An Anchor in a Sea of Sorrow
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: Heather
Date Posted: 21st September 2024
Characters: Jeyme, Zaverin
Description: Jeyme and Zaverin find each other in the midst of their sorrows.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 13, day 29 of Turn 11
Turns End at Barrier Lake. The music from the harpers could be heard even out onto the veranda around the Dining Hall. There was a low hum of people talking, peaking occasionally with a burst of laughter as a bawdy joke was shared. Beneath that, the gentle lapping of the lake against the flat shoreline was present.
The lake looked ethereal in the moonlight with a light mist rising from it as the last bit of daylight disappeared beneath the horizon. The first stars of the night winked into view as Jeyme sat and watched, a glass of wine held between her fingers.
Turns End always brought dueling emotions for the greenrider. Beginnings were hopeful and exciting, but endings made her feel somber and anxious. This always, inevitably, brought her back to thoughts of D'hol. The man no longer held the power over her that he once had, but there were still times where she thought back to those moments, many Turns ago when she'd sat on his desk, wearing nothing but one of his tunics. Or when she'd spent days knitting him hideous, ugly scarves that he'd dutifully worn into Threadfall.
She could remember, with a squeeze in her chest, the strength of the love she'd had for him back then. This always concluded, however, with the day she'd left him after discovering his infidelity with Kapera. That knife had been twisted deep in her gut.
Her eyes closed as she moved on from those memories to that first year living at Far Island Weyr with no one to keep her company but the young son she shared with D'hol, Dheymin. Shells how that little boy had held her heart together when it was nothing but fragile shards of glass.
And then came A'dan. The confident brownrider with the rakish smile. She'd met him when he'd won Quinneth's flight. Then, she'd fallen in love with him when she gave birth to his daughter, Ayeme.
Hot tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she remembered the day A'dan had died in Threadfall. Her body remembered exactly the hollow way it felt walking back into the weyr she shared with him only to find it empty and silent. Devoid of his rich laughter and booming voice.
She lifted her wine glass to her lips to wash down the sudden lump in her throat.
The faint scent of cologne on the breeze caught Jeyme's attention and she realized then that she was not alone. A man was standing a short distance from her, his hair lifting lightly in the wind. She could see the moonlight reflecting from his eyes as he glanced in her direction.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." His voice was rough and pitched low, as if he didn't use it often.
Zaverin had hoped to escape the jovial celebrations by getting a moment of solitude near the lake. He hadn't expected another person would be out doing the same thing. Even in the semi-darkness, he recognized the woman. He knew she was a Wingthird, a greenrider. He'd seen her often enough checking in on injured dragons and their riders in the infirmary.
For whatever reason, it mattered to Zaverin that she didn't forget about the injured dragonriders in her Wing.
"Oh, no," Jeyme lifted a hand to dismiss his apology. "Don't apologize. I'm just out here being maudlin."
"Turns End can do that," Zaverin agreed. "I struggle with it, too. It makes me think of Euvimeth." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He tried to never speak of his lost dragon to anyone. Especially not dragonriders.
Jeyme didn't respond immediately. There was no good response to someone who had lost their lifemate.
"I'm Jeyme." She stuck her wine-free hand out. "I've seen you in the infirmary but I don't think we've ever really met."
He reached out, mostly out of inborn etiquette, and took her hand. The moment their palms touched, however, Zaverin felt a jolt of desire and interest that he'd not felt in many Turns.
"Zaverin," he said, not letting her hand go. There was a sadness in her eyes that Zaverin found compelling. He thought, for once, someone else's eyes mirrored his own. He found that interesting, as he knew that her dragon was alive and well.
Jeyme seemed aware of the chemistry as well as she cleared her throat, reclaimed her hand, and finished off the last sip of her wine.
"Are you busy this evening, Zaverin?" she asked, the expression in her eyes changing.
Zaverin's heart thudded. To feel desire again, to feel _anything_ again, after so long... It was nearly overwhelming.
"No, are you?"
Her hand found his again. "I think I am now," she said, taking a step back to see if he would follow.
As if his body had a mind of its own, Zaverin found himself being towed along behind the greenrider, their joined hands an anchor in a sea of sorrow.
Last updated on the September 22nd 2024