Unwelcome News

Writers: Heather, Miriah
Date Posted: 10th May 2019
Series: The Hallmaster's New Wife

Characters: Thayde, Jalodwyn
Description: An old friend of Thayde's arrives and doesn't like the news she hears.
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 11, day 4 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Jylanya, Endarin, Enamra

Thayde

Peeking into the infirmary, Jalodwyn spotted just who she was looking
for. A grin came over her face as she saw him bent over a table,
engrossed in hides. Creeping in, she snuck up quietly, then put her
hands over his eyes. "Guess who?"

A slow smile spread across his face. "Hm, let me think... That pretty
tavern girl with the blue eyes?"

"Hey!" There was a soft laugh. "Nice try, but no. I may have been
raised in a tavern, but I'm not a tavern girl." She released him and
put her hands on her hips, a wide smile on her face. "Good to see you
too, Thayde."

Thayde laughed as he turned, giving the woman a once over, "You're
looking well, Jal. What brings you to Dolphin Cove?" He crossed his
arms over his chest and leaned back against the table.

"So are you. But then again, you always looked well." She winked, then
rolled her shoulders. "Well....it was decided that I needed some
brushing up on my training. And I think some of the Masters at Topaz
are wanting me to see if I can partner with anyone at the pod here.
It's been two turns since Zeel passed, and they think I'm ready
again."

He made a sympathetic face. "I heard about that. I'm sorry." Thayde
couldn't imagine losing Ada. "There are quite a few unattached
dolphins in the pod. I'd be glad to introduce you to them."

"Yeah. It was pretty rough. Still is sometimes." She sighed, then took
a breath. "So, how have you been? I've not heard from you in forever.
You never visit...you never write...What's a girl supposed to think?"
She arched a brow, "Let me guess...you've been so absorbed in your
work that you forgot you have friends in other places?"

"You won't even believe everything that I've been through," Thayde
said with a little laugh. "A little over a Turn ago I was shipwrecked
and stranded on an island with the Lord Holder of Amber Hills, of all
people. We were there for over a month until we were found. Took me a
good eight months to get back to my normal weight," he shook his head
in remembrance. "Wait, I know that sounds farfetched, but there's
more. I'm married."

"I heard about that. I was going to come and visit, but I wasn't able
to...Wait...What?" Jalodwyn's jaw dropped in disbelief. The first was
hardly believable but married? He couldn't be married. She'd come here
to...She'd never been able to hide her emotions and that hadn't
changed one whit. All her smiles dropped away to reveal very real pain
in her eyes before she cleared her throat and swallowed hard. She gave
a not quite happy smile "Oh...well... I guess that kind of tosses out
the reunion I was hoping for."

Her last words surprised him. "It's not exactly a real marriage," he
blurted. The moment the words left his mouth he regretted them. In
some way saying them made him feel as if he had insulted Enamra. "I
started tutoring one of the drudges, trying to help her learn to read.
She comes from unfortunate circumstances and I had been her healer
during her pregnancy," he put up a hand, "which is another long story.
So one evening I'm at her quarters, the door is shut, another drudge
walks in, assumes the wrong thing, and suddenly the entire Hall thinks
the worst of the situation. The best thing I could do for her tattered
reputation was marry her."

Jalodwyn held up her hands, speaking slowly as if trying to understand
exactly what Thayde was saying. "Wait a moment. So...you married an
unmarried pregnant drudge because you didn't want her to have a bad
reputation?" She rubbed an eye with her fingers. "And it's not a
_real_ marriage? Okay...I'm confused." Most drudges she had met
didn't have the best reputations to begin with, so why had he married
one to salvage a reputation that sounded like it was in the privy in
the first place? "Thayde...you're well meaning and all, you really
are, but did you honestly get suckered into getting married?" She had
thought he'd never marry someone he didn't love. Ever since they were
apprentices together, she'd carried a secret hope that...Jalodwyn
pushed that thought away. "Why does that sound like exactly something
that would happen to you?"

"She's not like other drudges," he said instantly, and a little
defensively. "She was taken advantage of, that's why she was pregnant,
and then kicked out of her home for it by her father. She gave the
baby away to a woman at the Weyr." He lifted his shoulders a little.
"Marrying her changed her life for the better. It seemed like the best
thing to do."

The hint of an exasperated grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Oh, the best part, she's fifteen." For whatever reason, it felt good
to be able to say all of this to someone who had known him since
childhood, someone who had not been tied to the situation.

Her own palm smacked to her face with a groan. "Faranth and all of her
eggs, Thayde, you're old enough to be her father. What were you
thinking? I mean, I get it, young firm body and all, but marrying
her?" She shook her head. "I don't even know what to say. I understand
trying to do the right thing, but why you?" She looked up at him
again. "You don't love her, do you?"

"Trust me, I didn't marry her for her body." That didn't come out
exactly right. "I mean, we've not even consummated the marriage." He'd
not told anyone that, he preferred to just let them assume.

Did he love Enamra? That question made him pause. He felt protective
of Enamra, and he wanted what was best for her, that was kind of like
love, wasn't it? But it sounded more like a friendship and less like
love.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "She's very sweet and I promised to
provide for her but... I wouldn't call it love. She didn't even call
me by my first name until we married. She's occasionally slipped and
called me Master Thayde."

So, he was married to an unattractive, dumpy drudge, and hadn't bedded
her? Well, she supposed there was a sort of relief in that. But she
couldn't help but pity him. She sighed and looked at him. "How on Pern
do you manage to get into these situations, Thayde? I thought it was
bad when we were kids, but I think it's only gotten worse." She patted
his arm. "Well, maybe when things have calmed down you can divorce her
and get back to your life." She gave a slight smile. And maybe get
back to her too. She'd come back to the Hall permanently for that.
"Well, I'll be around for at least a month or so, so if you need to
vent, just let me know."

Divorce Enamra? The thought had never even crossed Thayde's mind. He'd
made her vows and promises on the dock in front of a harper, the
Hallmaster, and Jylanya. He'd promised to always provide for her, to
be her arm of protection, to treat her honorably. No matter what
Thayde might think about how he'd gotten into the situation, he could
not imagine breaking any of his promises.

"Venting would be good. There's not really anyone here I can talk to
about it. You should come by for dinner and meet Enamra," he
suggested.

That he didn't deny what she had assumed gave her some hope. "I'll be
glad to listen to you whenever you need it. That's what friends are
for, right?" She paused at the offer, then cleared her throat. She
didn't want to meet the girl who had dragged Thayde into a loveless
and bedless marriage. "Yeah, sure, maybe sometime. Just let me get my
mind wrapped around it first, okay? It's not like I was expecting it."

"Of course." Thayde stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his
childhood friend. "It's good seeing you again, Jal."

She reveled in the hug, pressing her cheek against his as her arms
went around him. He had been her first and their dalliances as
apprentices and junior journeyman still found their way into her
thoughts and dreams relatively often. But she'd only ever been a
friend to him. Maybe once the farce of a marriage was over, she could
convince him what she felt was real. Maybe. "You too, Thayde." She
pulled away, pausing to kiss his cheek. "I'll see you around, okay?
I've got to check in with Endarin and then unpack."

"I'll see you around," he assured her. "And I really am glad you came."

Last updated on the June 15th 2019

[Prev: Splish Splash, Oh Faranth, she's...] Series: The Hallmaster's New Wife [Next: Family Affairs]

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Unwelcome News