infirmary as soon as she was dressed," Shadux said rather tolerantly. He hadn't failed to notice that her hands would need some attending to.

"Thank you, but if it's a bother, I can wait." Mariss held up her hands for inspection with a somewhat sheepish smile. "It's only a few glass cuts, and all I really need are clean bandages, and maybe a little numbweed."

"Don't be foolish," Royani replied at once. "Shadux and I will take you to the infirmary and the healer can look at your hands. Have you met Shadux?" She was already herding Mariss in the direction of the infirmary. "His father is the Steward here, so perhaps you've metbefore?"

"We were introduced briefly in the courtyard," Mariss said, glancing up at the serious looking young man beside her. "Although I didn't realize that your father was injured in the earthquake. Not seriously, I hope?"

"A minor heart attack. But the healers assure us he will be fine with a little rest. Thank you for asking," Shadux said with a small smile.

Royani gave Shadux an approving smile. "Shadux has been helping my father deal with the refugees, so if you have any questions you should ask him. Besides..." Her smile turned impish and she winked at Shadux. "Some day he'll be Steward to one of my brothers, so it's good for him to get plenty of practice now. He's so patient when I pester him!"

"Do I really have a choice?" he asked with a smile that was a bit more genuine this time.

"Of course not! Though I suppose you comfort yourself with the
knowledge that if you're patient for long enough, eventually I'll
find a husband and leave you in peace."

"Yes, that is a rather comforting thought," he snorted as he gently guided Mariss around another corner. "Do your hands ache at all,Mariss?"

The Steward's daughter had watched their exchange silently, and a little enviously. She now hid her hands in her skirts and plastered a smile on her face. "Quite a bit, actually. They were cut up quite badly, but I'll manage."

"Can I see?" he asked, holding out a hand to her.

Mariss hesitated, then unwrapped the bandage on her left palm and put her hand in his. "A shelf fell on me, and when I put my hands out to brace myself I landed in shattered jars," she said simply. "They'll heal."

"Shadux, we should get her to the healer!" Royani protested, giving him an exasperated look. "We can't do anything for her here in the hallway."

He rolled his eyes at the Lord Holder's daughter before looking down at the young woman's hand in his. "They look painful. Was your healer able to get all the glass out of them?"

"I think so." Mariss shrugged. "They'll heal. It's not as bad as it could be. I just won't be playing gitar anytime soon."

"_Shadux_," Royani repeated, her voice far less playful. "I'm sure Mariss would be far more comfortable once the healer has taken care of her hands. Let's not make her stand in the hallway."

"I suppose she's right," Shadux said with a guilty smile as he let go of Mariss' hands. "You're right, it could have been much worse. Thank Faranth you weren't seriously injured. This way," he said opening the door. He childishly stuck out his tongue at the young aspiring Lady Holder. Despite her being the daughter of the Lord Holder, Shadux had grown up with her and her brothers and looked at her as his own little sister, and wasn't afraid to treat her accordingly at times.

Royani very demurely stomped on his toe as she ushered Mariss into the infirmary, intent on getting her new friend immediate attention. "Journeyman, we need a few moments of your time, please."

"Yes of course, Lady Royani," the journeyman said as he looked up from the chart he was scribbling notes on. "How can I help you... and your friends?"

Mariss glanced at Royani, then stepped forward and held up her hands to the healer. "My name is Mariss, from Amethyst Cliff Hold. I just need some clean bandages, and some numbweed if you can spare it."

"Oh, my, yes," the journeyman nodded. "You say your name is Mariss, then? Do you have a chart with us?" he asked as he pulled out the numbweed and some fresh bandages.

"Chupsin, you heard her. She's from Amethyst Cliff Hold," Shadux said with a frown. He really never could stand that man. Just because he had been one of the very few boys who had been allowed to leave the Hold to learn his craft at the Hall, he always had to act so above everyone else.

"Well, I can't just give away our supplies to just anyone,
_Assistant_ Steward Shadux. We need some kind of record," the
journeyman said with a tone of authority.

"Then scribble a note and stick it in a file somewhere. You don't need a whole scorching chart," Shadux replied with a hard edge to histone.

