Pride, Prejudice and Dragons
Disclaimer – I don't own Pride & Prejudice or Dragonriders of Pern, but I would like a brown dragon!
This is highly experimental so may go completely wrong. Any terms you might not understand are explained at the bottom.
Here goes with the story!
Chapter One: New Candidates
1778 A.L. – 7th Pass. High Reaches Weyr
"Eliza, can you help me with these tubers (1)?" a tall blonde woman called out across the kitchen cavern. She was answered by a dark blur skidding to a halt beside her.
"Anything for you, sis" Eliza gasped then she took a knife from Jane.
"Have you heard? The candidates from High Reaches Hold (2) are coming today." Jane said. Eliza looked at her strangely; Jane never gossiped! The older woman blushed slightly, "Well I'm too old to impress now, but I don't want to be lonely. All the guys here are too old, or not worth the effort."
"I know. You deserve someone who'll appreciate you." Eliza replied. The woman peeled the rest of the tubers in companionable silence.
Eliza was a woman of some eighteen Turns (3) with short dark hair and hazel eyes. Jane and herself were the daughters of a green-rider called Benna and a blue-rider called B'net who was also the Weyrharper (4). However their parents were busy caring for their dragons and fighting thread, so the girls had been raised by the Headwoman (5) Phillipa and the other women of the Lower caverns. There were many other children raised similar to them but Eliza was by far the oldest of the "weyrbrats" now Jane had passed the age of Impression. Eliza herself had stood for over 20 clutches since she was old enough but had never impressed.... not even a green! It was rather embarrassing, but Eliza covered it up, trying to live up to her sister. Jane had been a candidate for so many clutches she had lost count, but she had taken it all in her stride, covering the disappointment with her usual composure. Jane hadn't really wanted to be a dragonrider anyway, she'd much rather work in the kitchens. She'd picked up quite a skill with herbs and everyone loved her cooking.
There was a clutch of eggs hardening on the Hatching Ground at the moment; Serenth, the senior queen, standing guard over them. Her rider, Rialla, had estimated the eggs hatching in about three weeks. There were 31 eggs in all, including a queen egg (5) and Eliza was once again standing as a candidate.
Later in the evening Eliza watched from a shadowy corner as the half-wing of green and blue dragons landed in the bowl. There were shouts and laughs as the candidates and their luggage was off-loaded and the dragons took off for the lake. She quickly slipped back into the dining cavern, not wanting to be caught spying. Dinner was at full swing, riders crowded around the tables drinking wine and klah (7) while drudges and kitchen staff weaved their way around, carrying platters of roasted herdbeast (8) and mashed tubers. B'net sat in a corner playing a lively song, accompanied by a piping blue-rider and one of the older weyrbrats on a drum. Eliza hurried to one of the hearths and grabbed some bread and a cup of klah. She turned as a sudden decrease in the noise heralded the arrival of the High Reaches Hold candidates.
There was a group of about 15 girls and boys standing, looking a bit confused, in the entrance to the cavern. Several of the candidates stood out from the rest. An older red-haired boy stared around him, an awed look in his eyes and a big smile in his face. Eliza instantly warmed to him, but she looked on with distaste at three of the others. A small, slimy-looking boy stood just off to the right, flinching whenever a dragon roared outside. On the other side of the group there was a tall, handsome young man, a few Turns older than herself, with a disdainful expression on his face. And hanging off his arm was another red-head, this time a girl, who looked like she was examining every man in the room and ranking them in their worth to her.
Eliza's scrutiny of the candidates was interrupted as Phillipa hurried across the cavern.
"Welcome to High Reaches Weyr! I'm Phillipa, the headwoman. Feel free to come to me if you have any problems." The headwoman sent a quick look over her shoulder and everyone went back to what they had been doing. She then waded into the group, shaking hands and memorising names. Eventually she pulled out of the crush.
"If you're hungry, have a seat and one of the woman will serve you. Or if you're tired I can get someone to show you to the candidate barracks" Phillipa said, before disappearing into the crowd. The candidates moved as one towards a couple of tables and were soon eating heartily.
Eliza wasn't surprised when she was approached by Lydia while she stood talking with her best friend and fellow weyrbrat Charlotte. Lydia was a candidate that had arrived from Nabol Hold (9) only a couple of days ago, but had already flirted with most of the male riders and ingratiated herself with the gossip crowd. Charlotte was a couple of years younger than Eliza, but acted much older.
"Hey Eliza! Aren't some of those new candidates gorgeous?" Lydia burst out as soon as she was in earshot.
"I'm sure they are. I guess you know who they are?" Eliza replied.
"Of course. That rather handsome red-head is called Bingley. His father owns a pretty large hold near High Reaches. That girl with the same colour hair is his sister, Caroline."
"And who's that tall, dark-haired boy whose arm she's swinging off?" Eliza asked.
"That's Darcy. He's the second son of Lord Fitz (10) of High Reaches Hold. Isn't he so very handsome?"
"He certainly is, although he doesn't look pleased with the company he's now in" Eliza laughed as she took note of the look of scorn and disgust on his face. She wondered what stories he'd been told about the weyr, then promptly forgot him as her father, the weyrharper, started up her favourite song and people started dancing. It didn't take long for her to notice her sister Jane being whirled around by none other than Bingley, with a huge smile on her face. And it didn't really surprise her that Bingley danced with Jane again and again, because even Eliza admitted that her sister was beautiful.
It was about an hour later and Eliza had managed to grab a cup of Benden wine (11) without getting caught. She and Charlotte snuck away into a dark alcove to share their prize. They were giggling quietly when the entrance to their alcove darkened as two people stood in front of it: Bingley and Darcy.
"Why don't you dance, Darcy? It's a lot of fun. There's plenty of pretty women here" Bingley asked, frowning at his friend.
"You're dancing with the only pretty one in the room, although she smiles too much" Darcy replied, and Bingley was quick to compliment Jane.
"She isn't the only pretty one. What about her sister Eliza? She's very pretty too."
"Why, Bingley, would I want to dance with a weyrbrat who'll never Impress? She's certainly not pretty enough to tempt me." With that the pair walked off. Charlotte looked at Eliza with concern, but she just laughed it off, concealing how very much that barb had hurt her.
Eliza cried herself to sleep that night, despairing of ever becoming a rider and vowing never to be friends with a certain Darcy!
Tubers – potatoes.
High Reaches Hold – one of three major Holds protected by High Reaches Weyr.
Turns – years
Harper – a craft that is composed of singers, musicians, teachers, scholars, peacekeepers etc. A weyrharper is one attached to a weyr, often a dragonrider with some harper training.
Headwoman – the woman who is in charge of all the important support for the dragonriders e.g. food supplies, cleaning etc.
All the eggs look the same apart from the queen egg, which glows slightly and is rolled off to one side for special attention from the mother dragon.
Klah – a drink similar to coffee, made from tree bark.
Herdbeast – a cow.
Nabol Hold – another major Hold protected by High Reaches Weyr.
Lord Fitz – the "ruler" of High Reaches Hold and Darcy's father.
Benden wine – there are two main types of wine on Pern: Tillek, which is cheap but not very nice, and Benden, which goes down a lot better but is a lot dearer.
Please Read & Review. Feel free to ask me to explain anything you don't understand.
