Use What You Have

Writers: Miriah, Ames
Date Posted: 17th March 2019

Characters: Yriadha, Danrina
Description: Yriadha delivers a message and offers some advice as well
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 9, day 10 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Bryvin, Dalvina, Galrad

Yriadha

Danrina

"Danrina?" Yriadha rapped lightly on the door frame, waiting for the
other woman's consent to enter. In her hand she held a rolled piece of
hide, a stamp from a minor hold pressed upon the seal. Her eyes
examined the room and she couldn't help but compare it to her much
simpler one; she had requisitioned the furnishings herself, but hadn't
considered the momentary flash of envy. Still, there were reasons and
she told herself firmly that she had little need for more than what
she had.

"Come in!' She called out, bouncing Dalvina on her knee. She looked
up, "Oh hello, Yriadha. How are you doing? Come on in."

"I'm doing quite well, thank you." Yriadha stepped in and offered a
brief hint of a smile. "A message has arrived for you." She offered it
to Danrina as she discretely examined the child on her lap. The little
girl was too young yet for any real comparisons, but there were faint
similarities to Yavin around some of the facial features. She
privately hoped those similarities would remain faint. "Your daughter
looks very healthy and happy."

"Thank you, Yriadha," Danrina replied to the complement about Dalvina.
Danrina reached for the paper. Upon opening it her nose curled and her
lips frowned.

"I had hoped he would be too busy to visit again," she mumbled,
somewhat under her breath. She hated the times when Galrad had come to
visit. He hadn't come as frequently since Dalvina had been born.
Rather than wishing to see the child he believed was his, he only
cared about one thing, which he hadn't been able to enjoy as easily
since Danrina had given birth. "Have you ever wished things could turn
out differently, Yriadha?" Danrina asked with a heavy sigh.

Yriadha caught the mumble and felt a stirring of empathy. She too had
had a husband that she cared little for. Her brows rose at the
question. Knowing Bryvin's preference for the younger woman, and
despite the niggle of envy over his affection, she decided that it
would perhaps be best to cultivate some sort of relationship with her
that went beyond simple civility. "Yes, I have." She gave a tight
smile. "Our lives aren't as different as you might have imagined." Her
hands folded together at her waist. "Your affection for your husband
is similar to what my own was, Danrina."

Danrina looked at the headwoman with a new found interest. "I had no
idea that you were in a similar situation. How did you get through it?
I mean, I'm lucky enough that I don't have to _live_ with Galrad,
thanks to Bryvin, but if I had to deal with him daily..." her voice
drifted off and she shuddered at the thought. "What got you through
those times?"

"Oh yes, I was. I had just turned fifteen when I was wed to Demeltor,
and he thirty turns my senior." Her lips turned up slightly, but
there was scant humor in the faint smile. "He cared little for me
except that I was young, pretty, fertile, and had a sizable
inheritance from my father. He also enjoyed his wine and gambling more
than being a husband, though it didn't stop him from insisting on his
rights." Yriadha considered the memory, remembering with disgust the
drunken sot that she had been wed to. "I had my children, Danrina.
They were the only things that were truly mine."

Yriadha looked intently at the other woman and spoke carefully. "Did
you know that when a man indulges deeply in his wine, that he can
become incapable of performing, and may not even remember that he
could not?"

"I'm sorry you had to live that way Yriadha. I'm thankful my time with
Galrad is so limited. I don't know if I would have been as strong as
you. However," she paused with a slight smile edging on her lips, "I
will _definitely_ keep that last bit of advice in mind when Galrad
visits again. I thank you for that. It will come in _very_ handy!" She
chuckled a bit to herself, eager to see if it would work the way
Yriadha suggested.

Looking up at the other women she asked a question almost without
thinking, "Have you found happiness here, now?" She knew Yriadha was
not the easiest of people to have a conversation with in the Hall.
Many found her cold, but Danrina felt a new connection to the other
woman who had shared her own personal story.

Yriadha gave an elegant shrug as she sat, smoothing her skirts. "I
don't think of my marriage much any more. He wasn't cruel, just stupid
and lazy. He drank away anything that his children may have inherited,
including my own legacy. If anything, I learned to use my wits and
that I had more value than just being a pretty face who could bear
children." She folded her hands in her lap, considering the younger
woman. "You are lucky enough to have found something that eases an
unpleasant and unwanted marriage. I was not, but if I can assist you,
I will."

