Interview for Marriage

Writers: Ames, Chelle, Eimi
Date Posted: 29th June 2013

Characters: Parale, Syren, Venrys, Ioven, Danrina
Description: Danrina comes to meet Parale's family.
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 1, day 2 of Turn 7

Danrina

"Girls, remember we're going to have a guest so good table manners."
Parale was nervous. What if the girl was really Blood and then Syren
burped at the table or something awful? Setting out the plates, she
smiled at Venrys who she had asked to watch over Parys while she
was getting dinner ready. Ioven would be home from work soon hopefully.

Danrina wasn't sure what to expect to be honest. She had like Parale,
though she hadn't been all that comfortable around the other woman and
the baby. She lived so differently and openly than Danrina was used
to. Her life had always been about pretenses and nothing _real_. Now,
however, she knew she would _have_ to push herself outside that box
and see what would happen if she hoped to make a new life for herself.
She'd already had her share of interesting encounters since arriving
at Sunstone. What else could happen next? Only time would tell.

Arriving just slightly earlier than she'd planned, she raised her hand
to knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Syren called from her bedroom and came tearing out her
door and across the living space to the front door.

"Syren, act like a lady," Venrys admonished her younger sister.
Syren's reply was to stick her tongue out at her before opening the
door.

"Oh," Danrina replied, her face showing her surprise when the young
girl opened the door. She hadn't really asked Parale much about her
family. Then, trying to compose herself, she gave the girl her best
smile. "Hello. Is your mom home?" She glanced over the girl's head and
saw Parale in the room.

"My mother's dead. But Parale's here," the little girl answered with
complete honesty. "She's my mom now."

"Syren!" Parale sighed and shook her head. "Please just let our
guest inside, thank you. Thank you for coming Danrina. Things are almost
ready. Syren-can you set the table please?" Hoping that would keep her
little hands busy for a bit, Parale wiped her hands on her apron. "That's
Syren, this is Venrys, and you've met Parys. Ioven should be home soon."

Danrina was a bit taken back by the girl's statement, but then found
that she _liked_ the child. She was blunt and to the point, just as
Danrina liked to be when possible. She _had_ however learned there were
times she had to hold her tongue, but she hated those moments.

She nodded and greeted both girls as she entered. "Thank you all for
having me over." She stood in the room, not really certain what she
should do. She wasn't used to preparing a meal herself as her parents'
servants did everything and they just arrived and ate. However, she'd
been learning to do more things on her own. "Can I help?" she asked
after a bit of a long pause as she glanced around their home. **Quaint
and very _homey_.** She thought. **So different than the formal and
cold way my parents kept the Hold.**

Parale thought that was a kind request. If Syren set the table, Venrys
watched Parys, and Danrina helped get the food on the table, she could
get everything settled before Ioven got in. "If you don't mind, you
can help get the serving plates onto the table."

"I would be more than happy to," Danrina replied, actually _meaning_
what she said. One of the things she actually found she liked about
life? here was that she had the freedom to _do_ the things that she
hadn't at her parents' hold. Their idea of proper life meant she _had_
to use the servants they hired, when in truth she hadn't enjoyed that
all the time. She moved into the kitchen area to begin helping.

Syren quickly realized that she had a chance to pass her job onto the
new woman. "Here," she said with a broad smile, handing her a stack of
plates. "These can go on the table. The bowls are over there and
the cups are there, and the silverware is there..." See, she was
still helping! She just could be the boss instead of actually doing
it herself. That was much more fun!

"Oh, okay," Danrina replied bristling slightly at being commanded to
do anything, trying to take in all the child said as she balanced the
plates in her arms. Turning she took them to the table and set them
out. As she placed the plates her irritation settled as she knew she
had _offered_ to help. Looking for the girl again, she put on her best
smile. "You'll have to show me again where the other things are."

Smiling to herself at Syren's way of handling things, Parale pulled out
the juice and water jugs and got the food to the middle of the table
along with serving spoons. She heard a thump and looked up. "Renling
I think it's your father."

