A Thousand Winters

Writers: Heather, AL
Date Posted: 10th September 2014

Characters: Barenziah, Z'lred
Description: Barenziah leaves Amber Hills and goes to her new home.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr, Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 8, day 23 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Zathris, Benani

Barenziah

Everything inside of Barenziah felt cold. Her face was stiff from
crying, her eyes dry and gritty, and all of the tears had left her
head feeling stuffy and woolen. Putting one foot in front of the other
felt a monumental task. How could everything in her life go from
perfection to destruction in the blink of an eye? She felt.. robbed.
She had only gotten to enjoy the love and attention she'd felt with
Zathris for a few short days. Not nearly long enough. Closing her eyes
she could remember the way his arms felt around her. That memory would
have to keep her going until... Until what? Until she found someone
else?

**Impossible.** She thought, and she had to blink away tears. How
could she ever find someone to understand her the way he did? They had
the same sense of humor, and the same daring, adventurous outlook on
life...

Her eyes turned to the sky as a bronze dragon appeared. **But he has a
wife and if I stay... I'll ruin it for them.** The last thing she
wanted to do was ruin Zathris's marriage to Benani. He loved Benani.

Had her heart been intact, Barenziah would have been thrilled at the
opportunity to go to the Weyr, and not just anywhere, but Dolphin
Cove... the beach! Having never laid eyes on the ocean, going to live
and be so close to it should have been a dream come true.... Only it
wasn't. She would gladly endure a thousand winters if she could stay
with Zathris... But she couldn't.

Her bags were beside her in the courtyard, Chiffon was wrapped around
her neck, her eyes whirling with sadness as well. Barenziah watched as
the brownrider jumped down from his great beast's neck. Z'lred. The
Lord Holder's brother.

In some ways, it was easy to see how the two were related. The
stride he took, though his boasted a bit more swagger. The grin that
appeared as he approached her reflected his brother as well,
particularly in the intensity of the eyes. Beyond that, however,
there were differences. His hair was darker, his face a little more
narrow, his hair kept short. Still, there was no doubt what family
that particularly dragonrider belonged to. "Barenziah? You look
exactly as he described you."

And Zathris had admitted much to his brother, though in person rather
than by letter. Z'lred had answered the request without hesitation.
Although they had different fathers, they shared a mother who had been
beloved by them both. Z'lred and Zathris had been close growing up,
and though distance separated, they kept in touch throughout the
turns. Zathris had admitted to Z'lred what he had done to no one
else, and his brother had sympathized - then agreed to help. "I'm
Z'lred."

Although she had never seen Zathris's brother before she had no doubt
that the man was who he said he was. The family resemblance was
strong. Looking at the brownrider was just going to be another
painful reminder of all that she had lost with Zathris. Also knowing
that the man had knowledge of what had transpired between her and
Zathris was embarrassing. By most people's standards she was a loose
woman, a homewrecker... ruined. She didn't feel like any of those
things. She had never felt wrong with Zathris.

"Yes, well, flaming red hair is hard to miss." Her voice was a dry
murmur, "Thank you for your help, Z'lred." Having this man agree to
take her to the Weyr and look after her until she was on her feet was
an indescribable help.

"That's not how he described it." Amusement would have normally
tinted his smile, but there was nothing amusing about the situation.
He could understand Zathris more than anyone else, and it was one of
the reasons why he'd been approached for help. "Let me take your
things. We'll get them strapped to Okith here and be on our way.

Instantly she wondered how Zathris had described it, but she dashed
the thought just as quickly as it came. It didn't matter now. Chiffon
flared her wings at Z'lred, as if it say, 'Look how mighty I am! Bow
down before my human!' It was enough at least to lift Barenziah's
spirits marginally, "Oh, forgive me," she said in an indulgent tone,
"for not introducing this little queen here. Her name is Chiffon." The
gold firelizard crooned in a magnanimous fashion at Z'lred, as if to
say, 'You may worship me now!'

Z'lred laughed at the antics, but followed it with a proper bow. "My
greetings little queen. She's as beautiful as her pet is." His eyes
twinkled merrily as he took up her bags and propped them upon his
shoulders. "For a woman, you pack light. Come meet my Okith. He'll
be glad to croon over your gold."

