**I don't own Pern or any of the characters that come from the Anne McCaffery stories. The other characters are of my creation though, and I'd appreciate it if you would ask permission before using them.**

This is a story I've been working on for a long time, but I only recently found out that FanFiction existed. Guess I just found out what to do with the story!

"Well, I don't care what they say, it's not coming. And that's the end of it."

"But…"

"But nothing. It hasn't come in over 190 turns, it's not coming anymore. It's dead. Gone. A myth."

"But it's suppose to be every 200 turns."

"So what? Are you going to let yourself believe those thousand turn old stories? They're leeches, sucking what is rightfully ours away from us. They're useless! Just because they have dragons, doesn't mean that we have to suffer. Let them suffer a bit!"

"And if thread really comes?"

"It won't."

"What do we do, then?"

"Should we go in there and demand they supply themselves? Or force them to?"

"No. We watch. We wait. Our time will come. Then the leeches will be sucking our blood no more."

A brownish speck still high in the clouds resolved itself into the unmistakable shape of one of the great dragons. Eyes fixed on its spiraling descent, a young girl first hollered for her Uncle, and then stood stone still in the courtyard. Sweeping now very much forgotten, her eyes locked on the great beast. His translucent wings worked to land as the muscular hind legs found purchase on the stony ridge. His forefeet touched the ground, and he swung his wedge shaped head around on the sinewus neck to watch his rider dismount and stride over to the Lord Holder. The young girl was about to return to her work, when she fancied that she had heard something. Turning in all directions she tried to locate where the sound, no, the voice had come from. No one was around except the newly arrived brown dragon. With a small sigh, she returned to her sweeping. Suddenly, her head shot up. Once again a voice echoed in her head. It wasn't human, and yet… and yet it almost was. Tentatively, the girl called out in her mind, who's there? There was a silence and then, I am Sementh, who calls? The voice echoed in her mind as she jumped back in surprise and fear, all the while watching the dragon's head swing around in search of the speaker. She could hear the dragon! Am I really talking to them? she thought. The voice once again echoed in her head, perfectly and wonderfully clear. Yes, you are. Who are you? I have never heard you before. Simultaneously the Sementh found her eyes, and the two locked gazes, the brilliant multifaceted eyes fixed intently on the pair of willful brown ones staring back at him. The girl spoke carefully then, and without taking her eyes from the dragon, my name is Kelsey, Sementh…

"Kelsey!" a strong yell shattered the air, and Kelsey's reminiscing. She groaned and rolled over on the grass, trying to ignore her mother.

"Kelsey, get over here!" The screeching yell reverberated in the rocks surrounding Gar Hold. Kelsey gave one more stretch before getting up. From the sound of the echoes, her mother was inside the mouth of the cave that was the entrance to Gar, and couldn't see her. Good! Kelsey thought. I can stay out for a few minutes longer. Kelsey loved dwelling on that long ago moment when she had first heard dragons. Even now she wasn't sure that the memory was real. Dragons had not visited the hold since that day. She wished that the dragons would come, and possibly take her away. Anywhere was better then here. No one cared if Kelsey existed, or could talk to dragons.

That's your fault you know she told herself. You told Sementh not to tell anyone. Dragons, yes, that was a topic frequently on Kelsey's mind. Riding a dragon, it was her favorite daydream, but it was about as likely as finding a diamond in the tiny hold. The Red Star hadn't dropped thread in 190 turns. She shuddered. Thread. If the old stories were true, it was a parasite of some kind. Allow it to burrow into the earth and it would grow and wipe out every green thing. Every single one. The only things that were impervious to it were stone and metal. Fire destroyed it, fire from the dragon's mouths. But that was heresy. Oh, the dragons could breathe fire, if they chewed firestone. But stop Thread in it's tracks? Besides, no one was alive that remembered the last Pass of the Red Star. Most people were convinced that it would never make a Pass again. But since it was still in the Interval, the queens weren't dropping as many eggs, and especially not as many queen eggs. And since the queen egg was the only type a girl could impress, well, Kelsey had almost no chance. Besides, being Weyrwomen was boring. I'd much rather impress a fighting dragon like Jenen… She stopped herself. Her brother had been gone two years now, taken on search while at a gather in Ista. He had never come back, the general assumption being he had Impressed. With a sigh, Kelsey stood up, absentmindly brushed dirt off of her top and skirt, and then turned back up the dusty tracks that lead to the hold.

Back in the hold, Kelsey's mother was in a frenzy.

"A search dragon is coming tomorrow!" She cried. That stopped Kelsey in her tracks. A search dragon? Here? A freezing sensation made its way into her gut. Why? Could the Fort queen have laid a clutch? If she had, the hold had not heard of it. Kelsey turned to ask what was going on, when her sister beat her to it.

