Chapter 2
Ambreen flung herself on Elissa and hugged her when the little girl first arrived.
"Oh I am glad you're a Journeyman here too, Elissa, and can be my foster mother while I'm here!" she said happily. "Daddy and mother said I must show you and Master Gerney the same respect I'd show them, and it's not hard to show HIM respect I guess because Kyal says he's scary but I do LIKE you most awf'ly so you don't mind if I hug you sometimes, do you?"
She came up for air and Elissa laughed.
"Your parents meant you must obey us as you would them! And of course we use our titles when we teach you; and if you can't remember to call me 'Journeyman' in Hall if you're calling me 'Elissa' in the cot, then you'd be better to call me 'Journeyman' at all times; it's bad for discipline. And, kiddie, I shall be hard on you because you're the sister if one of my best friends here! But I don't mind hugs out of Hall if you CAN separate it from worktime!"
Ambreen pulled a wry face.
"I s'pose it has to be that way. Are you harder on your own fosterlings? Kyal says you have four already!"
"Oh of course I am!" said Elissa. "Kispre's too young to apprentice; we'll see how it goes for NEXT turn. And you girls are to leave him alone!"
"All right!" agreed Ambreen cheerfully!
The two craftbred girls arrived together, Sheesha grinning with wild excitement and bubbling over with joy to be an apprentice; and Sifora hiding behind a scowl. Elissa put Sifora in the bed next to Beka an – not without some misgivings – Ambreen and Sheesha together at the other end of the dormitory.
The two more effervescent ones were soon giggling together, and Beka was explaining to Sifora that Journeyman Elissa had comforting routines, and if Sifora had things she needed to do in a particular order, she was to tell Journeyman Elissa who understood these things.
Sifora brightened considerably.
Later, as the new apprentices tried their hands at the various skills on offer and it became apparent that Sifora showed a considerable talent on lathe, and the child discovered that Beka, Lianka and Kisra were as serious about woodwork as she was, she relaxed considerably and trotted around behind Beka.
It would be good for Beka to come in for a little hero worship. That Beka called Gerney 'daddy' in the cot might have had something to do with it too; Sifora was almost as singleminded about lathework as Elissa herself; and plainly approved of where she was to foster for the immediate future during her apprenticeship!
Sifora registered her disapproval of Ambreen and Sheesha by treating them as though they did not exist; a state of affairs that did not in any way trouble those effervescent maidens! Ambreen proved as good in the latheshop as any of the boys; neither distinguishing herself nor leading to Gerney demanding her immediate removal. Sheesha however could not treadle, and quickly gave up trying, turning her mind instead to what mischief she could get up to!
It was, fortunately for her, Elissa who caught her flicking pellets of sawdust and spit at other apprentices; and the Journeyman cuffed her. It was not a hard blow; but it was a definite rebuke.
"Distracting others in a situation where potentially dangerous tools are being used could cost the boy you're tormenting his fingers – or his eye, or his neighbour's eye if his chisel slips, or he looses his grip and it flies!" said Elissa coldly. "Are you going to make an attempt to treadle whilst roughing that square to a round or are you going to give up without trying?"
Sheesha gave her a cheeky grin.
"Don't reckon I'm going to get it."
"Then you'll not disturb others who are prepared to try" said Elissa sternly. "Nor risk their livelihood with your stupidity. Report to the design room; you can work with Seeta copying patterns while the rest are at lathe. Hop it; I'll not have you in here a moment longer."
Sheesha pulled as much of a face as she dared; but duly hopped it. Copying patterns was boring!
Later the little girl asked Beka
"Was Journeyman Elissa laying it on thick about losing eyes if you're distracted on lathe? I mean even by spitballs?"
Beka was horrified.
"No she wasn't!" she said "And if she'd not seen and cuffed you I was so going to thump you tonight – daddy's only just decided to trust female apprentices on the lathe and than a stupid piece like you has to try and confirm his thoughts that lots of girls are too silly to use dangerous machinery! I'm glad you've been chucked out – you give the rest of us a bad name!"
"You're so dull! What's wrong with a little bit of mucking about?"