Venrys picked up the baby and carefully placed her on her shoulder,
supporting her head as she had been taught, and walked towards the door.
"Daddy, we have a visitor," she said as he came through the door.

"Oh?" Ioven asked curiously, and then remembered that Parale had said
her new friend would be coming. **Right,** he thought. Now they would
see just what this girl's story was. But after dinner. He certainly
did not want his girls hearing tales about a young woman defying her
father and striking out on her own.

"Hello," he said with a pleasant, if not entirely open smile. "Welcome
to our home. I'm Ioven. Syren," he said, frowning slightly when he saw
his daughter standing around while their guest was put to work, "help
set the table, will you? You too, Venrys. I'll take the baby."

His older daughter gave her up with a slight pout. She enjoyed taking
care of the baby. Syren sulked a little that her brilliant plan had
been thwarted, but she trudged over to the cabinet to grab the bowls.

As she continued to help set the table, the scene in the room seemed
to change with the arrival of husband and father. It was almost as
though a new life had been breathed into the small room. Danrina looked
up at the man who'd entered. He was nothing like her own father. No,
when _he_ had entered a room it was like all the warmth had been taken
from it. Rather, now it was as though a joy had been added to the
space with the arrival of Ioven.

"Hello. Thank you for having me in your home. I'm Danrina. Your
family is lovely," she told him as she smiled inwardly as the little
girl seemed to sulk a bit about having to help with the table once again.

Thankful that her husband was home, Parale finished what she was doing,
then invited everyone to sit. Parys had already fed so Parale went about
fixing her own plate while the baby rested in her cradle. "So Ioven, how
was your day?" she gave her customary greeting before turning the
conversation over to Danrina so the girl didn't feel interrogated.

"It went well. Things are getting done," he said, not wanting to go
into boring details in front of their guest. "How do you find Sun Stone, Danrina?"

She watched and listened to the interaction between them. Her own face
didn't show the emotions that she was feeling inside her. They talked
so easily with each other. How was it that she could sense the love
they shared in just those few moments compared with the coldness she
had so often felt from her own parents?

Ioven's question drew her attention. "I've found it okay, for the most
part. The people have been friendly. It is harder than I thought,
however, to be here alone," her reply was direct and to the point,
just as she preferred to be.

Something about the way she said it brought up Parale's curiosity
but she didn't want to discuss adult things like that in front of the
girls. This was time to get to know Danrina. "So how is it different
from where you're from? And where are you from, Danrina?" She began to
serve out the food.

Danrina looked between them. "I'm from Golden Dreams Hold. It's a good
sevenday almost away from here, so you've probably never heard of it."
She paused, thinking back to her time there and how much different
things were now. "Well, to be honest, nearly everything is different
here. First, Sunstone is _much_ bigger than Golden Dreams, but more
than that the people here are more open and friendly, for the most
part." She recalled a particular instance where she _hadn't_ felt
so friendly towards a certain someone. Not wanting to delve too
deeply, Danrina stopped there and looked towards the food that was
being served.

"Everything smells very good," she remarked, knowing how far a good
compliment could get her.

"We are lucky to have Parale. She is a very good cook," Ioven agreed,
wanting to acknowledge the compliment before diving in with a question
of is own. "Do you come from a large family?"

"I do, actually," Danrina replied. "I have seven siblings. Some older,
some younger." She knew it wasn't much, but she wasn't all that close
to most of them, so she often felt there wasn't much to tell.

"Oh that must be so much fun. I wish I had been part of a big family. I
always wanted siblings. Syren, what do you think-do you need five more?"
Parale chuckled. She probably couldn't manage that, even on her best day, but
she thought it would be funny to get the girl's reaction.

"Hmmmm..." Syren stuck her elbow on the table and her rested her chin
on her hand as she thought about it. Finally she said, "Not if they
were boys. If it were five girls it would be ok."