" Why is a search dragon coming, mother?" Silka asked in her politest tone. Kelsey rolled her eyes. Silka was always polite, yet another thing that drove Kelsey insane about her older sister.

" Kirth has laid a golden egg, and they are still looking for candidates" her mother replied. The nearby girls began shrieking with delight, causing the cooks to look over in exasperation. Kelsey didn't shriek, she simply turned away and walked to her cubical. Oh, joy she thought. Being the youngest, she had no chance of getting chosen. Unless Sementh was the search dragon. Unless Sementh had told someone. But he had promised that he wouldn't and a dragon's word was a promise. On impulse, Kelsey turned and headed down the stone stairs for the bathing room. No sense in having mother's scathing remarks about being covered in dirt add to her day. Upon walking in, she found it predictably full of all the girls in the hold, chattering away about who would be searched. It was going to be a long wait. Kelsey sighed, and settled down to wait her turn. The freezing sensation that had curled into her stomach was unsettling. She didn't understand it. Impressing was what she dreamed of! To ride a dragon… more importantly, to get away from this hold. So why did she feel like running into the hills and hiding until the dragons were away?

"So sorry, did I trip over you? I didn't see you." Kelsey jerked awake as her second older sister Maril gave her a hard nudge and an acid smile. Maril walked past with a smirk. Kelsey stood up, noted that the baths were still full of girls, and headed for bed. I'll wash in the morning, when the water hasn't been poisoned by all of their inflated egos, she thought. With that, she dove under the warm furs and fell asleep.

Kelsey woke before any of the other girls the next morning. This time, when she made it to the bathing room, it was thankfully empty. Kelsey gratefully slipped into the warm water and gave herself a through scrubbing, forcing the sweetsand into her arms and legs. She had just made it back to her cubical again, when she heard stones rattling on the ridge. Drawing back the curtain a bit, she peered out. Shells, it was the search dragon! No, make that dragons. As she looked a blue and a brown landed behind the original bronze. She looked at the brown carefully. It had better not be… oh, blast the egg, it was Sementh! He'd know she was here. But would he tell his rider? He had told her he wouldn't, and that was as good as gold. Kelsey strained her mind, seeing if she could still hear the other dragons. It was doubtful, but maybe… Slowly but surely something came through.

…haven't found anyone, and this is the last stop! M'ki says it's going to be impossible.

Ticth, your rider thinks everything is impossible.

Sementh has a point, he does.

Thank you, Rarth. I believe I have several, mainly in the form of talons…

Shut up Sementh. What were you saying, Rarth?

Which brings us back to our original problem. Where on Pern are we going to find a suitable candidate?

I think I know.

Where? Sementh, come on, spill. We need one!

Kelsey gasped at that moment. Don't tell Sementh, please! she called instinctively. She could almost feel the dragon's startled thought of surprise, and then it faded and was schooled into normalcy.

But she doesn't want me to tell. Sorry. I gave my word. With that, Sementh lay down and promptly feigned sleep. Kelsey gave a sigh of relief. No matter how much she loved dragons, yes even wanted to impress one, she wouldn't go out in public to prove it.

Why not? Kelsey stopped in surprise.

Sementh?

Who else? The dragon sounded slightly amused.

I… sorry. Just wasn't expecting a response. I didn't know you could hear me.

When you called out, you made a connection. You never bothered to block me out again, so of course I could hear you. Now. Why don't you want to be searched? Kelsey stopped a moment and stared out the window at him.

I'm not sure. I'm just scared, I guess.

Of what? Sementh's tone was gentler now.

I… I don't know, she stammered, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

Is if of failing? His question stopped her short. Her silence gave him all the answer he needed. Kelsey. Failing is not the end of life. It is the beginning. You never know what you were made for unless you try everything to find the answer. I do not know if you will impress or not. But what I do know is that you will forever regret it if you do not at least try. Promise me that if T'sal comes and talks to you, you will at least try?

Buoyed by Sementh's words, she nodded quietly. Alright.

Meanwhile, T'sal, F'ril, and M'ki had headed inside the hold. M'ki addressed the holder formally.

" Holder Armez, Fort Weyr requests hospitality on their search for a queen candidate. I am the bronze rider M'ki, this is the brown rider T'sal, and the blue rider F'ril."

"Greetings dragon riders." The tall, wiry holder bowed in respect, although T'sal caught a sense of restraint to his movement. "My hold is honored by your presence. Kirth has layed another golden egg?" M'ki quietly ignored the stress on the fact that not a turn ago Krith had layed a golden egg.

