Chapter 12
The Drum message came through at dawn.
DDDD Masterharper taken ill at mating flight DDDD
Meeri was out of bed in a bound, running like the wind to Domick's room, still in her nightgown, Snatch chattering madly.
Domick was pulling on trews; he did not bother with a nightshirt, and crisp black curls peeped coyly above his belt.
"Meeri, go and get some clothes on…Oldive will be on his way."
"It's Lessa's fault, silly old bag, she upset him and put a strain on him with her childish tantrums!" cried Meeri, close to a childish tantrum herself.
Domick winced.
"And the Masterharper would be the last to want to hear you accuse dragonfolk" he chided gently. "And please don't call Lessa old. She's about ten turns younger than I am."
"It's an insult not a description" said Meeri. "All right, I won't say it, but you can't stop me thinking it."
Domick sighed.
"No-one can stop ALL of us thinking it… though at least part of it's due to his drinking you know… he drinks far too much for his own good. Hop along now!"
Meeri nodded and ran back to her dormitory to dress. The others were already up the news too momentous to stay in bed.
It was an odd day. Any apprentice who knew the drum measures was up and dressed some hours before they were required to be, drifting around in little, worried, groups until the drum message rolled across the countryside,
DDDD Masterharper out of danger DDDD
Robinton was popular, a revered, if sometimes distant, father figure to so many young boys, often far from home; and even the Journeymen were not ashamed to weep tears of relief.
"I SAID he was doing too much!" Sebell's angry, tear-thickened voice could be heard drifting through an open window.
"We need a singsong, Sebell" suggested Domick. "Get them in the main Hall and get them singing; Silvina can serve klah and milk and sweet bread rolls for them."
Sebell nodded.
"Quite right…forgive me, Domick, I should not have lost my wits…there's a brat there listening in whom I suppose might run errands" he added as Meeri moved and her form became apparent at the window.
"Sir, please sir, I'm Master Domick's apprentice" she said. "Should I rally the others or run message to Silvina?"
"Run message to Silvina," said Domick. "that Acting-Masterharper Sebell wants light snacks provided for the apprentices."
"Yessir" said Meeri, flying off.
"You said what?" said Sebell.
"Rob wants you to succeed him" said Domick "And you may as well get a practice in so he can tell you if you did anything wrong when he takes back the reins of the place."
"Oh!" said Sebell, his little firelizard, Kimi, scolding Domick for shocking her Man. "But I must go to Robinton…and stop Menolly trying too!"
"Yes of course you must" said Domick. "I will stay and keep things running as I always have for Rob; I'm a good number two though I'd make a lousy Masterharper. Let me know what you can when you can" and he embraced the younger man who was so much more a son to Robinton than poor, simple Camo.
Sebell asked for a dragon to be drummed for; and left while the apprentices sang dutifully rather than enthusiastically, most of them too upset to choke down any food.
Meeri forced herself to eat.
It might be necessary to run more errands; and on an empty stomach that was unwise.
"How can you EAT?" accused Vaek. His eyes were red and blotchy.
"In the Weyr we are taught to eat at regular times regardless; even those facing Thread for the first time. At first your belly revolts, but you can make it accept by taking it slowly. It's better to have food for your body and brain to work on. If we're needed to do ANYTHING we must be fit enough and not let Master Robinton down by fainting from hunger" said Meeri.
Vaek nodded at her words; and gulped.
"Guess I'll try then… I'm not going to be outdone by any sharding smokeless weyrling" he declared.
The less drum-literate apprentices – which was by no means entirely the younger ones – were inured to sleeping through messages being sent as a general thing, and stumbled out of their beds at the normal time, gaping at the rest of their fellows who had already risen.
Naturally they were filled in on what had happened.
Silvina called for a proper breakfast; and Domick banged on the table with a spoon for attention.
"I have had a written report on the Masterharper's condition from Acting-Masterharper Sebell" he said. "Master Sebell has his own queen firelizard and Journeyman Menolly's queen, Beauty, with him to apprise us of news. The Masterharper is sleeping peacefully. The dragons," he paused to let that sink in, " – the dragons used their remarkable abilities to stay in his mind to keep him with us, to save him for us all. We owe them all a debt of gratitude; especially Ramoth and Mnementh whom he knows best. Master Oldive has suggested that when he is well enough to be moved he should go to a quiet place to convalesce; and he will want no worrying. I trust that you boys – and the few girls here – will provide exemplary behaviour for our Acting Masterharper so that Master Robinton has nothing to worry about."
There were murmurs of assent.
"Three cheers for the Masterharper and the dragons who saved him!" shouted Ferry, "and three for the Acting Masterharper and make it a round nine for Master Domick!"
The cheers were rousing!
The mood lightened, most boys fell ravenously on breakfast.
Domick decreed that lessons would take place as normal; and the masters were adjured to be lenient with any slipped concentration, especially from those who had got up so early.
"Not that ol' Morshall can even SPELL lenient" muttered Vaek, who had 'just happened' to overhear that conversation.
"P'haps Menolly will take his class to keep her occupied as she's not allowed to go Between with Firehead" said Jaynor, hopefully.
"Go and ask her" said Meeri. "She just might."
"I will" said Jaynor. "Yathel? You're good with words – come with me?"
Yathel nodded.
"Sympathy for poor old Master Morshall is needed" he was saying as they left the room. "Shock to the system….not fair to be expected to teach….Menolly the next person we look to…"
"He'll go far," muttered Meeri to herself, "if he doesn't go too far first. Menolly will rumble them of course but she knows what he's like, an official reason will go down well with her."