Danrina gave a little chuckle and smile at the girl's response.

"Sisters fight alot," she said as she leaned towards the girl a bit.
"Brothers can be good sometimes." She knew that for the first time
since leaving home, she actually wished her brother _had_ stayed. Then
she wouldn't feel as though she would end up in a bad situation again.

Smiling to herself, Parale listened to all this and thought Danrina might
be lonely. She knew how it felt to be in a new place and to know no one.
"You know, I moved here too, Danrina. It took me a bit to figure everything
out. The girls knew things, though. Maybe we could help you?" And if the
girl wanted to be married, she wanted children so maybe Parale could get her
to watch hers sometimes.

She looked up and smiled, a genuine smile, at Parale. "That would be
nice," she replied. "I haven't made many friends here yet and I
definitely don't know where I'm going or what I should be doing half
the time." She knew it would take some time to shake off the feelings
she'd had about her _own_ family, but Parale's family was sweet and
open and Danrina liked that. She wished she knew _how_ to be like that.

"Well most days after lesson time we're here or we go down to the water
or gathering. Sometimes Parme goes with us. Have you met her?" Parale
had learned some useful things from the other woman.

"I briefly met her, though we didn't talk much," Danrina replied, not
sure what else to say to the family. Her family never made
conversation at dinner. This was a whole new experience for her.

"Do you have kids?" Syren asked hopefully before opening her mouth
wide to stick a spoon overflowing with corn into it.

She nearly spat out her drink at that, "Me? Kids? No way. I mean it's
not that I _won't_ have any, but," she looked the little girl in the
eyes, "you need to be married, you know?" While she wanted to get away
from her father and her family, she knew he would track her down and
make her pay for soiling the family name if she had children before
marriage.

"Yes Syren. Danrina came here to find a good husband so she could get
married and have children. Just like you will get married before I get
grandchildren." Parale gave the little girl a patient look, but there
was a bit of an **or else** in that thought.

"Weren't there any men where you came from?" Venrys asked with
an almost accusatory tone. She was not so young as to not understand what
a woman's role was supposed to be. After all, she was training to take
up that mantle even now.

Her father, however, was less than pleased. "Venrys, that is not a
proper question to ask a guest. Danrina's reasons for coming to
Sunstone are her own."

She nearly smiled at the girl's words and tone. Oh how like her she'd
once been. She still was, but she kept the fiery side of her more in
check now. Unlike Ioven though, her own father hadn't put things so
nicely. She'd been taught very early not to do _anything_ to
embarrass him in front of guests.

"I don't mind answering her," she replied, looking to Ioven for
permission before she spoke.

"There were many men, Venrys. Imagine though that you'd spent all
your life dreaming of one thing, and each man that came only wanted
to crush your dreams and treat you as lowly as a servant. Would you
like that? I didn't." She left out the better part of the details.
Her dreams were to actually find out what it was for someone to
_care_ about her. She'd never felt it from her parents in truth, and all
the men they presented had only wanted her for the alliance with
her father.

Knowing Ioven's thoughts on the matter and Parale's own lessons of duty,
she hastily sought to make sense of what Danrina had said in the context
of what they had taught their girls. "So you're saying those men were very
cruel to you, Danrina?" Her eyes sought to show the implication, hoping the
other woman would agree.

She caught Parale's eye and knew what she needed to do. She'd often
found ways to do or say exactly what her parents wanted her to say
when the situation called for it. This was no different.

"Yes, Parale. They were very cruel men. So my father agreed to let me
come here to find a more suitable match," she hoped she'd responded
the way the other woman had wanted.

Ioven breathed a sigh of relief into his glass as he looked over the rim
at the young woman in question. She seemed nice and genuine enough, but
he would make sure she didn't put strange ideas in his daughter's heads
for sure. And thankfully, surprisingly, it seemed Parale was of a like
mind in that regard. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to introduce her to a few
young men in want of a wife. At least casually.

Last updated on the July 2nd 2013

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Interview for Marriage