"Nothing if it's not going to risk hurting someone but everything if it is, dimglow!" said Beka scathingly "Safety rules have their reasons; and if you piss off Master Challer by mucking about near the waterwheel and the big saw, you'll be just one strike from being sent home in disgrace! Fun is good but for fardles sake TRY to use what's between your ears!"
Had not Beka said that fun was good, it is likely that Sheesha would merely have dismissed her in her own mind as a prig; as it was she pulled a face, shrugged and said,
"All right. I'll try to be safe. I didn't know."
"Then try listening to the safety talk instead of gawping round the room like a new-hatched firelizard looking for scraps" growled Beka, not without some justification. "Your idea of fun is to bully others, s'far as I can see; and that don't make me like you enough to protect your tail when you go daydreaming!"
"BULLY? You take that back!"
"Shan't either! What else d'you call it to stop people doing what they want to do? At least ONE of those boys is hoping to get good enough quick enough to support a widowed mother and a couple of younger ones, 'cos I heard daddy talking about it; he can't afford to lose an eye or a hand to your FUN! If you want real fun you gotta be more imaginative too than making spitballs that a babe of six could come up with" said Beka scornfully. "And nothing in class, neither; 'cos that's NOT acceptable, not interfering with others. It's stupid, dangerous and babyish and anyone who does that sort of thing don't deserve to be an apprentice 'cos they're obviously not old enough inside their head!"
For Beka, being a proper apprentice was a privilege; something far removed from what she had known in Sandrina's cot, and to see someone trying to spoil the craft she loved – as she saw it – made her furiously angry!
Sheesha was not a malicious child; and she did not want to cause anyone real harm; and she did want to be an apprentice! She had, however, heard tales of apprentice pranks and did not want to be left out of that aspect of apprenticeship! Beka's censure about the boy who must support a family touched her heart; and the older girl's rebuke about her imagination fell on relatively receptive ears. Sheesha resolved to carry out pranks properly!
As a consequence, Gerney and Elissa had their anticipated night of passion curtailed before it began; for Ambreen had been a great co-conspirator to make them an apple pie bed filled with woodshavings.
Elissa shook the sheet out of the window.
"Say NOTHING dear" she said grimly "It'll spoil their fun no end to have no reaction at all!"
"This could get tiresome" said Gerney, kissing the nape of her neck in the hopes of rekindling the moment.
"Not once they've worked it out of their system" said Elissa. "It'll be trying for a while – down a bit – until they get bored. Just act nonchalent."
"I've never been the butt of jokes before" growled Gerney "None of the BOYS ever dared!"
"It's being House Father to them" said Elissa "A more familiar and approachable figure. You can be as unapproachable as you like so long as Beka and Kispre know you love THEM; and maybe they'll back off and stop it if you're all haughty Master at them."
He nodded.
"I think I'll have to be with those two young hellions. I really think they're going to be worse than H'llon and Arkis; at least those two MEANT well!"
"Y'know, oh stern and implacable Master, I find I care less" said Elissa, the bed remade to her satisfaction; she wriggled at him. "I'd rather you were stern and implacable at me; stiff even!"
Gerney, as always, gasped in arousal; and forgot their naughty house fosterlings in the more serious matter of satisfying his wife!
The older girl, Rahani, was a happy child; rather opinionated in her views that girls who did nothing but sit at home to be married were pathetic, and honest to a fault and the point of tactlessness. Tahnee rather liked her, and was glad that the child made the grade and more in the latheshop, despite never having used a lathe before. The Journeyman who had prepared her, one Mehenar, had made a concerted effort on making Rahani well trained at tool care, having himself suffered under Master Batol and wanting to save the girl that unkind Master's tongue and punishments. Batol was demoted to Journeyman and no longer teaching; but Mehenar had not known that! Tahnee told the younger girl about Batol's unpleasant foibles.
"And I have to say, top marks to your Journeyman for trying to keep you out of his way!" she said with feeling "He had a particular down on girls I think; he told our Beka she was useless and told her to go kill herself! She was pretty young then and cowed too; and thought a Master had the right to order her so!" Tahnee reflected that Beka had grown up turns since she had been shown love; but it was too complex a concept to explain.
"What a wicked sounding man!" gasped Rahani.
"Yes. Father Gerney thought so too; that's why he beat seven bells out of the creep and Master Bendarek demoted him. Master Batol I mean, he was demoted to Journeyman" she explained.
