The Accident
Gwyn knew that Cailleath was in a bad mood. Even if the gold hadn't come right out and said she was feeling cranky, Gwyn would have known by the lashing tail, the hissing at shadows and the grumbles at everything under the sun. It was a Gather Day, a happy occasion meant for laughing, dancing and eating, but Cailleath would have no part of it.
Why did all these people have to come? the golden dragon groused, poking her nose in Gwyn's direction. Make them go away.
"They're here for the Gather, love," Gwyn replied patiently, trying to figure out how to wear her hair and finally settling on a braid. "You know that. It's Mackenzie's first Gather."
So? Cailleath mentally sniffed. I'm Mackenzie's Queen and I don't want a Gather.
"Junior Queen," Gwyn reminded her weyrmate affectionately. "And a good thing, too. If you were in charge, you'd scare everyone away."
If they are scared, they don't belong here, Cailleath replied sharply, her head swiveling towards the entranceway. Lynnia comes.
Gwyn turned to smile at her friend as the Weyrwoman entered her weyr. Lynnia paused to speak a hello to Cailleath, who's only response was her eyes whirling faster, then made her way to Gwyn's side.
"You look nice," Lynnia admired her friend, taking in the matching outfit of tunic and slacks in a beautiful shade of green. "The bronze riders will be smitten."
"They already are," Gwyn replied smugly, then laughed. "Come on, let's go see the Gather. I hope you've put together a good one for me."
"You helped," Lynnia playfully tugged at Gwyn's braid. "I'm going to blame you if it flops."
"Ha!" Gwyn exclaimed witheringly, then turned to the sulking golden dragon. "Are you going to sun on the fireheights, Cailleath dear? There is lots of company there for you."
No, Cailleath replied crankily. I'm staying here. Go away.
"Very well," Gwyn replied serenely, used to her weyrmate's moods. "Come out later if you feel like it."
I won't, Cailleath warned.
"Whatever you say," Gwyn smiled as she and Lynnia exited the weyr and headed for the Gather stalls.
Cailleath turned around on her couch and lay down. She wasn't going to give anyone the pleasure of viewing her perfection, despite the fact that the sun was warm, so with several grumbles about nothing in particular, the gold settled down to sleep.
Outside, Gwyn had left Lynnia and was strolling through the stalls. It was just after noon and many guests had already arrived. The journeymen and apprentices at the stalls were plying their trades busily and Gwyn, in no need of anything specific, wandered around, listening.
"This 'un's a nice piece, it is," a burly trader was telling a holder lady as Gwyn strolled by. "Only 4 marks and a bargain at that."
"Well, I don't know..." the lady replied slowly. "I don't think I'd be willing to pay more than 1 mark, actually."
Gwyn smiled as she went out of earshot. Bargaining was the favoured occupation of Lord Holder and holdless alike. Everywhere she looked, buyers were struggling to get the best deal and sellers were trying to get the most marks for their wares. Gwyn paused at the Harper's booth where a transaction for a tambour was just concluding.
"Hallo, Olick," Gwyn smiled at the brown haired, sturdy young man behind the counter. His knot marked him as a journeyman and he and Gwyn had apprenticed togetherfour Turns before.
"Well, Gwyn, lovely!" he smiled broadly and came around to give Gwyn a hug. "So this is your new home, is it? A fine place. How is that cranky Queen of yours?"
"Being cranky in our weyr," Gwyn smiled back. "I thought you were posted at Southern Boll Hold, Olick. What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I decided to travel a bit, see the land," Olick replied. "Heard about the Gather and thought I might as well bring some stuff with me from the Hall. See anything you like?"
The instruments for sale were all stamped by a Master, which the average person took to mean they were journeyman made or better, but Gwyn knew that many of them had been laborously made by apprentices. Still, there were some nice pieces. One gitar especially caught her eye.
"May I see that one, Olick?" she inquired, pointing to her choice. Olick smiled and handed her the gitar.
Gwyn turned it over in her hands, admiring the smooth finish and straight lines of the instrument. Setting her hands, she strummed several chords and was quite pleased with the tone. Although her own gitar, made herself, was perfectly good, she rather thought she'd like another.
"How much?" she asked resignedly, and settled down to a long bargaining session with her fellow Harper.
It was much later in the day, when the feast had been set out and everyone had had at least one helping, that Gwyn was sitting down happily resplete with roast herdbeast and succulent wherry. Her wine cup had been filled and refilled several times and she was quite content to sit there and watch the more energetic people twirl to the rhythms of the Harpers. When her turn came to play, Gwyn proudly bore her new gitar up to the platform and settled down to play the song she had composed for Cailleath before the gold had even been hatched. A Harper bugled at the intervals where the dragon was speaking and the crowd loved it.
