Point of Contention

Writers: Rebecca, Rylie
Date Posted: 30th March 2006

Characters: Royan, Benaran
Description: Royan and Benaran have a disagreement
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 10, day 15 of Turn 3

Benaran remained sitting at the table after the others had gone. Royan's
presentation had gone well. His older brother had done a very good job
presenting the pros and cons of expansion of the hold in the upcoming
spring. Benaran could not fault his brother on his fact finding skills or
his dedication to the hold.

He shook his head. Royan's dedication to the hold was fanatical. What
amazed Benaran was how personal and emotional Royan's feelings seemed to
be. Ah, well each egg cracked its own way. Just because they were
brothers didn't mean that they had to be all that alike and they certainly
weren't, at least in Benaran's estimation.

"Very good summary, brother," Benaran giving Royan an honest compliment,
not something he often offered his older sibling.

Royan was immediately on his guard. Benaran _never_ complimented anyone but
himself. Unless he wanted something.

Seeing Royan tense, Benaran had to hide a smile. The two had never been on
good terms. As boys they had competed for their father's attention, and
neither ever really approved of the others methods of gaining Benaroy's
notice.

"I completely agree that Woerbin would be an excellent choice to take up
one of the holdings that had to be abandoned following the plague and you
are right, the timing would be perfect later this spring," Benaran paused
to gauge Royan's response thus far, then continued on, "But I do not agree
that he would make a good match for our little sister."

"At the risk of sounds the way you did as a child, Woerbin is a jerk. His
management skills are very good, his personality leaves something to be
desired. Beside's he's twenty turns her senior. She'd never be happy."

"I see that for once, we agree, brother," Benaran answered, surprised at
Royan's vehement response. "I thought you were in favor of the match. I
agree that Royani would be unhappy with the marriage. I think she has
altogether different ideas for whom she wishes to marry."

"Someone her own age or close to it." he watched Benaran carefully, "I'm
not sure rank should be that much of a consideration."

"I don't think someone that has a few years on her would be too bad, but
yes, he should be relatively close to her in age. If you are considering
Royani's happiness, then rank _should_ be a consideration," Benaran stated
trying to keep his tone neutral. He wanted his sister married to a Lord
Holder or heir. It would be a good alliance for the hold and if he
orchestrated the match, it would be good for him as well. This was not the
point to belabor with Royan, however.

"Royani has worked hard to learn the duties of lady holder, and females
have so few options open to them. I would like to give her every
opportunity to fulfill her potential...her dream. I DO want her to be
happy."

"What you want is someone who'll be grateful enough to loan you marks."
Royan snorted. Yes, Royani had been training but that didn't mean she
shouldn't be happy with her mate.

"I want her matched with someone befitting our bloodline!" Benaran snapped.
Benaran did indeed want someone in power who would be grateful, but was
less concerned with marks than allies. Benaroy had not yet declared his
heir after all. "You on the other hand want her married to anyone who can
have her pregnant in a turn!

"You want someone who is befitting our bloodline, I want the bloodline to
continue. You didn't see how easy it was to lose _everyone_." He replied,
doing a better job of keeping his voice neutral. "I've never forced a
marriage on my daughters and I won't on my sister."

"Our bloodline will continue," Benaran responded more calmly, "between the
two of us, we've nearly as many children as our father and we are still
young. But we also need to further relations with other holds. We need to
improve trade. We need to draw others into Amber Hills not just to
increase our numbers but to further our own gene pool. We need more
skilled crafters, you can appreciate that," Benaran gave his brother a
searching look.

Though Benaran had his own potential gain in mind, he was always interested
in furthering the hold, and in his mind political alliance made sense. For
all his self-centeredness, Benaran was a good manager. "I do appreciate
not wanting to lose everyone, but I also think that rebuilding a strong
hold means forming strong alliances. With good relations, we've better
chances of improving Amber Hills and attracting more good people."

"You won't be happy with a skilled crafter, so don't even try that one on
me. I'm proud of my craft, it's a useful one." he laughed ruefully. "Tell
me brother, you'd avoid a match with even a master crafter wouldn't you."

Benaran's crystal blue eyes were thoughtful as he gave this honest
consideration. "Not necessarily," he answered truthfully. Benaran would
advocate the match that proved the best alliance, so he could honestly
say that he would at least consider the possibility. "I would certainly
consider it, but I would want to consider Royani's strengths and interests
as well," Benaran answered, speaking as if he were placing one of the many
holders in the right job, something he was adept at. In this case he did
believe the wishes of a capricious fifteen-turn-old girl to be secondary
but he had no intention of sharing that thought.

"I repeat, you want someone indebted to you." Royan noticed his brother had
avoided any mentions of the matches he intended for his own daughters, or
sons for that matter."

"I want what is best for this hold and what _I_ believe to be best for
Royani. We are not going to agree on this point, and ultimately the
decision lies with neither of us. We can each advise father as we see fit
and the choice is his," Benaran stated standing to take his leave. He'd
hoped this once, Royan would listen to reason, but he'd been deluding
himself.

Royan, for his part, wished that his brother would listen to his heart,
rather than his belt pouch. If he truly wanted what was best for Amber
Hills, he would do so more often. "You're right this is one thing we won't
agree on." He would wait for Benaran to leave, the stables needed his
attention.

Last updated on the April 11th 2006

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Point of Contention