Disclaimer: Pern and its dragonriders are © to Anne McCaffrey.

Background: This story is a follow-on from my fanfic Evolution, which followed the story of an unusual dragon hatched to Benden Weyr far into a post-Aivas (and post Thread) future for Pern. The queens no longer clutch as often or lay as many eggs and dragonriders fulfil other functions that include flying as couriers, medical or other purposes, as and when needed.

This tale begins while certain events relating to Shaya and Suteth are still unfolding, so there are some spoilers if you haven't read the first story.

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Author's note: Thank you to my readers, particularly Starsinger and Warbender, for pointing out the fact that Nolena needs to develop a bit more spine. I need to motivate her reticence a lot more because quite clearly I am not expressing it well yet. She isn't exactly a very assertive queenrider but perhaps it is because I see so much in her of the fact that she's not sure of herself yet and how to go about acting with full authority.

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True to his word, V'ton had Gabbeth and her rider transferred to Benden that same afternoon that Nolena absented herself from the Weyr for the remainder of the day.

At twenty-two Turns of age, Danera, a tall, raven-haired woman of strong holder stock – the second-oldest daughter of a Lord Holder, no less, knew exactly how to comport herself in the presence of her peers.

Although she didn't go out of her way to make Nolena's life difficult, she treated the younger queenrider with cold disdain, taking great pleasure in creating jobs fit for "the junior weyrwoman", as if Gabbeth had already risen to assure Danera's place in the Weyr.

Perhaps what stung Nolena more was the manner in which most of the older dragonriders fawned over the newcomer. The good news in the following sevenday was that the dragonless Shaya had awoken and that she now worked as T'lenek's assistant. Although Nolena hadn't had a chance to look in on the girl, Fredal was noticeably happier when Nolena chanced to share a mug of klah with her.

V'ton, however, took every opportunity to belittle Nolena in front of the other riders, especially D'nar and the weyrlings. The only consolation to the entire situation was the fact that even the new, and oh-so-perfect Gabbeth, seemed no closer to rising than Sulath. Despite everything that V'ton was doing to grasp the reins of power here in Benden, he could no more break with tradition than any other Weyr on Pern. The new Weyrwoman would not be announced until the next queen rose. Which queen it would be, now that was an excellent question.

It appeared to be such a foregone conclusion that there wasn't any of Benden's inhabitants laying bets, while Nolena ghosted around the Weyr. She tried to find reasons not to leave her chambers, lest she encounter Danera or V'ton in the tunnels or in the dining hall.

You need to eat more, Sulath said to her.

I'm in no mood for eating, Nolena replied, winding her sleeping furs tight around her body.

It is almost past noon. It is a Gather day. At least go and eat some bubbly pies. Kushoth says that her rider has been asking after you.

Real concern tinged her dragon's tone, forcing Nolena to sit up. Sulath had pushed most of her head into Nolena's sleeping chamber and her eyes whirled with facets of green tinged with yellow.

"Sulath, everything's so sharding awful. I don't know what to do. It's as if neither of us exist now that that woman lords herself over us as if… as if… Shards!"

She sat in silence, regarding her dragon, who huffed, withdrawing her head.

I want you to put on a pretty dress, fix your hair and go down to that Gather. Do it for me if you don't want to do it for your own reasons. Please?

Nolena bit back the petulant reply that almost formed on her lips.

"I'll do it for you."

Good. Believe me when I tell you that Gabbeth and her rider are no threat to us. You are my rider and I need you to start acting the part.

Nolena nodded and wiped at the tears that threatened to spill from the corners of her eyes. She just did not have the strength of will to disobey her dragon. She found a black dress, one of the gowns that she had brought with from Merlon's Ridge. She had last worn it four Turns ago and the fabric hung limp on her frame, bearing testament to the fact that she had lost much weight. She brushed her hair until it fell in waves to her waist.

"Is it cold out there?"

There is a chill. I suggest that you wear something warm.

Nolena complied, choosing a wine-red coat, one that her mother had given to her when she Impressed Sulath.

"Do I look acceptable?" she asked her dragon, in spite of the fact that the great beast would not be well qualified to answer the question.

