Taking Control

Writers: Mirren, Paula
Date Posted: 16th December 2015

Characters: Elona, Taren
Description: Elona seeks Taren's help to make her own choices.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 3 of Turn 8

Biting her lip with nerves, Elona stepped into the infirmary. Approaching the first healer she saw, she cleared her throat. "Excuse me."

"Yes? Did you have appointment?" Taren asked, turning to look at her. She wasn't bleeding, limping or showing any other signs of being in a emergency.

"Um, yes." Making that appointment had been difficult enough, but this was worse. "Sir," she added quickly.

"Right this way," Taren pointed a cubicle. He dismissed the apprentice he had been instructing first.

"Thank you." Resisting the urge to excuse herself and leave, Elona followed him instead.

"So, what brings you here?" Taren asked when they were in the relative privacy of exam cubicle.

"Well…" Shards this was difficult. She took a deep breath and spoke. "I was told there were teas I could take… to prevent pregnancy." As much as she loved her son, she wasn't ready for another child.

"Yes, there are. They are not 100 precent sure but the do work most of the time," Taren replied calmly. "Most women in Weyr take them."

Elona nodded. "So, it'd be all right if I did too?"

"Of course. Unless you want to have children. In that case you just stop taking the tea. Also, it works best if you take it regulary, every morning. Every time you miss it or forget it, it's effectiviness is diminished," Taren nodded and explained.

Elona nodded. It felt a little peculiar to think that she might have control over something like this. It was like - choosing to impress or not. She did feel a stab of guilt for denying life to a child, but in the end, it was her body.

"When can I start?"

"You can start right away, or more precisely, from tomorrow morning. It won't work right away, so I suggest you take other precautions for a sevenday or so. I need some personal information from you to calculate the right dossage," Taren answered. Then he proceed to ask for her name, birthdate, weight and if she ever had any allergic reactions to anything.

She answered, with a 'no' to the last question. Then she had one of her own, "Did I need to be sure I'm not pregnant before I start?" Faranth, she hadn't even thought of that until now.

"It might be the best. These herbs can sometimes cause a miscarriage," Taren replied.

"Oh." Preventing a pregnancy was one thing, inadvertently ending one was another. Elona would never tell another woman not to abort, but it wasn't something she wanted to do. "It's not impossible," she admitted.

"Let's make an exam then," Taren handed her the patient robe and turned around so she could change in privacy. "Have you had one before?" He washed his hands in preparation.

"Yes sir." She hated them; they were uncomfortable and far too personal. Still, she changed quickly and folded her clothes neatly before placing them aside.

Taren did the exam, while making guestions like, when she last had her menses.

Elona gritted her teeth and answered the questions. She was usually regular, and hadn't been late last cycle.

"You're not pregnant," Taren declared when he was done. "I'll write you a note, and instructions how to take the tea. Give the note to journeyman Fendras and he'll give you the herbs. When you ran out, just stop by to ask for more."

After breathing a sigh of relief, Elona smiled. "Thank you so much." The sooner she started, the better. It was another step away from her holder past and toward accepting her life now. "I appreciate it."

"Anytime," Taren smiled at her. He quickly wrote her the prescription and note for the journeyman.

She took the prescription and quickly changed back into her own clothes. She shot the healer a smile and all but skipped from the examination room to get her herbs.

Taren scribled her name down to his own notes, so they could be added to her medical records. "Next!"

Last updated on the December 21st 2015

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Taking Control