Story time

Writers: Eimi, Paula
Date Posted: 16th March 2010

Characters: Corowal, Erassa
Description: Corowal tells Erassa a story from his past
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 8, day 10 of Turn 5

Corowal leafled absently thru the book and looked at the bright pictures
of dragons and their legendary rider's from the ancient past. Felcoron
was sleeping on his lap, thumb in his mouth. The boy had fallen asleep
middle of the story. Corowal knew he should carry the boy to his bed,
but he loathed to move and disturb the peaceful moment. Peace seemed to
be a rare thing in his life right now. Of his children, Felcoron was
perhaps the most overlooked. Too young to hold on his own against the
older siblings, eclipsed by a blind little sister and her special needs.
He deserved to have his father for him too, just for a moment, and even
if he slept thru that moment. Felcoron had Ofelia's blond hair and his
eyes. Corowal gently stroked that fine hair, his eyes had a far-away look.

Erassa watched them from the kitchen, a small smile playing on her face.
These were the moments when she remembered why she had liked Corowal
when first she came to live with his family. He had been such a loving
and attentive father to his children. It had been quite a shock when
she had realized that the loving devotion stopped with them, that sex
and power were all that really mattered to him. But that wasn't the
thought on her mind as she played silent witness to their moment
together. Her smile was actually twinged with sadness at the thought
that her own little son would never enjoy the same attention of a
father. It made her a little envious for her son's sake of that
beautiful scene.

Finally she walked into the living area, drying her hands on her apron.
"Shall I put him to bed, sir?"

"Hmh? Not quite yet," Corowal was started out from his thoughts.

She could understand why he would be loath to let the boy leave just
yet. "Is there anything I can get you, then?"

Corowal shook his head and with small frown, pulled the thumb out of
Felcoron's mouth. It made a wet blob-sound. "He really should be weaned
out of that habit."

"It's still comforting. He'll grow out of it." Most children did
sooner rather than later.

"Hope so. Could you put this away, please?" he lifted the book up.

"Of course." She took the book from him and looked fondly at the title.
"This used to be one of my favorites too."

"It's everyone's favourite. Sometimes I wonder how much those harper's
put their own imagination in those stories. They supposed to be true
history, but the are so incredible!"

"I've seen the incredible," Erassa said softly as she carefully put the
book back on the shelf, her tone sad as she thought back on happier
times. Back when she thought dragonriders were noble,
self-sacrificing... perfect.

"You have me there. I've only seen the sweepriders and brief visits to
the Weyr." He cocked his head. "I do owe you a story, don't I?"

"Do you?" she asked innocently, though she knew exactly what he meant.
"And do you meant to cuddle me and stroke my hair if I fall asleep?"

"If you want to. Although the lap's taken just now," Corowal replied.

She just shook her head, not really in the mood to play his game as she
pushed in a book whose binding was almost hanging off the shelf.

Corowal fell back to his thoughts.

His sudden silence made her regret her sullen attitude. It wasn't his
fault that he couldn't be the man she had wanted him to be. "I would
like to hear your story," Erassa finally said, taking a seat a
respectful distance away.

"All right," Corowal said, his mind coming back to the present. "It's
either hilarious or tragic, depending how you look at it." He stared at
the ceiling. "I was seventeen when I first fall in love, properly in love.
Not just a teenager's crush, those I had had plenty. She was much older
than I was and worked in local tavern. And it was not the respectable kind
of tavern and she was not the respectable kind of woman. But she was
beautiful and kind hearted and unmarried, which is probably why she had so
bad reputation. I don't think she was such a slut as she was rumoured to be.
At first she laughed at me. But I can be charming lad and I'm presistant
if nothing else. She started to respond to my feelings. It led to a point
where we ran away together. We even had marriage-ceremony of sorts. It
wasn't legal of course, I was under-age and the harper was so drunk he could
barely stand up-right, not to mention understand what was going on," he
smiled wryly. He looked nostalgic. "Three days of pure bliss....and then my
parents found us."

She certainly didn't find his story funny. In fact, she found it a
little too close to her own in some respects. Except the end. Her
parents had known where she had flown off to. She had to discover for
herself that they had been right about B'lion, and about the Weyr, all
along. She had to come crawling back to _them_. "Was that the end?"

"End of the love-story, yes. There was repercussions, of course. My
parentes were furious," at least his mother had been, Corowal had
always had a feeling that his step-father had been half amused. "I spent
the next three months as a deck-hand on my step-father's ship. She was
sent away from the hold in shame. And that poor harper lost his knots."

"It's hard to believe there will be consequences for anything when your
young and in love." But young lovers tended to learn fast.

"Yes. I tried to find her, few Turns later, when I was working as an
assistant Steward in Coral Bay," he sighed.

"And did you?"

"No. She had disappeared like Thread to the water," Corowal said sadly.
"If she changed her name, there's no way to find her."

"It's probably better that way. She probably isn't the person you
remember, and it would ruin your perfect image of her." Faranth knew
Erassa was hardly recognizable as the carefree girl, full of dreams of
romance and true love.

"That's why I gave up when I matured. Now I always remember her as I saw
her as a young man deep in love."

"It's a pretty story," she said with a soft, humorless snort. "You're
lucky. You can still afford to hold onto romantic memories, and they'll
never be tarnished for you."

"Yes." there wasn't really any more to say. He tried to moved his legs
and groaned. "It's time to move him to bed. My legs are dead."

She didn't want to comply. Not yet. "Why did you tell me this story?"

"Because you remind me of her. Because I have never given my heart
completely away to a woman since her. Always kept little piece for
myself, protecting it from the hurt," he said and lifted to boy up to
his arms, standing up. He glance to her and added very quietly: "But I
could give it to you."

"Don't be cruel. Don't tease. You're right, I _am_ that woman. I'm
what that woman would have become had she stayed with you, had she have
to watch you flitter from bed to bed, growing more jealous every day.
Jealous, angry, bitter..." She shook her head, not wanting to believe
what he was saying, however tempting it might be. "You should just
leave your woman in the past. You'll be happier that way."

"Maybe you should give you life a chance," Corowal said. He carried
Felcoron to his room and gently put him to the bed, pulling the covers
over him.

**But would a life loving you be worth living?** she wondered, as she
made her escape to tuck her own son into his bed.

Last updated on the May 3rd 2010

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Story time