Chapter 11
There was a knock on the door of the common room after the evening meal; and St'adar strode in. Prisca's belly flopped over.
"Ladies; your schedule for daily activity," he said. "Though the Weyrbred girls should have some idea about practical matters as regards dragon care, most of you will not; and though only one of you is going to Impress, you all need to learn in the eventuality that it is you. You also need to undertake something of a regimen of fitness; caring for a dragon is tiring, because in the first few weeks of eating and growing, you will be doing a lot of scrubbing and oiling of growing, flaking skin, as well as running about with bowls of meat for your Impressed partner. You will want to do so, because being joined telepathically, you WILL feel her hunger pangs. We do not expect our Queenriders to be as fit as other Riders, as you will not be flying in the main wing, nor will you have to carry firestone as Queens of course do not chew firestone. On the other hand you WILL have to know how to strip and clean and use a flamethrower. Anyone here already proficient in that besides Gwesara and Mendra? Prisca, good, and – I don't know your name?"
"Keilla," said Keilla. "I'm seabred so I'm not a useless object like some of the ninnies here."
"Ah, the famous seabred tact and courtesy," said St'adar, dryly. "Well, here is the list of the times I expect you to be in the teaching caverns for either lessons or exercise."
"Weyrlingmaster," said Prisca, "I believe I may have left a small bag tied to the straps of Streth in the excitement of coming here; I apologise for being a nuisance, but might I look?"
St'adar's eyes widened slightly and he frowned.
"Oh very well; you'd better come and I'll ask Streth," he said.
Streth flew down as Prisca followed him out and she leaped nimbly up onto his neck, followed by St'adar.
"He says you mount well," said St'adar; and then they were flying to his weyr.
There were no words; just a passionate kiss and a furious coupling on his bed. At length they lay together on the quilt.
"Not an excuse you can use again," said St'adar. "We'd better bathe and get you back down. Shards, Prisca! I looked at you in with that gaggle and I was hard!"
She smiled at him.
"You affect me so much," she said. "St'adar, will you back me if I can pull something unprecedented off?"
"Probably, you little minx, what are you up to?" he asked.
"Getting Gwesara to introduce those of us who might have a chance of a Green if there's not a Queen for us to the other eggs, to increase their choices," said Prisca.
"You'll be thrown out on your ear if you're caught," warned St'adar.
"I know," said Prisca, "and we're going to do it at dawn when Talmanth is hunting. I was hoping you might be around to head anyone off…"
He sighed.
"I can't refuse you anything, you know," he said, "Especially as it is for the good of the Weyr. All right. I'll do it. Who have you picked?"
"Only Gwesara and Daraleen, the Harper girl, so far, " said Prisca. "Trayana is too young for her years, Keilla has the sensitivity of a Watchwher at midday, Mendra is a bitch and Ideena is the worst kind of spoilt brat. Well, no, not the worst, but she really would expect a dragonet to wait on her hand and foot, like the cartoon Geriana drew about me. I should feel sorry for her, really, she's a shallow piece, but right now I'm looking for quality that doesn't require hard work to draw out any good points. If she has any."
"Well, we may expect more in, I suppose," said St'adar, dubiously. "Two Green Riders would be a better statement than one, though, if you can pull it off. Be careful! How are you going to explain even being abroad at that time?"
"Because I'm teaching them acrobatics – which I shall do anyway," said Prisca.
He nodded.
"Very well! Now leap up on Streth, and hope to have a story about why you don't have that small bag."
"I do. I concealed it to bring with me," said Prisca. "It's pieces of music. Easy to overlook."
He nodded.
"Thorough in one thing, thorough in all," he said. "I really think you might manage this, lovely Prisca!"
She kissed him quickly; and then Streth was taking her down to the bowl again.
oOoOo
"Careless with your possessions, aren't you?" remarked Mendra.
"Over-excited," said Prisca. "It was something I had picked up to bring as an afterthought, some new music I'd copied," and she flourished the scroll case, "as you can see, easily overlooked."
Daraleen brightened.
"New music?" she asked.
"Probably not, for you!" said Prisca. "It's some of Master Menolly's latest tunes, and some from a very talented apprentice called Meeri, Journeyman Valtar said she's bidding fair to be a new Menolly, and one of them is called 'The Firestone Bagging Song' which I thought would be appropriate for candidates."
"Hardly for QUEEN candidates," drawled Mendra.
