| Shadows twisted and crossed the sky, once, twice, three times before they vanished. The moons glowed bright that night, accentuating the movement. There was a cloudless cover, with the stars to show the shadows even brighter. They almost gleamed with darkness, foreboding and welcoming at the same time. They burned with power that only the child, Moree, among all the Gatherers that night, could feel. The girl pointed to the sky, tugging at her mother�s sleeve. The young woman, an apprentice tailor with no time to waste with the child, shrugged the girl away. �They are just dragons.� She told the girl, who watched in awe until the shadows were completely gone. The mother was less amused, and shot her daughter a look of loathing before returning to her work. This may be a Gather for everyone else, but tonight she worked as a tailor, taking commissions and fixing whatever needed immediate mending. She had no time for this annoying, bastard born child of a man whom she thought had loved her. Once, was it only five turns ago? She had been happy, and had looked forward to birthing this child. She herself had apprenticed herself to the Master Tailor Yansi and Star Find Hold, and had met the most wonderful man. Charming, he was, and intelligent. He was heir to the Holding, and she, Hanoreel, knew a good find when she found one. She attached herself to him quickly, what was being a Tailor when you could have so much more? He responded of course, as all men did to her beauty, but she�d thought this one had really cared for who she was, and wanted to keep her around. She should have known better when he refused to marry her, refused to acknowledge it as his child when she became pregnant. Even denied that he already had a daughter, by another woman, and still kept that woman around for entertainment. Hanoreel had thought he�d get over it, once he settled down with her. How foolish that dream had been. Looking back, the woman thought bitterly, I was a stupid girl of seventeen. I should never have loved him, and then I would not have his brat to remind me of what happened. Every day I see her face, and every day it is like tearing open a scar. Of course, towards the end of her pregnancy, Hanoreel had been at the center of the future-Holder�s attentions, for if she birthed a son�.But she couldn�t even do that. She gave him a daughter, a scraggly one at that. The next day he opened himself to marriage negotiations, and told Hanoreel that it would be best if she left. But leave the girl. He liked to have his children around him. Hanoreel had spat at him, and left the next day, with the girl, Mooree. A turn later Hanoreel�s love, Sirien, announced his engagement to another prominent �social� figure, the Lady Ithallia, and Hanoreel had almost killed herself. It had been the Tailor Hall�s sudden interest in her work that led her to be alive today, and ready to step up to Journeyman status at twenty-two going on twenty-three turns. Shaking her head of memories, Hanoreel turned away from the child who was curious about the Weyr�s aerial display, and focused on her work. The child would work it out for herself, and be better for it. After all, she, Hanoreel, had never had a doting parent. She had been passed from fosterer to fosterer, and even lived for a short time in the Weyr. No, little Moree would be fine, just let her learn her place. An apprentice�s child didn�t count for anything, and the apprentice didn�t have time to waste on someone who didn�t count for anything. None of this matter much to the child, who shivered as the last of these �dragons� winked out of sight. Where had they gone? Moree didn�t know, but she did know she liked them very much. It was the child�s first taste of �magic�. She turned to her mother, eager to find out more, but Hanoreel was almost gone. Sighing with maturity that no one would have assigned her, Moree turned to find something else to entertain her. She skirted along the edge of the crowd, instinctively keeping out of people�s way, especially �decent� people as her mother called them; people with nice clothes and a haughty air about them that Moree didn�t like. Previous run in�s had shown they didn�t think much of Moree either. Gracefully the child ducked between two stalls, having overheard someone say the word �dragon�, she wanted to find out more. ���.fantastic. I�d never have accredited doing shows for a night Gather though�Who can see anything? Although the queens looked exceptionally marvelous in the little light we did have. Moon�s rays glinting off of golden hide, absolutely marvelous! Don�t you agree?� Several murmurs that Moree didn�t catch. Then she heard the same man say, �Do pass me some more of that red wine Sirien, you�ll be drunk before the night is out, and you have two sons now to set an example for.� Another man coughed. �Yes, well, knowing Ithallia�s previous habits, I wouldn�t be too sure they were mine. Oh don�t give me that look! I�ve claimed them of course, had too. And they�re wonderful boys, smart already and eager. Easy to mold into proper form.� �Which one�s getting the Holding then? Seeing as how they�re the same age.� �Share it between �em.� Another man, sounding drunk and fat said. Moree would have giggled at his �bubbly� voice, but the object of her game was to avoid being seen. And the name Sirien sounded familiar, like something her mother may have mentioned in an afterthought to satisfy her child�s curiosity. �I wouldn�t do that. I�d be better off giving it to one of his sisters.� �One of?� The first man snorted, and Moree could hear him drinking something. �I thought you only had the one. Blonde isn�t she? What�s her name? Carlotta?� This Sirien snorted too, and laughed. �Yes, the stupid one? That�d be her. Now, I don�t mean any offense to the sweet girl, I�m raising her as mine, not her mother�s. But no, I�ve got another girl. Don�t know where she is, or rightly what her name was.� The men chuckled with amusement, but Moree detected a note of frustration in this Sirien�s voice. She leaned forward, watching him as his eyebrows knitted in concentration as he tried to think. Apparently whatever he was trying to think about escaped him, and he shook his head. �Nope, doesn�t come to me. Her mother stole her away before I could intervene. I wouldn�t marry the lowly girl, so she figured she�d keep my child from me.� Moree didn�t know what they were really talking about, only that the other men seemed to find it amusing and this Sirien fellow seemed to find it sad. Moree didn�t like to interrupt people when they were sad, so she took a step back to leave. But her bare foot caught a tent cord, laying behind her, and Moree jerked forward to keep her balance. The jerk just threw her though, and she fell right into the midst of these men. Some of them muttered, startled, others cursed, and yet more laughed. They ignored her of course, realizing she wasn�t important; perhaps a drudge�s child, and they didn�t bother to help her up. She scrambled to her feet, bowed to them respectfully, and began to back away. Again she tripped, and her young mind yelled at herself. But this time a hand reached out to catch her. The man, Sirien, was helping her to her feet. She turned her dirty face up to him, her blue eyes searching deeply into his. She was surprised to find her eyes mirrored in his, the same color, the same brash look about them. She smiled at him, and he smiled gently back. �There now, you�re all right lady. You�ll have to be more careful, get one of the tailor�s to find you a pair of decent shoes. None of my children are allowed to go out without shoes on, bad for the feet.� And Moree giggled as this man wiggled his eyebrows at her. She liked him. He grinned at her again, and took his hand from her shoulder. �Thank you.� Moree said, as she was trained to do, and curtseyed. The other men weren�t paying attention, but Sirien laughed. �Ah, such a polite lady. May I ask what the lady�s name is?� Moree blushed, no one had ever called her lady, and no one had ever asked her what her name was either. �Moree.� She said shyly, and at the same moment she heard it echoed loudly from somewhere off in the distance. That was her mother�s voice, calling with frustration to find her wandering daughter. The only time her mother ever called her was when it was time to leave, or go somewhere. Moree nodded her head hastily and darted off, leaving Sirien in a sort of thoughtful daze. �Moree.� He mumbled, trying to think where he�d heard that before. By the time he remembered, and went running after the child, it was too late. He wouldn�t see his daughter again for eleven turns. continue.... |