After Dinner Conversation (Part I)
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: AL, Avery
Date Posted: 13th November 2008
Characters: Ishek, Briata
Description: Briata and Ishek talk together after a dinner feast at Garnet Valley.
Location: Garnet Valley Hold
Date: month 12, day 7 of Turn 4
After the feast was over, Ishek decided to mingle. He had been convinced
that looking for a bride was what he needed to do now. He had been
there long enough to be established, and there were several unmarried young
ladies who would be suitable matches at this dinner, or so he was told.
He still wasn't enamoured of the idea that he needed to make marriage
plans so soon, but at least he could talk to the young ladies. Perhaps
one or two of them was a good conversationalist. It wasn't as if he had to decide tonight...
In the group of people, he saw a familiar face, and headed that way. He could put off the task for some more time. "Briata." he greeted her. "Did you enjoy the meal?"
Briata turned, her skirts swirling at her feet with every movement. She was dressed in one of her nicest dress, one that she had made herself. Deep purple with lavender and gold embroidered over the bodice in intricate designs hugged her body then flared out at her hips. She had done the embroidery as well. The dress had taken her quite some time to make and she was rather proud of it. Her hair was pulled back and half of it put into a curl. The rest tumbled down her back, framing her face. A smile lit upon her lips as she recognised the man who spoke to her. "Lord Ishek! How nice to see you again! The meal was splendid, thank you. I hope you enjoyed it as well?"
"It was wonderful. The kitchens really outdid themselves." He smiled at her. "Is that your Gatherwear? It's lovely."
"Why thank you, my Lord. It's one of two dresses that I have." Briata looked down at her dress and ran a hand along the skirt, as if to smooth it though no wrinkles could be found. Then she turned her smile back up to Ishek. "You look quite nice yourself, this evening. Have you been doing well?"
Ishek had been assured that he looked good in his formal wear, but he still felt somewhat awkward. It was a standard Gather tunic in a dark blue with black pants to go along with it, but it had been embellished in a way the tailor said suited his rank. "I have been quite well. Much better now that the inheritence has been settled." he confessed.
"It is also good to see so many enjoying the Hold hospitality."
"Was the issue trying to you? I suppose it was, and I guess it can be difficult to have to make that sort of decision." Briata looked out across the room, her gaze stopping on a few people here and there. "Are any of your friends here?"
"Friends?" Ishek considered how to answer that. "Many of the Hold inhabitants are here, and those from other holds, for which I'm grateful. It provides a chance to meet new people, rather than just those I see every day." he hedged.
Ishek's reply caused Briata to pause and she looked straight at Ishek. "But no friends?"
"I will share with you a secret about the life at the top of the Hold." Ishek said gravely. "It can be very lonely." He paused a minute. "I friends," he continued, "but they few and far between. Most importantly, they are also my Steward and my assistant first." He wasn't trying to sound as if he didn't care about Penryn or Kiomo or even Thalia, though he hadn't mentioned her explicitly- only to point out that in his position, duty must always come before friendship.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realise." Briata had no idea. Of course, she realised that Holders, especially Lord Holders, had a lot of responsibility, but she never thought that having friends would be something they would lack. "Well," Briata stated slowly, "Would you mind if we were friends?"
"Depending on who you marry, you may find that out." He hadn't intended, when talking to Briata, to bring up marriage, but it was true. "If you marry a farmer, or a cotholder, what is expected of you will be one thing. But as the wife of a minor holder, you might be more isolated than you wish."
He considered her next statement. It amused him, but in a very good way. That an intelligent young women had the courage to propose being friends with him, when so many just saw him as a prospect, someone to win the hand of and not as a real person behind the title...it was a nice thought. "No, I wouldn't mind. It would be nice." Very nice.
"Good. I think that would be nice as well." Briata leaned forward in a rather conspiratoral manner, "To be honest, I find you rather easy to talk to. Not at all like I expected. You don't act like you're the Lord of a Hold." Well, a warder, but at the moment, it was the same thing. "Though, I must admit, you're the first Lord Holder I've met personally!"
"Until a turn ago, I was just a normal man." Ishek answered. "I aspired to be, at most, the Steward of my brother's Hold. I never expected to become a Lord, so it's hard to act with airs."
"I can see that. Please, don't act with airs around me." Briata laughed softly. "I like you as a normal man I think."
"I like that you treat me as such." Ishek looked at her. "I told you what I wanted to do with my life. Have you thought about what you want for yours?"
"Oh, yes." Briata nodded. "My father has always encouraged me to think about such things. He's even said he would let me go North to craft, but that's not what I want to do."
Interesting. He hadn't been aware that her father was so liberal- not that he knew many of the policies of his Holders. He wasn't sure how he thought about that either, although it didn't really matter. "What do you want then?"
Last updated on the November 16th 2008