"Perhaps it's time some of us volunteered to help out to show we appreciate what other Riders have to do," said Prisca, dryly, "after all, it's not impossible that the lucky one will one day be The Weyrwoman; and that means leading, and leading means appreciating the jobs others you give orders to have to do."
"Oh my! I hadn't thought of that, but you're right!" said Gwesara. "Mendra, think about it – if a Weyrwoman understands the difficulties and needs of the other Riders it would make for better appreciation to direct from the Queen's Wing."
Mendra looked startled. She had been ready to sneer, but suddenly she looked thoughtful.
"I suppose there's some sense in that," she said, grudgingly. "I hate bagging firestone."
Gwesara laughed.
"I've yet to find anyone who likes it," she said. "Sing this song, you Harper-trained types, and we'll see if it helps."
Prisca got out the music and passed it to Daraleen to study as she went to get her harp; Daraleen went for her gitar while sight-reading through.
"Give me a beat and I can hold it," said Keilla.
"And if I can see the words, once I hear the tune, I can follow it," said Trayana.
Daraleen propped up the music against a glow basket.
"We need to ask the Weyrwoodcrafter for a music stand," she said.
"I'll ask him," said Gwesara, "he's my father."
"Lucky you!" said Daraleen, "woodcrafters are said to be awfully clever and innovative people!"
Mendra scowled.
Prisca gave the beat to Keilla, and played the starting note on her harp, then they sang the rolling, lilting song that followed so well the motions of firestone bagging.
"I like that," said Mendra, unwillingly. "It – it sounds as if the writer actually knows a bit about it."
"Journeyman Valtar told me that Meeri is Weyrbred and one cousin is a female Green Rider and another is a Bronze Rider," said Prisca. "I actually know her female cousin slightly – she's very talented musically too, but I guess Meeri is more interested in music than dragons."
"No reason not to be interested in both," said Mendra, "Bedella loves music; she'd love to hear this. I reckon if all of us learned it, she'd be very touched if we sang it for her as a group."
"What a lovely idea, Mendra!" said Prisca, warmly. "Perhaps we could write out an invitation – if anyone has a neat hand."
"Why should we have to learn singing on top of this awful list of duties that man left?" whined Ideena.
"How about because Dragonriders are more than just passengers and can manage more than one thing?" said Prisca. "That's all right, if you feel that way we shan't include you; there isn't a singing part for 'whine in C minor' anyway."
Daraleen laughed out loud.
"Lacrimoso ma non troppo?" she said. It was Prisca's turn to laugh.
"What?" said Mendra.
"It's a musical direction to sing or play tearfully, but not too much; it's often used to sing songs for farewell ceremonies," said Daraleen. "It's a bit more… exaggerated… than con duolo, with sadness or lamentando, with lamenting."
Mendra also laughed snidely.
"Suitable," she said. "Ideena whines like – well, I don't know what, never known anything like it."
"You are all rotten!" said Ideena, "nobody shows me the respect I deserve!"
"If we showed you the respect you deserve, we'd kick you all round the bowl," said Mendra.
"I really can't see why you're complaining, some idiot allowed the drudges to bring your luggage in," said Prisca, briskly, "which is a courtesy beyond what I would expect to be extended to candidates, to be quite honest; I doubt any of the boys get such treatment."
"Why would we be treated like the boys? Our situation is entirely different, and a Queenrider won't have to do the same things," whined Ideena.
"Indeed?" said Prisca. "A Queenrider can still catch Threadscore, if she's unlucky; Queenriders don't carry flamethrowers just to make pretty patterns, you know, they are supposed to deal with any Thread that escapes the main Wings. And I should think in gusty winds that would mean quite a lot might come through."
"Yes, when it's gusty everyone risks score," said Mendra, soberly. "The Bronze Riders take the brunt of course, but because they have to duck Between more in gusty weather, there's more that comes through. And what's more, a Queenrider has a bigger dragon to bath and oil than anyone else, so being feeble is not a good move."
Ideena spluttered.
The girls ignored her to sing the song again, and Mendra gave a quite genial nod and went out to see Bedella.
oOoOo
"Mendra," said Prisca, quietly when the girl came back, looking pleased, "Do you want to ride a dragon more than anything else?"
Mendra looked at her with yearning in her face.
"Of course I do," she said, "what sort of question is that?"
Prisca shrugged.
"Well, you might be standing because your father expected it of you, you know, the way Holdergirls often marry because it's expected, and boys follow their father into a craft. And I'd disrespect you if I didn't check."
"Oh. I see," said Mendra. "You aren't as awful as I thought you might be. My father DOES expect me to Impress, and I am afraid of letting him down, you know. But I want to ride a dragon."