Rahani mentally promoted Masters Gerney and Bendarek to 'as good as Journeyman Mehenar!
Tahnee took most of her classes now with Sadvia and many of Elissa's friends. Another two new boys in addition to Margand joined them as part trained. Velit was also fifteen and hard working rather than brilliant; Birgel from Three Woods crafthall in the High Reaches was neither brilliant nor hardworking. He did enough to get by; and spent the rest of the lesson mucking about.
Tahnee despised him for the same reasons Beka had been so angry with Sheesha.
She told the boy too; and Birgel was surprised to have a young virago informing him that to some having the chance to apprentice was a privilege; and to see fools frittering away their opportunities when others would be GLAD of the chance to work for a Craft was eough to make anyone puke! Tahnee was far more articulate than Beka; and she wound up,
"And if you continue disrupting classes with your forkjuice, believe me, those of us who want to work will take matters into our own hands and will tie you up and gag you so you can't come to our classes; and as you don't want to learn I guess it won't make any difference to you. It's not even as if you were any good, that would give you the excuse of boredom; my kid sister Lianka's better than you at a lot of skills, and she's got better conversation too!"
Birgil was too surprised to make too much reply!
Tahnee was more interested in helping Margand in any case; and introduced the boy to Alaran, and Elissa's other main friends, Teerel, Tirlo, Kamar and the other logicators. She also got him involved by asking Alaran to relate the history of the Woodcraft logicators!
Margand was wary; and surprised at the friendliness he was shown – and the informality of the logicator meetings once he decided to attend one, even Master Gerney being addressed by his name alone for the duration of the meetings!
Margand was starting to lose the chip on his shoulder!
Since one of Elissa's other friends, Leichalle, had been made up to Journeyman at the same time as the weyrbred girl, Margand's hero Arkis had been courting her; and their betrothal was announced.
None of the logicators was surprised.
Arkis joined the logicators at the urgings of his bride-to-be; and Margand had to admit they made a perfect, if strange looking pair, for Leichalle was as petite as Arkis was broad and tall! The Holdless boy was a little jealous of Leichalle's hold on Arkis' affection; and knew it was foolishness. Knowing did not stop the feelings!
Arkis noticed; and drew the boy aside.
"Leichalle's hardly any older than you" he said "And I'm not so very much older, myself, I'm the baby of the family! To foster you would be silly; you're virtually a man. In many ways you ARE a man. But you're a fine lad; how about I adopt you as an honorary cousin the way we adopted Elissa on account of her being H'llon's apprentice? You're my apprentice in many ways – I've tried to prepare you in a hurry – so that keeps it in the family. How about it?"
Margand flushed.
"I – I'd like that very much" he said sincerely. "I don't know much about family; I never had a father; and mother died when I was ten."
"You'll learn" said Arkis cheerfully. "Family is about loving; learning to take as well as being happy to give; and finding out that the more people you give your love to the more you are loved. It's also about forgiving silliness – though with H'llon's daft brother and sillier sister-in-law that can be fardling hard at times. But one tries to be tolerant with family!"
"I'll try sir" said Margand, earnestly.
"Then out of class it's just 'Arkis'" said the Journeyman.
"Yes Arkis" said Margand.
Arkis' comment about H'llon's brother Kislan was a trifle pointed; for that Journeyman was waiting with open and almost malicious anticipation for Master Gerney to admit defeat with young Kispre and find him as hard to comprehend and discipline as Kislan had done. Kispre was utterly incomprehensible to Kislan, who was his father; and to Prelaia, the boy's mother, and hastily spoken words had led to the boy running from his family cot and thence to his fostering by Gerney and Elissa. As Kispre exhibited the same familial traits as Kislan's brother being extremely literal and needing to have order and routine, Gerney for one thought Kislan might just have recognised and made allowances for the boy. But Kislan was not the man his own father was; Kisron had been gently tolerant of young Hallon's foibles and was relieved to see his grandson now in the care of someone like Gerney who displayed the same understanding!
Kispre was utterly happy with Gerney and Elissa. They accepted him the way he was; and tried to meet his foibles half way, and no-one could really ask more! The child's new found happiness reflected in his work with the Hall Harper too; and he quickly pulled ahead of his age group, making mockery of his mother's declaration that he was stupid, even retarded!
