So Very Grateful

Writers: AL, Vix
Date Posted: 22nd March 2008

Characters: Eliste, Vaheri
Description: Eliste meets with Vaheri to discuss passage on the Riverboat Sungazer
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 8, day 11 of Turn 4

Eliste watched the door as it closed. Fog had left Eliste in the care of a woman named Vaheri. She stared at the wood for a moment before turning back to the other woman and offering a small, shy smile.
Evidently she would be the one to assign her a room. That is, if they would even be willing to barter as opposed to accepting marks. She hoped they would. Otherwise, Eliste honestly wasn't sure what she would do. Helvar would have woken to find her gone by the time she made it back to their cot. She couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her spine. She cleared her throat, then asked softly, "I speak to you about fare for passage?"

The riverboat headwoman watched Fog leave as well. Though he had said little about his reason for bringing the other woman to Vaheri, she had a few guesses. She nodded. "In some cases, yes. Suppose you tell me where you wish to go."

Anywhere as long as it wasn't Emerald Falls. Eliste didn't say that out loud, though the thought seemed like a scream inside her head. "To the end of the line." As far away as possible. From there...well, she would have to figure out what she was going to do. She would cross that bridge when she came to it, though. "I...I don't have marks." She flushed a bit at her admittance. "But I was hoping...I have something that I could trade."

Vaheri studied the woman thoughtfully. "You have no marks and no definite destination. Suppose that you tell me exactly why you're leaving."

Eliste involuntarily took a step back. Why was it so important why?
Couldn't they just let her travel? "I am visiting family." It was a lie, but Eliste was afraid to tell the truth. Helvar would be looking for her and she didn't want to be found, so the less information she gave, she thought, the better.

"If that's the case, we can appeal to them to pay your fare."

Colour rushed to her face and Eliste dropped her gaze. "I was hoping I could trade. I'd rather not bother..." She swallowed, fingering one of her bags. "I can show you what I have."

Vaheri shook her head. "The only trade that we need on this boat is the truth."

Eliste looked up and stared at Vaheri. What would she do if she said no? What if they refused to let her stay on board? What would she do?
She couldn't go back. She'd leave the hold on foot and take her chances with Thread before she went back. She wouldn't. She couldn't.

Would she understand? If anyone would, another woman would. Eliste's mother understood. Her mother had held her as she grieved. Hints had been made by her. Surely another woman would understand. Surely.

Eliste got the feeling that if she didn't come out with the truth she would have less of a chance to stay. She swallowed and nodded slowly.
"I need to. I can't...I can't stay here, with him. I have to find somewhere safe, and it isn't safe for me here. My husband..." She swallowed again, her throat feeling dry, tears threatening. "My husband is dangerous."

The headwoman nodded, the story as she had thought. "Will he be likely to let you go or to pursue you?"

The younger woman licked her lips and looked down. "He will most likely search for me and try to find me. I'm hoping that he will think I've gone with some traders or a dragonrider and not think about the riverboat." Eliste rubbed one arm, then looked up. "I don't want to cause any harm, but I can't...I can't go back. Please don't make me go back.

Vaheri shook her head. "Oh, we'll not make you go back. But when we have the truth, we know whether we need to hide you away or allow you to wander openly on the decks. We'll need to be more careful while you're with us, but you are definitely welcome to travel with us."

Eliste relaxed, a sigh of relief escaping. "Thank you. I was afraid I wouldn't be allowed."

"You're not the first woman we've removed from an unsafe situation," the other woman told her. "But we try to limit our risks by knowing the likelihood of pursuit or being recognized."

"Oh." Eliste hadn't even thought about the fact that there might be others in her situation and that there might be those willing to help them out of those situations. "I see. Well, is there anyway I can pay you. I can work if you like, help on the boat. Or I can give you one of my quilts to sell."

Vaheri's eyes narrowed in interest. "You make quilts?"

"Yes." Eliste nodded as she spoke, "My mother taught me. I have a couple of baby sized quilts I was able to take with me." Quilts that Helvar hadn't had a chance to sell yet. She had hoped they would be useful.

"I'll be interested in seeing them, but we'll not take them from you."
The headwoman shook her head. "We won't charge you for the trip, but you can help out in the galley, perhaps even sew a bit on our quilting projects."

"Yes, I would be glad too." Relief flooded through her. Eliste wouldn't have to pay, though she hoped she could find some way to repay their kindness. Helping in the galley or working on quilt projects didn't seem good enough for what they were going to do for her. "Thank you. Thank you so very much."

Vaheri waved off the thanks. "We'll also expect much of you. You'll need to be honest with us, particularly regarding any threats to you. We'll also expect you to keep to your quarters when we're in port and until we've determined exactly what type of passengers we have on board. We'll leave you with tasks to do, but it might not be extremely comfortable to be so confined."

"I will do whatever necessary." It may not be comfortable, but Eliste knew things would be far worse otherwise. "Just let me know what you wish of me, I will do it."

"At the moment I wish to know your story and exactly why you're leaving.
This will let me know the threat to both you and to the people of the riverboat."

Eliste took a deep breath. She was going to have to do her best not to break down. "My husband is not a nice man. He often hit me and when he wasn't hitting me it wasn't uncommon to be struck by him verbally.
Well, we had a child." Her throat tightened and she had to pause for a moment before continuing. "She was crying one day and wouldn't stop.
She was sick so I took her to the healer and got some medicine. We returned home and I was preparing the medicine when I heard my husband shouting. I went back into the room and..." Her eyes closed and her hands clutched at one another. When she spoke again, her voice wavered, on the verge of tears. "He struck her - hard. Hard enough to kill her.
I'm pregnant again." Eliste struggled to get the last few sentences out, trying to keep herself under control.

Vaheri's eyes narrowed as the story progressed, her lips drawing into a tight line. As the woman finished, the older woman nodded. "I see your problem. Did you consider speaking to those at the Hold about what had happened?"

"I don't know if I would be here now if I had." Eliste shivered, rubbing her arms. "He threatened me, and I was in such a state of shock, I didn't know what else to do."

"Does he know that you're pregnant?"

"No." Eliste had kept it from him and was grateful that even though this was her second child, she really wasn't showing as of yet. "I never told him."

"Good," was the headwoman's response. "If he doesn't know, he won't come after you with some misguided sense of 'ownership' of his child." She rose from her chair with an air of resolution. "Suppose that we get you settled into your room."

Eliste nodded, breathing a little easier. She was grateful, so very grateful. She only hoped that some day she could repay the kindness she was showed.

Last updated on the March 29th 2008

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So Very Grateful