My song, Cailleath's voice sounded in Gwyn's head during one of the instrumental bridges.
It is indeed, Gwyn thought back.
I'm going to eat.
Enjoy yourself.
The sun was just setting as Gwyn finished her song.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, came the high, shrill scream of a dragon. Gwyn whipped her head around, seeking the source and was immediately running towards the middle of the Bowl where a green weyrling was falling from the sky. Cailleath, out of her weyr, was diving after it and as the whole Gather crowd watched, grabbed the green by the wing pinions and arched her own wings to slow the descent. They were too close to the ground. Cailleath, falling straight down, dropped the green a few feet above the ground and tried to rise again, but there were no helpful wind currents to lift her. Flinging herself sideways and folding her wings tight on her back, Cailleath managed to crash into the ground beside the panicking green, rather than directly on top of her.
"Cailleath!" Gwyn screamed, running at top speed to reach her weyrmate. Cailleath's pain was easily felt through their bond, although the dragon was not making a sound. The green was bugling in fear and pain and Adreath, who had landed nearby, crooned to calm her down.
"Sarine, do something!" Gwyn begged the healer as the young woman raced towards them carrying her bag of supplies. Cailleath, insisting to Gwyn that nothing was wrong, despite the awkward angle of her wing, was heading towards their weyr.
"Gwyn, I can't," Sarine panted, passing the gold and going to the green. "Cailleath punctured the membrane on both wings. I have to fix them first before she loses much more ichor."
On the outskirts of the crowd, a girl stood with her parents. Sarine, rapidly spreading numbweed, suddenly realized who she was.
"Ayala!" she called and the girl detached herself from the crowd. "Take this to Cailleath and get it on her wing muscle. It looked like she sprained them. Check for other damage too!"
Ayala grabbed the pot of numbweed and sprinted towards the Junior Queen's weyr where Cailleath and Gwyn were just disappearing into. Lynnia, arriving at Sarine's shoulder, bit her lip at the sight of the damage.
"How is she?" she asked quietly, careful not to stand in Sarine's way.
"She won't be flying for a long time," Sarine replied, her movements slowing down as the numbweed took effect and the green began to relax. "But she would never have flown again if Cailleath hadn't caught her. That's what happened, isn't it?" Lynnia nodded. "She was lucky."
"And so were you," Lynnia stated firmly to the green's rider, a cowering boy of no more than 13 Turns who was huddled, crying at his dragon's feet. "You could have been killed, coming out of between so close to the ground! And not checking your airspace to avoid a collision? Didn't your Weyrlingmaster teach you anything?"
The boy only cried harder and Bierra, the Headwoman, bustled up.
"Now come along with me," she said soothingly to the weyrling. "Your dragon is going to be fine. We'll all just go into that weyr right there and have some klah, hmmm? You'll feel a lot better, you know you will."
With Bierra's help for the boy and Adreath crooning encouragement to the green, they went into a nearby unoccupied weyr. Lynnia, after assuring that everyone was fine or going to be, and getting the whole story from the weyrling, stormed out.
"Adreath, let's go pay a visit to Fort's Weyrlingmaster, shall we?" she suggested, but Adreath disagreed.
You are angry, she said quietly. The anger will pass. I have spoken to his brown and the Weyrlingmaster will come tomorrow.
Lynnia heaved a sigh and leaned against her golden dragon's neck, noticing that the rest of the Gatherers were heading back to the tables and stalls.
"You're right, of course," she admitted. "But it wasn't just the green who could have been lost. We could have lost Cailleath too."
We didn't, Adreath reminded her rider. Both will be fine and the little healer is treating Cailleath now.
"I'm surprised Cailleath is letting someone help her," Lynnia commented as they walked towards the younger queen's weyr. "An injury like this, she should be insisting that there's nothing wrong and for everyone to go away. It's only a minor injury like a broken talon that she wants everyone to come running to help."
The little healer has persuaded her, Adreath gave the mental equivalent of a smile.
"Another surprise," Lynnia smiled. "I wonder how many more we'll get tonight?"
"At least one," came M'ark's voice from behind them. The Weyrleader slipped his arms around Lynnia's waist and kissed the back of her neck. "Adreath suggested you might like a little calming down yourself."
"She did, did she?" Lynnia slanted a look at her dragon, but Adreath merely kept on walking. "What did you have in mind?"
M'ark spent most of the rest of the evening showing her.
From Cailleath's weyr came a sudden squawk of outrage and a splintering crash.
"HEY!" Gwyn's voice yelled. "I just bought that!"