No Marriage For Briata

Writers: AL, Jane
Date Posted: 18th August 2009

Characters: Briata, T'vanen
Description: T'vanen picks up Briata in the middle of the night.
Location: Garnet Valley Hold
Date: month 4, day 3 of Turn 5
Notes: Mentioned: Ishek
Takes place late at night, but before "Bringing Home A Girl."

Briata

Briata slipped through the hallways. Jewel chirruped softly and Briata
urged her to be quiet, though her tone was gentle. Ishek was asleep and
she was stealing away through the halls like a child running away from
home. Well, wasn't that what she was? To Ishek, a child. Not even woman
enough to consummate their marriage, not wife enough to be faithful to.

Those thoughts brought the sting of tears to her eyes and she shook her
head in an effort to fight them off. Her teeth played at her lower lip
as her hands clung tightly to the two bags she carried. One contained
her wedding dress and two nicer dresses that she had procured since
becoming Lady Warder. The other contained three more practical dresses
for every day wear. Her various other sundry items were scattered
between the two. Jewel nuzzled her owner's cheek, sensing her distress.
Briata made a soft sound of appreciation, the love and warmth from her
firelizard helping to bolster her courage.

Outside it was dark, but Briata made her way over the paths easily. She
bid farewell to the watchwhers as she hurried to where T'vanen had told
her he would meet her. He was going to take her to River Bluff, a run
away Lady Warder. No, she wasn't a Lady Warder any longer. In the
morning, a harper would find a request for their marriage to be
annulled, stating the reasons. Briata had cried before and after writing
it and once during so she had to stop and wait until she could see again.

The sight of T'vanen warmed her heart and a small smile slipped over her
lips despite everything. The little creature who was huddled on her
shoulder lifted her golden head to regard dragon and rider, eyes
whirling a curious blue. "Thank you." Briata whispered, her voice even
though she felt like she could cry at any moment.

"Come on." It wasn't the time to loiter, nor the place. "Can you climb
up by yourself?" He took the bags from her. "I'll secure these."

The young man who had faced Thread for the last five Turns found himself
unaccountably nervous as he strapped the bags to the designated places
on Qwarith's harness. Or perhaps not so unaccountably. As much as the
Weyr offered safety to any of the Southern Continent's women, he had the
feeling there would be something said when it was realised that the
former Lady Warder of Garnet Valley Hold had been taken from her
husband's Hold by a River Bluff dragonrider.

Briata merely nodded in affirmation and quickly climbed up with a bit of
help from Qwarith. She settled down upon his back as best she could and
waited for T'vanen to take care of the bags. She didn't dare try to
strap herself in. She hadn't ridden enough to now how to do it properly.
She wished she did, it would save some time, but she didn't dare try for
making a mistake and thereby plunging to her death. That would be
something now wouldn't it?

"All right." T'vanen balanced on the riding harness and placed the
passenger straps around Briata's waist. "Are you sure, Briata?"

"Yes." She was certain. Briata had thought Ishek wanted her as a friend,
that he wanted her as a wife. It seemed he was more concerned with
hushing those who had pushed him to marry than he was about being a
husband to her. Then there was the greenrider. Briata could have
forgiven other things, but not that. No, not that. "I'm sure. Please,
let's go."

T'vanen took her at her word, slipping into the place in front of her
and securing his own riding straps. It would be noisy for her at the
Weyr, with her ability to hear all the dragons' voices, but if that
didn't work out - if she couldn't get used to it - he could take her
somewhere else. Anywhere on Pern. **Warn her we're -**

}:I have,:{ Qwarith said, leaping into the night hard on the heels of

his words. }:And I have asked her if there is a babe.:{

Sometimes his dragon's forethought startled the young bronzerider, but
this night he welcomed it. As soon as they were at a decent height they
would go - and Briata would be safe.

**No. There is none.** She couldn't keep the thought that Ishek wouldn't
even touch her from her mind. Their marriage was a mockery, simply a
picture painted for the rest of Pern to see. It wasn't a real marriage.
The tears sprang unbidden to Briata's eyes and her arms, encircled
around T'vanen's waist, tightened their hold upon him. There would be no
babe, no heir for Ishek. No marriage for Briata. Nothing.

The three of them went /between/.

Last updated on the August 29th 2009

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

No Marriage For Briata