Sulath sniffed at her. Your hide lacks lustre.

"That sounds like something T'lenek would say to a weyrling!"

Sulath snorted. At least you have some spirit left in you. There is something afoot in this Weyr today and you must go and find out. None of the dragons know anything and Kushoth and Basteth make out as if they are not here when I know that they are.

Sulath angled her shoulder and bent a forepaw so that her rider could mount. Instead of launching herself, the dragon spread her wings and dropped the dragonlength to the ground, landing with little fuss or impact.

Be aware of what you see today. I shall take what little sun there is on the fire heights.

Nolena spared her dragon an affectionate slap on her neck before sliding down to the ground. Sulath moved away far enough and leapt to the sky, flying almost too close to the earth as she approached the fire heights. Since Gabbeth's arrival, the two queens had done no more than ignore each other. Of the pair, Sulath was the larger but Gabbeth had a more lithe build and her gold shone darker than Sulath's pale hue.

What could possibly be afoot that had her dragon so restive? Aiming to draw as little attention to herself as possible, Nolena exited via the service entrance, keeping to the shadows. The gatekeeper had turned away to search for something in his bag when she crept past. She'd barely run down the embankment that bordered the first field of tents when a half-grown blue bugled and swept low over the grand pavilion, spooking nearly every runner or herdbeast within dragonlengths. She recognised Basteth and wondered what possessed him to execute such a reckless act.

Oh, his rider would pay for this, she was sure. V'ton would see to that. But, the question was, why?

Sulath, tell Basteth to bring his rider to our weyr. I'm coming back inside.

She lives! Sulath exclaimed, jubilant, a few moments later. Little Suteth lives! Basteth is sure!

Nolena picked up her skirts to break into a run, annoyed that she'd gone to all the trouble to dress up in the first place.

We may as well have stayed inside our weyr! She berated Sulath. I expect that F'dar will be giving a very good explanation for this.

Nolena, in a manner not fitting for a soon-to-be weyrwoman, pelted down the tunnels, her passage noted this time by the gatekeeper who gazed after her, a silent "O" of surprise shaping his lips.

Sulath waited for her in the Weyrbowl and Nolena heard fabric rip as she scrambled up to her dragon's back. She could not be bothered to discover what she had torn. Sulath's whirled green tinged with yellow in her excitement and she lurched into the air with little grace, in her haste.

Sorry, she apologised to Nolena.

We're not weyrlings anymore, love, Nolena chided.

Basteth skulked deep within the recess leading into Sulath's chamber, making himself as small as possible when the larger gold landed on the ledge. Sulath deigned to rumble a greeting, nosing at the smaller dragon, whose eyes whirled rapidly in shades of yellow and orange. He shuffled to one side, exposing F'dar, who looked as if he'd sooner jump off the ledge than stand there.

Nolena slid down, landing so that she felt her ankle twist.

"Oh! Shard it!" she winced, reaching out to steady herself against her dragon's forepaw.

F'dar rushed forward, eager to help. Perhaps he would not have been quite that eager had he noted that Sulath swung her great head behind him to regard the red-haired lad but the pain lancing through Nolena's ankle kept the smile on her lips from being anything other than a grimace.

"Nolena! Lean on me!" the young bluerider exclaimed.

"Thank you. Just help me to the couch there. And then you can tell me what in Faranth's name you are up to. And, why does Basteth tell Sulath that the rogue queen still lives?"

She sighed as she sank into the soft cushions, massaging her ankle through her boot's leather.

"Do you want some ice for that? I can quickly go down…"

"No, F'dar. Sit there in the chair opposite me and talk. The ankle is not broken. I just need to rest it for a bit. Now, start at the beginning."

He squirmed in the seat, every freckle on his skin almost standing out in relief. Fear or shock, it didn't matter. F'dar was clearly agitated.

"From the start, bluerider."

"Right," the lad said, threading his fingers together so that the knuckles made a loud crack. "We were very glad when Shaya woke up. Obviously. You know that she didn't want to stay here at Benden?"

"Understandable, with so many dragons around, but no, no one told me that she wanted to leave the Weyr," Nolena said.

