A Straight Answer

Writers: AL, Devin
Date Posted: 7th January 2010

Characters: Jerroll, Edele
Description: Jerroll asks Edele if she's had anything to do with recent troubles over the last few months.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 7, day 1 of Turn 5
Notes: Silver Sails

The get away had been hasty, but they had made it. Edele frowned at the waters, the port not visible for at least half a day since their departure, but she looked in that direction anyway. Too much had been happening, too much had been going on for it to be mere coincidence. That worried her - a lot. The woman sighed and rubbed her eyes. Lerra wasn't pleased and neither was anyone else in the crew. They'd lost a good deal of money to be made and were going to have to try and make it up at another port - if something didn't happen there too.

On the opposite side of the ship, Jerroll looked out ahead of them. He could lie to others, but he'd never been very good at lying to himself. The inspections and the close calls were not coincidences, and something had to be done. He stared out at the waters, wondering if he would have to make another sacrifice for his captain and his crew.

Edele sighed and pushed away from the edge of the ship and turned to go back down below. The entire crew was so on edge, Edele wished she could do something to make them relax. Meals had become sullen and quiet. The words were unspoken, but it was obvious that they were wondering about a traitor among them.

After a few minutes, Jerroll turned turned and went below decks, his eyes down and his head full of thoughts. He found Edele waiting in their cabin, and decided that it must be now. He closed the door behind him and said, "There's something I need to ask you."

"Oh?" Edele's eyebrows arched upward. Jerroll's tone was quite serious, and Edele had the feeling that something was wrong. Something _else_? Didn't they have enough to worry about? "What's wrong?"

"Are you ..." He faltered. Usually he had no trouble being direct with anyone, but this was different. Asking her could ruin everything, but he had to know. He _had_ to. "Do you have anything to do with the searches?"

"What?" The question was quite a bit different than what Edele had expected. "What do you mean?"

"Someone aboard this ship has been telling the guards to search us, and I need to know if you had anything to do with it."

Edele sat there, shocked. How could he think that? How could he doubt her? It was not a question he should have had to ask! "Well," She spoke, her voice tinted with anger and hurt. "What do _you_ think?"

"I don't know _what_ to think. That's why I'm asking you." It was a terrible thing to go to bed each night and wonder if the person sleeping next to you was betraying you.

"The fact that you have to ask in the first place seems to indicate what you think." There was less anger and more pain in her voice. Edele's shoulders slumped and she reached up to rub her eyes. Jerroll didn't trust her. She had never given him any reason to not trust her, and she had been faithful to him and even to the rest of the crew. Despite some of their dubious business, she had kept her mouth shut, but Jerroll still didn't trust her, still doubted her.

He couldn't help wondering if she was using delaying tactics. Jerroll didn't want to think like that, but it was ingrained. "Just answer me, please," he said quietly.

"You already know the answer to that." Edele's face became hard and she turned away from him. "And it hurts that you have to ask."

"I know it hurts." It hurt him, too. "But I need a straight answer."

Edele turned to face Jerroll, her expression hard with her effort to curb her tears. "I gave up a life for you. I traded the life of a holder's wife to follow you onto a pirate ship out to sea. I left my son to follow my heart. If you still think I could ever do anything like this to you, then perhaps I made a mistake."

"You have a son? Did you remember him?" He knew she remembered bits of her old life, but he didn't know how much of her memory had returned.

"I didn't until I saw him." Edele lowered herself into a chair, her shoulders slumped. "And when I saw him, I wondered how I ever could have forgotten him." But the memories had returned. She would have stayed, but her son had wanted her to be happy. His parents were friends, but they were not lovers. He had chosen to have her go and be happy rather than to ask her to stay and miss out on such love. But was the love she had for Jerroll the same as that he had for her? Did he even love her at all? He questioned her loyalty - that made Edele question some other things.

"You remembered and you still left," Jerroll said quietly.

"For you." Though if her son had asked, Edele would have stayed. Her heart would have ached, but she would have stayed. Yet Aliren bade her go and they exchanged letters occasionally, though she was careful never to reveal too much. "Yes. I left."

"I'm sorry, Edele. I had to know. There's not much room for trust in my life." Suspicion had kept him alive and free all these turns.

"I would do anything for you." She had already done that, hadn't she? "Even keep your secrets."

He stepped toward her and took her hand. "_Our_ secrets. This is your crew, too."

Edele managed a small smile. She was supposed to be a part of the crew, a part of Jerroll's life, but Jerroll didn't trust her enough to know that she would not betray him in such a manner. It was no comfort. "We should get to bed. We rise early."

He took that to mean the conversation was over. "Yeah. Let's get some sleep."

Edele nodded and stood to get ready for the night. Jerroll hadn't trusted her. Had her words assured him of her loyalty? Did anyone else doubt her? If so, why? She had been loyal to them, for Jerroll's sake. Who else thought she might have betrayed them? She hoped the other culprit was found quickly - before other people decided to punish her for something she didn't commit.

Last updated on the January 7th 2010

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A Straight Answer