"Indeed she has, Holder Armez. And we are in need of suitable female candidates to present to the new queen."

"You will have no lack of willing women in this hold." Armez replied. Armez's hold might be willing, but to T'sal, it seemed as though Armez was less then willing.

"The Weyr thanks you for your hospitality, Holder Armez." With a sweeping gesture, the holder welcomed them into his hold.

"This way, my lord bronze rider."

Several hours and many females later, T'sal ran a weary hand through his mop of black hair. None of the girls he had met were good candidates for Weyrwomen. Oh, for sure M'ki had charmed a few of them, no doubt they would accompany him back to the Weyr as his women, but none that even began to meet the standard of a Weyrwoman. Sementh, who was about as good a search partner as any man could ask for, hadn't so much as batted an eye at any of the girls. And yet… And yet something was here, in this hold. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something here, someone, he should say. Sementh was no help, every time T'sal asked him if there was someone here, T'sal would get either silence or a non answer.

"Blast the shell!" If only, if only he could figure this out! This was not a typical search. Six holds and not a single candidate. Ah, well, at least there would be a good dinner tonight. He watched the others disappear around a corner. M'ki had let him off the hook for charming the girls once he had told him about his feeling that there was still someone here. M'ki had ridden Search with T'sal before and knew that the brown rider's intuition was nearly always right.

Kelsey, on the other hand, had seen them come to meet the girls and was currently still hiding in her cubical. She knew that her uncle Armez wouldn't even think to check to see if they had seen her. Despite agreeing to Sementh's request that she at least hear T'sal out, she wasn't about to make an appearance if it wasn't necessary. Let him find her. If he could. Hearing the footsteps pass, Kelsey took a calculated risk and slid her door open and stepped out. Because T'sal had stopped around the corner, she couldn't see him, but if she went the right way he could see her. Kelsey, of course, was totally oblivious to this, and proceeded to creep down the corridor. Making a run for the hills didn't sound so bad right now.

Out of the corner of his eye T'sal caught a movement. Peering around the corner, he saw a young girl he hadn't met yet. She saw him and started toward a low door to the outside.

"No, wait!" T'sal called. The girl froze, reluctantly. She gave him a frightened glance. T'sal came towards her.

"What's your name?" he asked. The girl cleared her throat nervously.

"Kelsey" she said. T'sal gave her a long look.

"Is there a place where we can talk?" he asked her in a comforting voice. Kelsey nodded and gestured towards a door. Going inside, he found himself in a cubical. She made a motion for him to sit on a chair and he did. She sat down on the bed, looking ill at ease.

"I don't believe I've ever seen you before" he commented.

"No, I guess you haven't" she said hesitantly. T'sal studied her carefully. While her expression and whole attitude screamed of a nervous young girl who simply didn't want to be talking to him, there was something else. Just the fact that she didn't seem to want to talk to him made him curious. The rest of the girls had been clamoring to talk to him and here she was obviously trying not to. He caught her eyes. T'sal jumped. Her eyes didn't have a scared expression in them, but a stubborn, willful expression. And hiding behind all that, strength. Did she know she had it? A look of strength wasn't something he saw very often. This was new.

"Why didn't you come with the other girls?" he asked, curiously.

"Because I am the youngest." The tilt of her head seemed to say "what of it?"

"And that makes a difference, because?" He noticed that there was less fear in her and more stubborn defiance.

"No one cares about the youngest."

Now, who does that sound like? Sementh commented sarcastically. Kelsey fought to keep a grin off her face. T'sal mentally smacked his dragon. He himself had been the youngest in a hold, though fortunately a hold that was searched often.

"Well I do. You have something, m'dear. I can't put my finger on it, but it's there." Something told him that this was the person that he was looking for. But he needed dragonic opinion before he decided. To make her more at ease, he asked Sementh out loud.

"Sementh, what do you think?" As he asked, T'sal saw Kelsey's head turn slightly in the direction of the ridge where Sementh was, as if she was waiting for Sementh's answer. Little did he know that's exactly what she was doing.

I feel a sense of power in her. If chosen, she will lead well. She is not easily influenced by the thoughts of others, and can stand on her own strength. She will do well.

Kelsey was mentally stunned. Strength? Power? What was this crazy dragon talking about? And yet… and yet…

Smiling, T'sal turned to Kelsey.

"Sementh says the thinks you will do well. Will you do Fort the honor of being a queen egg candidate?" he asked. Kelsey seemed to think hard for a moment before she answered. Thoughts whirring in her head, her eyes locked with his, and, with an odd note of triumph, said simply,

"Yes."