A Little Taste

Writers: Suzee, AL
Date Posted: 24th February 2011

Characters: Benani, Zathris
Description: Zathris takes Benani with him to taste ale.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 13, day 14 of Turn 5

Benani

Zathris

Zathris slipped behind his wife and slid his arms around her waist.
He turned his head and buried his face in her soft hair, inhaling the
sweet scent that seemed to naturally hover over her skin. "Good day,
Lady Holder." Her purred in her ear, not caring who saw the intimacy
between them, though perhaps a storage closet wasn't exactly a public
venue. "I wonder if I could steal you away for a while. There are
matters of great importance on which I need your opinion."

Benani grinned at the woman she'd been talking to. She grinned back
and hurried out of the small room. The obvious love match between
their Lord and Lady Holder was well known amongst the staff of the
hall. Though some wondered how much longer they would have to wait for
the Lady to produce an heir.

Those thoughts weren't in Benani's mind right then. She squeezed his
arms where they wrapped around her. She'd planned on examining the
linens and choosing what she wanted to use for the Turn's End feast.
"Well of course m'Lord" she said with a smile in her voice.

"Good." Zathris released his hold upon her. Mostly at least. One
hand slid down her arm to grasp hers in a firm but gentle grip. "I'm
going to taste ales. While I understand some might not consider such
a thing to be as fine as wine, I must confess to a certain fondness
for the drink. Perhaps I could convince you of some of its finer
qualities?"

Though she'd never developed a taste for ale she was never adverse to
at least try a new thing. "I'm sure you'll delight in trying." she
teased.

"I surely will." Zathris inclined his head toward the door. "Shall
we? Might want to let your companion know you'll be gone a while."
His hand tightened around hers for a gentle squeeze. "Maybe longer if
we can sneak away." A playful gleam came to his eye. It was unlikely
that they could, but just thinking about it amused him.

She giggled, "Oh I figure she knows your nefarious plans will take my
time for awhile now. I'll just send for her when we get back." She
looked at him and saw the tell tale gleam. "Oh you're impossible."

"Not impossible. Just improbable." Zathris' mouth stretched into a
grin as he led his wife out of the room and through the hallway. "I'm
curious as to what they've cooked up this time. Sometimes they
experiment and the results can be quite interesting." Or quite foul.
But that was the way of experiments. Zathris honestly didn't mind.

"Experiments?" she wondered not all that thrilled with the thought,
though she followed him willingly enough.

"Very interesting experiments. Sometimes they try brewing things
differently, or combining different flavours." Zathris explained.
His hand sought out hers and his fingers curled about, tugging her
along. "That sort of thing. You'd be surprised at what they've come
up with."

"If you say so," she chuckled hanging on for dear life as he pulled her along.

Poor Benani, led by a rather enthusiastic Zathris who was more than
happy to drag her along on his exploit. They arrived after a brisk
walk, were greeted with some enthusiasm and then settled with several
small glasses with various shades of amber liquid, some with tints of
other colours. A red one in particular caught Zathris' eye and he
tossed a bit back before offering the rest to Benani. "It's red ale."
He echoed what their host had told them. Not that the name was
surprising considering the colour.

Just his boyish enthusiasm for the tasting made her grin and follow
him around like a little puppy. He was so serious most of the time
that she just wanted to hang on to the joy. She tasted what he handed
her and while the fizz was nice she wasn't particularly fond of the
flavors. But before she refused them in the future she wanted to at
least make the effort to taste. "mmm" she said setting the glass down.

"I like the red." Zathris agreed, setting it down and taking up a
dark brown ale with bits of something in the bottom. "I don't think
my wife agrees." Though that was met with another grin and a wink to
Benani.

"We have some sweeter ales." Their host picked up a glass and offered
it to Benani. "Perhaps you might like this one."

Maybe it was that she was actually drinking a bit more of the beer
than she had the wine at her other tasting but Benani was beginning to
feel a little more relaxed. She took the glass and sipped. It was
better than what she'd tasted so far. "You're right," she said with a
smile.

"That ones popular with men and the ladies." Their host stated with a grin.

Zathris accepted a bit of the same ale and nod. "Tis good. Something
a bit different." Another is chosen and when the Lord Holder tastes
it he states immediately to his wife, "This one's really hoppy. I
don't think you'd like it."

"Alright." she said not reaching for a glass but reaching for Zathris'
hand instead. She hugged his arm and squeezed his hand. Then she
picked up the one she'd liked and finished off the small glass.

He took him at his word. That was all right. More for him. Zathris
sampled the various offerings. He chose the one Benani liked as well
as several others to be served at the celebration. Then, his
exhausting, hard work done, took his wife's arm to lead her back
toward the Hold. "Thank you for coming with me." He murmured,
bending over to kiss her on the top of her forehead. "I know you're
not the biggest fan of ale."

She just smiled and held on to him. "Sure," she said and squeezed his
hand. "But I am the biggest fan of _you_." she added.

Last updated on the April 27th 2011

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

A Little Taste