}:I will?:{

**Oh hush.**

**I am not like most women.** Barenziah thought as she watched Z'lred
pack her things on the brown dragon. She glanced back behind her at
Amber Hills, her home for twenty-eight Turns. She had never had any
aspirations of living anywhere else. Chiffon disturbed her thoughts as
the gold took off and winged over to perch on the brown dragon's
headknob, her little eyes whirling with interest at the big creature.

Z'lred tightened the straps then double checked to make sure the bags
were secure. That done, he patted his dragon, grinned up at the
little gold, then turned back to the woman. "Ready to go?" She
didn't look happy, but neither had Zathris been pleased about the
outcome. At the same time, he still loved Benani and if a choice had
to be made, then Barenziah would have to suffer for it.

Barenziah didn't trust her voice. The ache in her throat brought a
fresh wave of hot tears to her eyes so she simply nodded and stepped
toward the brown. She had already said her goodbyes to Zathris, but
it still hurt that he wasn't there to see her off. He couldn't, she
knew that, but it still hurt nonetheless.

Although he saw the emotion reflected upon her face, Z'lred made no
comment as he offered his hand to help the woman up. Once she was
settled, he mounted and then secured the straps. "Are you dressed
warmly enough? /Between/ is cold." She had on a jacket, but it was
impossible to tell how well it would hold in the warmth and keep out
the cold.

She had never been/between/ before but she was dressed as she
normally would for a winter's day in Amber Hills. "I guess we'll see."
Barenziah chuckled a little as she buttoned her jacket and readjusted
her scarf around her neck. Her hands were encased in black leather
gloves and she was wearing her thickest dress and stockings. It was
her first time riding a dragon, and just being on his neckridge made
her stomach flutter with excitement.

"All right. You won't fall, I promise, but if you get scared you can
grab on to me if you like." And Z'lred wasn't going to complain about
a pretty woman holding on, not one bit. He encouraged his dragon to
take it easy, and the brown leaped into the air as carefully as he
could, then climbed higher into the sky.

Barenziah was not scared but instinctively her arms wrapped around the
man's waist in front of her, helping her keep balance as the dragon
took off into the sky. Despite feeling as if she had left her heart on
the ground, Barenziah could not help but smile in wonder at the
sensation of flight. She was flying! It was a heady rush that left her
cheeks hurting from smiling.

"We're going to go /between/ now." The rush of air made it impossible
to pass messages to passengers without shouting, even if he twisted
around. He caught sight of her expression and his grin returned.
That was more like it. Once the warning had been given, he passed
along the image to his lifemate and the trio blinked/between/.

When they burst out into the warm balmy air above Dolphin Cove,
Barenziah gasped, overwhelmed by the change of climate and the
beautiful, glittering water of the ocean. It was the first time she
had ever laid eyes on the ocean and it was everything and_more_ that
she had ever heard. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen!
Wonder played across her face as she watched the kaleidoscope of color
dragons moving about the Weyr. Chiffon soared acrobatically beside of
them, cutting flips, and other tricks.

}:She enjoys this.:{

**Then by all means, let's stay up here a bit and give her more time.**

The brown angled slightly to turn out toward the sea and zip over the
water. Silver and gold flashed beneath them, dancing on the surface of
the deep teal. Further out, shadows could be seen, and then dolphins
jumped from the water to follow the trail of the dragon as best they
could.

"Dolphins!" Barenziah exclaimed, pointing down at them as she watched
them effortlessly cut through the glistening waves. She remembered a
conversation with Zathris where she had told him that she had always
longed to see the ocean. Even though he chose Benani by sending her
away, the thoughtfulness of where he had sent her was nor lost on
Barenziah. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, caught by the
wind.

Their laughter was lost in the whistle as the air rushed past their
ears. The brown drew closer to the water, the barest tip of his
wingtips breaking the surface on the down ward motion. The dolphins
were left far behind them and the Weyr that had come into sight from
the darkness now stood behind them, shrinking from sight as water took
over the land.

Without thinking Barenziah gave Z'lred a squeeze around the middle, a
way of saying 'thank you' without having to yell against the wind. Who
knew flying go be such fun? She hoped that she would have a reason to
do it again some time. Maybe she could learn to love her beautiful new
home... in time.

Last updated on the November 5th 2014

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A Thousand Winters