On His Side

Writers: Estelle
Date Posted: 12th January 2019

Characters: Lirena, Bergien
Description: Lirena makes plans following the arrest of her husband
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 6, day 26 of Turn 9

Lirena watched as the guards' wagon receded into the distance, on the
road to Galveden's farm. Points of light flickered and danced around it;
glowbaskets, tied to the front and sides of the wagon to light the way,
jolting over the ruts in the road. From this distance, it could have
been an ordinary trader caravan.

"Lirena?"

She turned. The herdsman, Bergien, was watching her. The staff that he'd
brought from the cothold to deal with the intruders hung loosely from
one hand. Thinking back, she realised that on some level, she'd known
what they were going to find, from the moment she'd woken to the sound
of men shouting outside the cothold, and realised that Terren wasn't
beside her in their bed.

If she was honest with herself, she'd known that something wasn't right,
and hadn't been for months. Where her husband got the marks to drink
himself into a stupor in the evenings. The nights when she'd woken,
late, and found him missing. The look of panic on his face when the
search riders had come.

Now she knew.

"You should come inside," Bergien said. "It's not good, staying out
here. There could be other holdless lurking."

Still silent, Lirena turned and started back towards the cothold. They
weren't the only ones who'd been wakened by the commotion, and there
were lights at the windows. The people - the fieldhands and drudges, the
children - would be wondering what was going on. Terren, for all his
other faults, had always had a way with words. He'd have been able to
reassure them, think up some plausible explanation. But he wasn't here.
It was up to her to protect the family now.

She stopped in her tracks. "Bergien?"

"Yes?" He caught up with her.

"Could you saddle Rue for me?" The cothold's only runnerbeast was a
gentle and placid animal. She usually pulled a cart to transport goods
between the local farms, but Lirena occasionally rode her to their
neighbours' when she hadn't the time for the walk.

Bergien gave her a long look. He knew that Lirena was perfectly capable
of saddling the runnerbeast herself. "Anything I can do to help, but..."

"I'm going to ride to my brother-in-law's farm, to ask my sister to look
after the children while I'm away at Emerald Falls." She started towards
the cothold again, her pace swift enough that he had to jog a few paces
to catch up. "If I go now I should be there tomorrow afternoon. I'll
need to explain to the holders, and then pack for the journey. So if you
could get her ready for me, I'd be grateful."

"Lirena!" The herdsman reached out and took her arm. It was such an
unexpected gesture that she stopped short. Bergien had never behaved
towards her with anything other than polite respect before. "It's not
wise to set off so late. We don't know if the guards caught all of the
bandits; there could be more of them hiding out there. You should take
some time to think, and leave in the morning. If you still want to."

"My husband needs me! I - " She cut herself off, taking a breath.
Snapping at Bergien was foolish, when she needed his support. "I have to
go to the Hold to arrange for his defence. We'll need to hire a good
harper, and gather evidence. That'll cost marks, but my family will
help. I don't know how long it will take them to arrange a trial, but I
could be away for sevendays. Perhaps as much as a month."

Bergien had lived in the cothold for nearly a Turn now, and from what
he'd seen, few men deserved such loyal support less than Terren. In the
herdsman's opinion, he was a lazy, unscrupulous rascal who was about to
get what was coming to him. The pity was that if found guilty, he would
take his family down with him. No Lord would let an ex-convict be in
charge of a farm. His wife and younger children would have to rely on
their relatives to take them in.

He remembered that the land had belonged to Lirena's family for
generations. Perhaps she couldn't be blamed for wanting to fight, no
matter the odds.

"I'll do what I can to help." He did his best to hide his reluctance.
"But Lirena, I don't think it will be easy. He was caught speaking to
the bandits, and it looks like they found something in the barn."

"I know that." Lirena started towards the cothold again. "Bergien, I
need you to look after the farm while Terren is away. I know you're
looking for another place, but if you could stay for a short time, I'd
be grateful."

"Oh - of course. I haven't got any plans to leave just yet."

"And I don't think you should be calling them bandits," she said firmly.
"No-one has actually seen them steal anything, so far as we know. That
could be important."

Bergien shook his head in incredulous admiration. He wasn't sure if she
was inspired or deluded. "Shells, Lirena, you think like a Masterharper."

"Someone in this family has to." They'd reached the yard. The main door
was open, and glowlight cast a wide patch of light across the bare
ground. "Bring Rue around here when she's ready. And one more thing - "

"Yes?"

The light caught her face, and he could see her features, tightly drawn
and controlled. "I'll need a message sent, by runner, to the Weyr.
Urgent. I'll write it before I go."

The herdsman nodded slowly. "To your son?"

"No, to the Weyrlingmaster. R'fal's dragon is still young, and this will
be a terrible shock to him. He loves his father." Lirena knew little of
dragons, and the last time she'd seen Marlath he had been only a
hatchling. She didn't know how the pair would react, and thought it
safest to have a senior rider break the news to him. Hopefully the
dragonriders would deal with it sympathetically. The thought of her boy
receiving this news, alone in the Weyr, wrung her heart, but there was
nothing else to be done.

"His dragon will be a comfort to him," Bergien reminded her.

"Yes, I know. It's a mercy he's out of all of this." She pulled her
shawl more tightly around her. "I need to change for riding...I'll be as
quick as I can."

"Yes, ma'am." He inclined his head, hoping the gesture of respect would
strengthen her, even in a small way. As he watched, she took a breath,
then stepped into the lighted hall. There was a clamour of voices, and
then hers, calmly calling for their attention.

Bergien shook his head and turned towards the stables. He would not like
to be in Terren's place right now, but if he had to be, he would want
someone like his wife on his side.

Last updated on the January 21st 2019

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On His Side