"What if you Impressed a Green?" said Prisca.
Mendra stared.
"Why – it's – I don't know what anyone would say to that – it – it's not something that anyone here approves of!" she said.
"If you don't Impress the Queen, how likely is another Queen egg?" said Prisca.
"Not very likely," said Mendra. "What are you getting at?"
"Some of us," said Prisca, carefully, "are busy swearing support of each other, whichever Impresses the Queen, and are ready to reach out with our thoughts to the other eggs and will support any of us who Impressed any Green dragons."
"I see," said Mendra. "I – I don't know. I am not sure if my father would approve…"
"Wouldn't he reckon it showed you had the bravery to Impress a fighting dragon rather than a symbolic one?" said Prisca.
"I hadn't thought of it that way," said Mendra, "but a Queenrider isn't short of courage, and she has to be visible as a symbol, and be ready to lead. All right; I'll join you support group – so long as Gwesara will support me if I am the one who Impresses."
"That's the point of making the pact," said Prisca. "You're afraid that she's the better Weyrwoman than you, aren't you, and that's why you've been getting at her?"
Mendra gave her a half frightened look.
"Can you read minds like dragons can?" she demanded.
"No, but I know quite a lot about people," said Prisca. "And I thought that if you and she could just acknowledge that you both love dragons it might go a long way to being able to work with each other. And showing off how much better at bagging firestone we could be than some of the boys!" she added.
Mendra laughed ruefully.
"It might be worth doing that," she said.
"Then perhaps you'd like to join in as well with the acrobatics we're going to do in the morning?" said Prisca. "I learned acrobatics for fun and to keep fit."
Mendra looked over Prisca's trim figure.
"Multitalented, aren't you?" she said.
Prisca shrugged.
"I got over being a useless lazy object and grew up – and then put effort into catching up and more. I was about as much use as Ideena a couple of turns ago, you know. That's why I was not encouraged to stay as a candidate in another Weyr. But I love dragons."
"That's why you know so much then? Well you can't have been so lazy if you learned stuff," said Mendra.
"I wasn't allowed to slack," said Prisca, "but yes, I was lazy! But I was also nosy enough to listen and learn, and I was fascinated by the theory classes. I liked the way the exercise gave me a really good figure, so I went looking for some exercise that interested me enough to keep the figure. Selfishness. But I missed dragons…"
"I can appreciate that," said Mendra. "I can understand why Timon wanted to break the small egg too."
"T'mon," said Prisca, sharply. "At High Reaches Weyr he is given the honorific and is given respect for the number of lives he has saved for being able to land in smaller places than a full size dragon in the Mountain Rescue; and because despite being small, he and Denth still face Fall. They fly with the Queen's Wing but even so, he had big ones to face Thread on a small dragon."
Mendra flushed.
"I acknowledge that," she said. "That's brave. So, you were at High Reaches? They have female Green Riders there – is that where you get the idea?"
"Yes," said Prisca. "And I've heard it said by many of the other Riders there, that their female Green Riders would be good enough to be Queenriders in most Weyrs. You were about to ask how it works, weren't you? Some of them fly with the main wings, but most of them fly in the Queen's wing as the supporting fighting dragons. It frees up the men to fly in the Fighting Wings, of course."
"That makes sense," said Mendra. "And I can see some sense in it. Some protection for female Riders, which I think is the main reason for the objections. Queenriders and their wings do face some risk, as we were telling that silly piece, Ideena, but not as much. Yes, it could work."
"And if there's more than one girl who Impresses Greens then the Weyrleaders have to take it more seriously," said Prisca.
"You actually make a lot of sense," said Mendra, grudgingly. "Very well, I'll try this acrobatic thing too, and we'll see how we go."
Prisca grinned.
"Great! I'll wake you at dawn then," she said.
Mendra groaned.
"Don't expect me to be gracious," she said.
Prisca laughed.
"Oh you may grumble, but for working for something you want, you'll do it – not need to be dragged out of your bed and thrown in the bathing pool which has happened to me!"
"You know, I think I respect you the more for being honest about being full of fork juice," said Mendra. "Any hope for Ideena?"
"I don't know," said Prisca, "but I haven't seen any evidence that she respects or likes dragons; and that was what really saved me from being a fool."
Mendra nodded.
"Well, tomorrow evening we get to sing for Bedella," she said. "And if we impress her enough, she might even be open to the idea of her own protective court of female Green Riders."