"T'lenek kept her so busy as his assistant that she could barely excuse herself to visit the privies," F'dar said, crinkling his lips with slight distaste. "V'ton and T'lenek disagreed much, I overheard them the one day when I'd returned to the lecture hall when I'd forgotten my gloves. V'ton wanted to keep Shaya confined to the lower caverns under watch the entire time, probably in one of the old stores and T'lenek wanted none of that, so they had words.

"At a later stage, I heard one of the sweepriders let slip that he thought he'd seen a young black-gold dragon while out near the Eastern Isles. When I asked him about this, he clammed up, looked uncomfortable and his companions told me to mind my own business. I didn't want to tell Shaya but she'd also been having strange, disturbing dreams. I didn't need to tell her – she figured it out for herself. I didn't want to make it hard on her."

Nolena flexed her foot. The pain had receded somewhat. She regarded F'dar and he shifted in his seat.

"And, today's little stunt?" she asked of him.

"A diversion. Fredal and Kushoth have flown Shaya to an island, according to a set of co-ordinates that Shaya dreamt."

"They could have been lost between!" Nolena gasped as she half sat up, her knuckles white on the armrest.

They are well, Sulath reassured her.

F'dar held up a hand. "Kushoth's confirmed with Basteth that they have found the exact location, as per the visuals. They are unharmed."

"You're all crazy!"

"It was worth it!" F'dar grinned. "We couldn't stand seeing her live like half a person anymore. I think Fredal will miss her the most but it had to be done. V'ton would have had Suteth put down."

Suteth isn't a bad dragon. She is just different, Sulath said.

F'dar noticed Nolena's communication with her dragon and raised a brow in query.

Nolena nodded. "Don't worry, F'dar. The point is that we'll need to sort out your current situation before we can worry about helping your friend. Dragons were never meant to live as exiles. What are you going to tell V'ton?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"Can you perhaps tell him that it was a dare? Get Fredal to back you up and then you two must do yourselves both the favour of making yourselves as inconspicuous as possible, at least until… Until the next queen rises."

Nolena fell silent, a deep sigh tearing itself from her lungs.

"You worry about that, don't you?" the young bluerider said.

"I do. That man is doing everything in his power to bend the Weyr to his will. He has a very heavy-handed approach."

"His brown isn't big enough to compete against D'nar's bronze," F'dar pointed out. "Or any other bronzes, for that matter. T'lenek has explained this to us on more than one occasion."

Nolena pulled a face, trying not to think of waking up next to the older man. It's not that she didn't like him but he had never shown any inclination of taking the lead, in spite of the colour of his dragon. He would not make a strong Weyrleader. And the other two bronzes of J'no and D'gen, although they would give a good show at making a go of chasing, could not possibly compete with the browns of the Weyr, who still outstripped them in size, muscle development and stamina. No. She had to content herself with the fact that it would be a brown that caught her dragon. This time, at least.

"It's not about that," Nolena said to F'dar. "Look at Benden's bronzeriders. There's S'man, who's oh-so-conveniently been transferred to Boulders Weyr. Ther is D'nar and his dragon is barely able even to catch a wherry. Your fellow weyrlings… well, compare their dragons to that of the browns here… Chances are good that Jabeth will outfly Sorkath but that still leaves us with a weyrleader who is under V'ton's thumb."

F'dar looked downcast. "You could request that some of the bronzes from the other Weyrs compete. I'd bet that there are any number of up-and-coming bronzeriders who'd bring in a fresh approach."

"F'dar. Now you're being naïve," Nolena said.

The young bluerider appeared crestfallen. However, she had to concede that the lad had a point. V'ton could only flout so many centuries' worth of traditions. The choice of Weyrwoman would be based on whichever queen was next to rise. Even if he tried his damnedest to rid Benden of competition, there may still be a remote chance that his plans could go awry.

"I'd better go," F'dar said, standing. "Is there anything that I can do for you?"

"Not at the moment, no, but I thank you for your news. It is good to hear something cheerful for a change."

"Don't you worry, Nolena, you'll be our Weyrwoman yet."

"Your faith in me is touching."

He winked at her before dashing outside and Nolena did not envy the young man for what he faced.