Her own lesson of course, with Vaek and Laghen, was with Domick; and he greeted them with klah.
"I didn't think you three would be in any fit state to concentrate," said the Tunemaster, "and nor am I. I thought we might play musical lotto, with Fugue hitting a xylophone note and you filling in on your sheets if you have it."
He had written out three lotto tables with notes written on them; and a hilarious game ensued, driving away the clouds of fear and uncertainty as Domick had intended.
It was usually the most intelligent ones who were the troublesome and mischievous ones; and they too were those who often felt things the most deeply for having the imagination to borrow trouble more readily. Domick was resolved to do the same thing in the next period with Stev and Braid!
Meeri lingered as the two boys clattered off and Domick touched her face.
"A rude interruption to our own affairs….uh, business!" he realised the implications of his unintentional choice of words and blushed dull red.
Meeri caught his hand and held it against her face.
"Us to one side now" she said "Hall first…."
"You darling!" he said. "I hated to ask it of you."
She nodded.
"Harper Hall first; it must be so" she reiterated simply. "When you choose to belong, you must choose to protect what you belong to in return for its protection of you…. I guess I appreciate that more than those used to belonging and used to being protected."
He nodded.
"You are mature…sometimes with your pranks I've wondered, doubted my sanity, certainly doubted that you could handle…."
"I'm catching up on a childhood I never really had" shrugged Meeri. "I've mostly worked it out of my system; I guess you'll forgive me if it breaks out a little bit if I resent things – like Olodkey."
He nodded.
"Yes. Oh yes. I wanted to plaster him all over the drumheights with his own drumsticks for hurting you – and not just because of my partiality. Breaking the hand of any musician could destroy a promising career, and you lucky that it has healed straight! But too because my visceral desire is to look after you, my dear."
Her eyes said it all; her love, her amazement that he should want to fight for her, her acceptance that he did.
And she nodded curtly and went abruptly on to play her violin as the moment that might become dangerously close was interrupted as Stev and Braid arrived.
oOoOo
The next few days seemed a little strange and unreal; and Sebell finally brought news that a quiet place had been found in a location to be secret enough to prevent half of Pern from badgering the Masterharper.
"It's warm and beautiful and he can swim every day until he is fit and strong again" he said. "A hold is being built just for hi and a ship prepared to carry him there."
"Sir?" asked Meeri.
"Yes, Apprentice?" Sebell looked over at this importunate apprentice.
"Now he's safe, who flew Caylith?" asked Meeri. Sebell roared with laughter.
"That's the first question Masterharper Robinton asked when he regained consciousness!" he said. "It was Barnath, you cheeky pipsqueak."
"YES!" gloated Sebendum.
"Excellent!" approved Meeri. "D'ram's son is bound to be a good Weyrleader."
"What, interested in politics at your tender years?" teased Sebell.
"That's what we're Harpers for, isn't it, sir?" Meeri countered.
"Oh, and to play music occasionally!" said Sebell. "Master Robinton has sent his regards to all of you and has given me a list of those to keep my eyes on more firmly…. Let us now sing the Duty Song they he fought so hard to keep alive during the Long Interval's last decades!"
That was news to some of the boys, who remembered nothing but Thread and had learned the Duty Song as a matter of course; and it was not hard for Ferry to coax stories out of Sebell!
Sebell gave in fairly readily under the wheedling of one of the more competent young Harpers in the Hall.
Learning about history, and how easily it could be suppressed by malice and blind ignorance was as important a lesson to these young minds as any amount of musical theory; and Masterarchivist Arnor, consummate historian though he was, was also a dry and dusty teacher of what had been. Stories about people they knew drove facts in far deeper!
oOoOo
"Of course," said Domick to Meeri, when she slid into his room that evening, "Sebell is to be effective Masterharper from now on. Robinton can do without the stress of so demanding a job. He's lived through too many interesting times and driven himself too hard… we both laid blame in the shock of the moment, but that would not have touched him had he not already worn himself to a shred, and drank too deeply into the bargain."
"He'll never be well again?" Meeri was shocked.
"No, I didn't say that! He'll be well enough – providing he has enough interest for stimulation and no more! But he must never again try to bear the burden of all the troubles of Pern on his arrogant, stupid, and stubborn shoulders! That trait he has from his father, the belief that he MUST be the one to interfere….I'm sorry, love, I worry so about him; I've hero-worshipped him since I was an apprentice."
She touched his face.
"You weren't the first; and I doubt you'll be the last" she said. "He will be well if those who care for him have anything to do with it. Sebell is a strong character, he can handle it, especially with Menolly to back him and good, dedicated Masters. Do you wish to continue to stand aside from us?"
He shook his head.
"I can feel again…. For a while I was just numb. The Hall survives; and it will thrive. There have been changes of Masterharper before. I – I want now to chase away the sick fright for good, with your kisses. And, shells help me, whatever else comes of them…."
Meeri stepped up close to him and slid her arms around his waist, looking up into his eyes.
He encircled her in his arms and gazed down at her for one endless moment. Then his mouth was on hers with longing, demanding her response.
He had it; and they kissed and explored each other.
So much emotion over the past four days left little restraint in either; and at length they lay, spent, in each other's arms in the warm darkness.
"Do you snore?" asked Meeri, drowsily.
"No-one has ever said so" he replied.
"Oh well, if you do, I'll tell you" she said, into his armpit.
Domick fought to stay awake, to savour this moment forever; in case one day it was but a memory; but the struggle was unequal and his satiated lassitude slid into the black depths of deep, dreamless, satisfying sleep for the first time in days, his mind not even doing more than skating over the concept that this was probably unwise.