Mariss glanced at Shadux, then smiled at the healer. "Journeyman
Chupsin. All I really need are fresh bandages if there's a supply
issue with the numbweed. If you're worried about inventory, then bill it to the Steward at Amethyst Cliff, and we'll work it out somehow." **I hope...** The ruined Hold flashed behind her eyes; rubble and mud and the cries of the wounded. She was sharding lucky to have a roof over her head at all, let alone ask for bandages when there was every possibility that Amber Hills needed its supplies for its own people - never mind refugees!

"I think I had better clear it with the Master Healer," Chupsin said with a sour grimace. He didn't like being upstaged in his own infirmary.

"You do that, Chupsin," Shadux nodded. "I'm sure he will be
understanding in this case."

As soon as the journeyman stormed off in the direction of the
Master's office Shadux swiped the numbweed and handed the roll of
bandages to Royani. "Hold out your hands, Mariss," he whispered,
opening the jar of strong smelling salve.

Mariss quickly unwound her bandages, wincing slightly as the one on her right hand stuck to her palm, and held them out for Shadux. "Is he always like that?" she whispered back.

"Ever since he came back from the Hall," Shadux nodded. "But he was always a wherry's ass, even as a child." He gently cradled her hand in his as he carefully slathered the numbweed on each cut. "Royani, do you see him?"

Royani was glaring in the direction the healer had gone, the bandages held loosely between her fingers. "I'll take care of him, Shadux. You just take care of Mariss' hands."

"Yes, m'lady," he said with a teasing, but fond grin.

"My Da wants to send our injured here, if your Lord will allow it. I hope that your healer can cope." Her lips twitched into a smile. "Because I assure you - _none_ of them have charts."

Royani made a distinctly unladylike noise, her eyes narrowing as the healer returned. Setting the bandages down on the table next to Shadux, she drew herself up to her full height and turned to face the healer, giving him her best Lady Holder look. She'd noticed her Lady Holder look had been working quite a bit better since she'd started spending time in the evenings with her father... people tended to respect anyone who appeared to have Benaroy's ear. She wasn't about to let anyone know that what she really had was Benaroy's favorite recipe for klah.

The journeyman smiled apologetically at Royani as he walked back down the row of cots. "Forgive me for making you wait, Lady Royani, but... Hey, what are you doing there?"

"He's doing your job," Royani said coldly, stepping in front of him again. "The job _you_ failed to do for an important guest of my father. And believe me, he'll be hearing about it tonight."

"But, Lady Royani, you must understand... I... must follow
protocol... and," the journeyman stammered. "And of course, if I had _known_ she was the _Lord Holder's_ guest... But you didn't say so you see..."

Royani's eyebrow went up, as did her chin. "Do you often see
unimportant guests in the company of the Steward's chief assistant and the Lord Holder's daughter?" she demanded in an unforgiving voice. "Though if what you're telling me is that you leave _unimportant_ guests to bleed on the infirmary floor while you fiddle with hidework and charts, I'm sure my father will not be amused."

The journeyman's mouth dropped open a brief second as his mind
processed that thought. "Now... now... now you see... I didn't
realize she was a _guest_... I thought maybe she as a new fosterling..."

"Oh shards, Chupsin," Shadux sighed with exasperation. He had just about all he could take of that spineless twit. "Now you've already stepped in the wherry dung. Do you really think rolling in it will help?" He closed the lid of the jar and thrust it at the healer's chest. "There, she's slathered up for you. Put the bandages on."

The journeyman glared at the assistant steward as he took the jar and set it aside. "Well. I better be sure you applied the salve _properly_ first."

Deciding that Chupsin had been suitably deflated, Royani turned back to Mariss with a sunny smile. "Are your hands feeling any better?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you." Mariss held her hands out to the healer, who began to bandage them - perhaps a little more roughly than necessary, but the numbweed made it irrelevant. "Thank you both. All. I'll be able to work now without worrying about my hands."

"Well, you should still worry about your hands, Mariss. You don't want to do anything that will keep the wounds from healing properly," Shadux said with a sympathetic smile. The healer just glared at him. Dispensing medical advice was _his_ job, after all. But one glance in Royani's direction told him that was best kept to himself in this case.

Mariss smiled slightly as the healer tied off the last knot. "Don't worry. My Da will kill me if I can't hold a pen anymore. But speaking of my Da..." She sighed. There was a lot of work to do.

Last updated on the April 18th 2006

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Things To Do (Part 1)