Disclaimer: I own nothing of Pern or the Dragonriders. It is all Anne McCaffrey's.

A/N: I'm a roleplay girl. The characters Kelynan and D'ni belong to the site http://yandreiweyr. Kel is mine; D'ni belongs to my beloved Avi. I also owe the history and concept of Yandrei Weyr to Avi, without whom I would never have had the inspiration to write this. The plot, however, is mine. Yes, it is AU Pern so please don't bother me on that score. I know it's non-Canon, and while I adore Anne's books as they are, I was having fun with tweaking Pern's future in a model laid out first –as far as I'm aware- by Avi. I appreciate any comments, though please don't remark how unlikely some of the event s which will occur are. I'm aware of that, but this was really only written for fun. I think that Kel's way of 'Aiding' the Weyrleaders is unique to me, but I won't claim it as such in case I'm not the first. As mentioned, this will not be typical Pern. R and R is appreciated. I hope you enjoy this.

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Prologue

Looking pretty was not something that Kelynan did well. Standing still for long periods of time bored her to infinity. Being poked at with pins and needles was not her favourite pastime…and yet here she was. The woman pinning up the hemline of the gown tilted her head back to give the young woman a pitying look.

"Almost done, Kel," she assured the lean Candidate dryly. She received only a scowl in response.

"How long does it take?" the Candidate in question grumbled. "Painting my face takes only about 10 minutes and I can transform myself into a young lady. Why do I need a new dress?"

"The Weyrwoman says…"

"I'm perfectly well aware of what she says, and I'm sure I've said it before. I don't care. What good will a dress do me if I'm to Impress a dragon? I do my work for her just as well in trousers and a tunic."

"You'll need it for the feast, so don't dare think about sneaking off for your next fitting session…" the older woman chided sensibly. "Don't fuss." Kel frowned at her.

"Is Impressing really worth having to wear a dress?" she inquired forlornly.

"I'm only a Lower Caverns woman," the other began, before pausing momentarily. "Kel. The Weyrwoman says you need a dress. I doubt that she only means for you to look pretty in it."

There was silence, and the Candidate stopped wriggling as she considered the implications of the statement.

"You're not supposed to know about that, Lelaina!" she muttered. Lelaina rolled her eyes, and bent her head to focus on the hem of the gown.

"That's all I'm saying, Kel. The Weyrwoman commissioned a dress for you of all people. Firstly, the Weyrwoman shouldn't care about the attire of mere Candidates. Secondly, she rarely wears dresses much less even pays attention to the Candidates so why are you an exception? And thirdly, I've heard some interesting rumors about why you're the only female Candidate with such a stock of makeup…and never seen wearing it."

Kel scowled down at Lelaina and tossed her thick black hair.

"It's not worth it," she complained under her breath. "I don't know why I even bother…"

"Because you like snooping," the Lower Caverns woman pointed out drolly. "And the fact that you have an excuse to poke around Holders' dirty secrets, without the risk of getting in trouble, is a plus since you'd do it anyway. The only consequence is that you occasionally have to wear a dress, and the Weyrleaders make you report back in case the Holders are muttering behind their backs."

"Too sharp by far. Anyway…" Kel started to hop down from the stool, but Lelaina put up a hand to stop her.

"Stay put! I didn't say you could go yet," she admonished through a mouthful of pins. A murderous glower contorted the young woman's angular features—but she stayed put.

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As Kel entered the Candidate Barracks, she was assailed by an outcry of feminine voices.

"Where were you during lessons today?" "I haven't seen you all afternoon!" "Why didn't you come to class?" "Lucky—It was the most boring lecture ever!" "How on Pern did you manage to avoid lessons again?"

"It's not my fault!" she protested, as she pushed past a barrier of young women to get to her cot. "The Weyrwoman wanted to see me."

"Huh," scoffed one young woman, rolling over lazily on her cot and tossing a sheaf of parchment at Kel as she passed her. "We all know that you do something all hushed-up for the Weyrleaders, Kel. Why keep it secret from us? It can't be too important. I mean, you're only a candidate!"