Her brows flicked upwards at Danrina's question, surprised.
"Happiness?" took a moment before she answered, her brows slightly
creasing. "I'm not _unhappy_. I would rather say that I've found my
place, which is more than some people ever achieve." Her lifting lips
revealed a hint of her deeply held practicality and cynicism. "I don't
think I can expect more nor can I bother with hopes and dreams,
especially at my age and position. "

Danrina accepted that response. She, too, had learned that her place
was far different than what she had anticipated in her youth. However,
the role she held now was far better than the uncaring, unloving life
she'd had as a child.

"I understand that. My place is not what I had ever expected, but I
am," she paused here, really to think on her next words, "pleased, for
the most part, with the place I've found for myself. It may not be
what I had thought, but in the end it is so much better to know I
don't have to hide everything away inside as I did growing up." She
wasn't treated poorly as a child, in truth, but she'd had no love in
her life. "I know you understand. We both come for a place where we
learned to hide ourselves behind walls we built." Feeling was often
still hard for Danrina. While she had tried to be friendly to some of
the others in the Hold, she truly didn't always know how to be a
friend. Too many years of hiding behind a facade as a child made it
hard to know how to remove that wall. Having Dalvina had opened her
heart and life to new feelings that still often overwhelmed her and
she found harder to hide.

"Care for a sip of tea?" Danrina asked, reaching to pour from the
kettle. She's not really spoken to the Headwoman overly much of late.
"I feel like I could use a bit of Hold news and gossip, aside from my
own gossip," she snorted. She knew the Hold knew of her _role_ with
Bryvin, and Danrina had come to accept it as normal. It no longer
bothered her. "I feel that Dalvina has kept me busy that I don't
always know some of the news of the rest of the Hold. Anything of
interest I should know about?"

"I would, thank you." She waited until her cup was poured, then took a
sip. "There's really not to much beyond the gambling over the fights
at the docks and the rebuilding of course. I do have a concern, though
Danrina. As much as I can keep staff from talking, it's not infallible
and someone may say something to your husband about yourself and
Bryvin. Do you have a plan for that?"

She gave a slight smirk at that question. "Well, I don't think he'd be
able to do much, really, unless he wanted to challenge Bryvin over
_rumors_ he might hear. And since he is beholden to Sunstone, I don't
think he'd take the chance. If he did, I'm sure Bryvin would make him
realize the error of his ways easily," she said the last with a more
calculated look on her face. "Unless he's a complete fool, I'm sure he
already suspects. He's been smart enough not to say anything so long
as I do my _duty_," she snarled that last word, "when he comes."

Yes, Bryvin would make him see the errors; she had firm belief in
that, but perhaps not in the way Danrina expected. But what Galrad
could do was more of a worry. There were something that a man
considered his right beyond the bedchamber. Yriadha gave a indelicate
snort. "Ah yes...the precious duty that men value so much. It seems to
me that it would be less of a duty if they actually knew what they
were doing." She took a sip of her tea. "But, as I said, there are
ways to use what you have to your advantage, Danrina."

Danrina was further intrigued. "You mentioned _one_ idea, but I'd be
_very_ open to hearing some other ideas for using things in a way that
will benefit _me_ even more."

Her brows rose. How much exactly could she risk telling Danrina? There
were some things that she knew full well Bryvin wouldn't want her to
know. But, there were others that she could share. She decided to
choose her words carefully. "I know of several things that are
possible, especially if a man is in his cups and may not be paying
attention." Yriadha took another sip, "You're a woman with wiles,
Danrina. Use them on him. Turn the duty into an advantage. That's
where a woman's power is."

She listened and absorbed the words. She would mull on them later.

"Thank you, Yriadha. You've given me _much_ to think about. Perhaps we
should chat like this again in the future?" **And perhaps I'll garner
a few more ideas to help me get through the times with Galrad.**

"Of course. Whenever I happen to be free, we certainly could." Yriadha
nodded in assent, both privately pleased with Danrina's interest and
with her own enjoyment of the conversation.

Last updated on the April 1st 2019

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