Prelaia had gone so far as to make snide comments to Elissa about how good she was to humour Gerney by taking on a half-wit; and Elissa had affected surprise and said,
"He's taken you under his protection? I hadn't heard!"
It took a while to sink in; it is often those of no more than average intellect who call others 'stupid' if they have not themselves the wit to understand them. When it DID sink in, Prelaia burned with anger and humiliation, for the initial snide comment had been made quite publicly and in a tone to carry, to humiliate Elissa, and particularly Gerney; and the weyrbred girl had replied in kind. Prelaia after all was no journeyman who needed to have respect maintained whatever private opinion might pertain. Bendarek did gently reprove Elissa later; but had to agree when the young Journeyman said hotly,
"She put down my fosterling – her own SON – in front of everyone! And he'll be an apprentice before long, is it fair to permit kids who'll be seniors then think he is a half wit? And it was besides a deliberate attempt to make Gerney look foolish, and me wet! I should let her insult a Master and a Journeyman and a future apprentice for why, Master? You wouldn't let an outsider speak like that, and to all intents and purposes she is one! She's a tunnel snake and it's HER you should reprove for starting it!"
"My dear Elissa, your points are valid but I cannot reprove her! I have no jurisdiction over her; she is not a crafter nor yet one of the support staff!"
Elissa drew her brows together.
"Then, Master, reprove her husband. If she can't show respect for his craft she has no right to be permitted amongst crafters scrounging free meals in our eating hall; and he should make her stay out of our sight."
Master Bendarek nodded.
"There is much in what you say" he said "I cannot have her spread malice. Poor little Kispre!"
"One only hopes that the other two are normal enough not to suffer from her. And if they are not, I'll fardling well take them off her too!"
"If they are I shall support Kisron should he make recommendation to Kislan that Gerney care for them too; I will speak to him on that matter" said Bendarek. "Better done that way than with an argument."
Elissa bowed her head in acquiescence.
"As you wish Master" she said "And let's hope they don't have any more; H'llon reckons Prelaia's so sour any babe would be sucking on curds and whey!"
Bendarek turned the laugh into a cough.
"Try onion and sugar boiled together" recommended Elissa, citing the foul, but efficacious country cough cure!
"Pest" said Bendarek without rancour.
Kislan's trouble was jealousy.
He had not been jealous of Hallon when his younger brother had been a solitary lad, admittedly talented, but unable to pull, or even to flirt. Things had changed in the last few turns however! It had begun with H'llon's Impression; and not just any dragon but a Bronze dragon, giving him automatic social Rank equivalent to a lesser Master. And on top of that, H'llon had been awarded acting-Master Tassels, with no suggestion that his older brother be made up to Master, even though a dragonrider could never be more than a part time crafter! And Kislan had heard that his brother too had taken to wife – or whatever the weyr equivalent was – an exquisitely beautiful girl with curly golden hair and who was tipped to Impress a Golden Queen like several of her ancestresses! What was worse, Master Bendarek took advice from the big bumbling fool, for everyone knew H'llon was a big dummy! And last time H'llon had been visiting, F'lar, the great Weyrleader of Benden had called in to talk to the Masterwoodcrafter; and had that fool brother of his shown proper respect? No! He had merely nodded and said cheerfully 'oh hello Benden!' as though he were greeting – well, Arkis! And the Weyrleader had not put him in his place but had replied, 'ah, H'llon! How are your apprentices?" and the silly clunch had told him in detail – as though the Weyrleader really wanted to know, for everone but H'llon knew that such questions were asked only in politeness, not a desire to get an answer! But H'llon had always been the same, pretending to take a question seriously like that moronic brat Kispre!
And THEN of all things, H'llon – and how he hated having to use that honorific contraction of that fool – had PRAISED Kispre to him, saying how much talent the brat had! It was the outside of enough – and it wasn't FAIR! Why should that big clunch have so much honour and adulation, and all he, Kislan, got was abuse and hard names from Master Gerney and Master Bendarek? He wished Gerney and that weyrwhore of his every joy of Kispre; and hoped that it would sour their marriage as surely as the brat had soured his!
Kislan was not one to look closer to home for any blame!