"I can't tell you, because it's secret, Maeriya," she retorted crossly. "And this wasn't about…well…that! I had to get a dress made." One of the girls, not the plump and pale Maeriya but a mousy brown haired youth named Khaliall, tentatively spoke up.

"Kel, I do not believe that any one of us have ever seen you wearing a dress. And you've been in the Weyr even longer than I."

Kel shrugged, and set the parchment thrown at her by Maeriya down on a chest at the end of her bed.

"For the Feast."

She had known that these magic words were all she would need to say, and the topic would swing promptly towards the Hatching, since it always did.

"Ooh! I heard that the eggs are supposed to hatch soon!" squealed Maeriya, grinning brightly about at the other girls.

"There are always rumors, Maeriya. I doubt this one is any more accurate than the one last week," pointed out Khaliall with a gloomy sigh. Another young woman, the smallest of the group of candidates even though she was seventeen Turns, glared at Khaliall's back.

"And you always say that, Khaliall! I heard that the Weyrleaders from Fort are planning on coming and watching the Hatching," she declared, sharp eyes flickering across her peers. Maeriya leaned towards her.

"Where did you hear that, Iaigna?" she inquired lazily, quirking a brow at the other Candidate, who scowled at her. Few managed to remain unfazed after being scowled at by Iaigna, and Maeriya was no exception. She leaned away.

"The Weyrlingmaster told me," she snapped back. A flurry of speculation rose after this remark.

"The Weyrleaders from Fort Weyr are coming to Yandrei Weyr?" demanded one girl incredulously. As the youngest of the bunch (though still managing to surpass Iaigna in height) she was generally regarded kindly by the other girls.

"There are only the two Weyrs at the moment, Niniane," pointed out Khaliall softly. "Since the dragons have been dying out since the last Pass of the red star, it does make sense that the Weyrleaders should attend each hatching…Especially considering how few hatchings there are these days. And considering that this clutch has the first Golden egg in twenty Turns…"

"They don't even know if it is a Queen egg," interrupted Iaigna, frowning. Kel, still silent, arched her brows at all of the girls.

"But it's true that there haven't been any Queens hatched for a long time. And it's true that they've had to combine all of the Weyrs into these two…" Kel informed her casually. "And it's true that if another Queen doesn't hatch from this clutch, they think that we're doomed. Considering that there are only the two Queens in Fort, and one here, and one of those two is too old to reproduce, and the other is middle aged…"

"Oh, stop being so pessimistic! Dragons aren't dying out. Pern has been down to only 1 Queen before, and managed to survive!" objected Maeriya with a shiver. Niniane blinked at the other girls, dazed.

"So…dragons are dying out?"

For the first time, Khaliall glowered, and at Kel.

"Of course not. This clutch is a sign of that, and it will hatch and be healthy. The Fort Weyrleaders are coming to watch it, and our Queen is the youngest of all three. Yandrei Weyr will prosper for a long time yet."

A general murmur of agreement rippled through the girls who had been listening, even if they hadn't voiced any opinions. Kel exchanged a look with Iaigna, and shrugged her bony shoulders. Khaliall was a soft hearted young woman…but as far as the older Candidate was concerned, that trait could make her far too oblivious to the actual facts.

Brushing back a fallen tendril of short ebony hair, Kel draped herself across her cot and stared blankly up at the ceiling of the barracks.

"Now all we can do is wait," she murmured absently, and received a look from Maeriya.

"Wait for what?" demanded the stocky girl, narrowing her eyes. Kel squinted at her, and grimaced.

"I'm not sure. I guess we'll see."

"You're being enigmatic again," grumbled the Candidate, which caused Kel to grin crookedly.

"Yup. I try."

"Fine thing for us that you're not Weyrwoman!" chirruped Niniane, who had been listening from a cot across the row. Maeriya rolled her eyes at the fourteen Turn old.

"Considering that we don't even know that the egg is a Queen, it's probable that she never will be!" snapped Iaigna. This acerbic reminder caused a depressed hush to fall over the female Candidates, who glanced across their room, all wondering whether they would truly be Pern's last Candidates.

Kel was alone in pondering peacefully what they would have for dinner that evening.