A Captive Audience ((Open))

[FireThorne]

Eamon sat alone in the large library, a few record skins scattered before him as he poured over the history of Telgar. There was an intent, serious expression upon his features as he read, for this was one of his favorite pastimes. The Harper loved researching and studying the history of holds and halls, and he particularly wanted to get his hands on some of the weyr’s record skins. Especially the older ones. He was an expert in mythology, and he particularly enjoyed the tales of firelizards and dragons. He would certainly have to travel to the weyr before he was called back to the Harper Hall.

Rolling up the current hide he was studying, the slim man stood and returned the record to it’s previous location, sliding the skin gently and deftly in it’s place. Turning, Eamon raised his arms and stretched his muscles, stiff from sitting and reading for so long. Rolling his shoulders, trying to work out the knots, the Harper returned to the table, black eyes straying to the violin case nearby. He had brought the instrument in case someone had need of his services, but he had been left undisturbed for the candlemarks he had been haunting the library. Of course, it was a lovely day out, so it was no wonder he was alone.

Picking up the violin with all the reverence of a newly-Impressed weyrling, Eamon pulled the bow across the gut strings softly, pulling a quiet, low melody from them. Striding over to the window, the slim man allowed his black eyes to roam over the courtyard below, then he began to play. He was in a melancholy mood, so the song was such, low and haunting, but pretty nonetheless. The empty chairs and records before him were the only audience he had—a captive audience, Eamon mused.

[kayla]

Leshya had hoped that the beautiful day meant that the library would be empty. She enjoyed reading, but it was annoying to have to hide the hides in her bower or limit her reading to the bedroom. If she was to be caught in the library, she'd just say she was looking for a sappy romance tale.

When she came into the library, she was surprised to hear music. She smiled softly and would quietly come the rest of the way in, though she'd try to stay where the Harper would not see her. She figured he was playing for himself and had no desire to interrupt him.

Despite the experience she had had with a Harper when she was younger, she still enjoyed music and respected the Harper profession. She smiled a bit, and since her heart was safe with Enald, there was no danger of a sweet talking Harper breaking it again.

[FireThorne]

The Harper played out the song, the music so slow and melancholy that it had almost brought tears to the eyes of ladies before. Eamon loved the song, though, and it was one of his own melodies, a ballad he had woven when he was at Crom. It was a lament for the dragonriders, but he had never sang the words before, merely spun the lilting music. That in itself, however, was beautiful. Pulling the bow across the strings slowly for the last note, the journeyman stilled, his velvet voice soft in the silence.

A laugh of cold fire,
Piercing quick the black night;
Standing ‘neath the deepest moon,
Finding dark the harvest blight.

The lean man sighed as he held his violin hand, staring out at the courtyard. Dark were his thoughts of late. Turning, the Harper was surprised to see a lady entering quietly, and by her dress, Eamon knew she was no drudge. “Greetings, lady. Am I troubling you?” He asked, politely, setting his violin carefully down upon the table. Then, as the tall, lean journeyman neared her, his black eyes widened in recognition. “My Lady Leshya?” He asked in surprise, unable to believe he had found his favored Benden daughter at Telar. Was it she?

[kayla]

She listened to the music and then hearing him stop playing she turned to look at the Harper, hoping she had not been the reason he had stopped playing.

Her eyes widened as well and she smiled, "Eamon? I had no idea you were the Harper assigned here! How have I not seen you before? How long have you been assigned to Telgar?"

She grinned to him, "You have to play for Enald and myself sometime."

She would move to him and give him a quick hug, nothing anyone could consider remotely inappropriate.

[FireThorne]

Eamon could not doubt that the lady was just as happy to see him as he was her, and he grinned as she spoke. He, too, was quite surprised that they had not seen each other yet. “I have been assigned here two months, my lady, and I too am surprised that I have not had the pleasure of your company yet.” The Harper was rather pleased at this discovery, but he was also curious as to why she was there. Then, everything sank in. When he had come to Telgar to a Lord Enald and Lady Leshya, he had never imagined that the Leshya would be Benden’s Leshya as well.

Bowing elegantly at her statement, Eamon smiled warmly. “I would be more than happy to play for you and your Lord, my dear lady, and fulfill many more requests you would have of me. You were always good to me at Benden.” Of course, something troubled him, but the journeyman did not want to wreck the moment by mentioning the Harper they both knew.

Laughing as she hugged him, properly of course, Eamon returned the embrace, smiling as they parted. “It is a gift from Faranth to see a friendly face here, my Lady Leshya, but how did you come to be here? Last I knew you were at Benden awaiting a Harper’s return. Did your father not agree to the arrangement?”

[kayla]

She frowned deeply and would walk away from Eamon a bit. "I'd really rather not discuss that... or him."

She was still a little angry, though she had not realized that. She was not so much angry that he had lied, but that she had believed him and had given him a part of herself.

"I love Enald, Eamon. The marriage was arranged. I didn't have a choice in the matter. Neither did he. But he and I fell in love with each other before we were married. Its been just over a year, and we're happy."

She smiled a bit, "Perhaps its no Harper's Tale of young lovers meeting and falling in love at first sight, but we do love each other. And I'm happy with him." And she was, something he could probably tell by the gleam in her eye as she talked about her husband.

[FireThorne]

Eamon watched the lady walk a few steps away, a deep frown upon her lovely features. Her voice, her posture, her words, everything about her spoke ill of the Harper they both knew, and the journeyman knew that something dark had occurred between them. Nevon had always been a good friend of his, and they had spent many of their leisure hours together at Benden. The blonde man had, of course, known of their tryst, but had sworn himself to silence, to keep their secret until Nevon had returned a Master and married the holder’s daughter. It was obvious things had not quite gone according to the tale.

“I see, my lady.” The Harper replied quietly, watching her emotions play across her face. “I lament your pain.” Leshya had always been a kind woman, and even now as a Lady Holder, she did not forget the mere journeyman. He was still impressed with her, even as he always had been at Benden. The slim man had even made the journey to Crom just to fulfill a favor she asked of him. Secretly, Eamon always would have traded places with Nevon, if he could have. But that, however, was for the deserts of his soul now, for she was married, a lady to her lord.

It was obvious she was happy, though, and loved her husband, and the affection the Harper had for her…well, more of a kinship than love, but still a love of a kind. “I am glad to hear that you are content with your life, my lady Leshya, for you have always been deserving of happiness.” Eamon replied, stepping closer to banish the distance she had put between them. It was not improper, though, and there was still a very appropriate distance between the lady and Harper. “Perhaps not a Harper’s Tale, my lady, but still a tale all the same. Would you share it with me?” He asked, waving his hand towards the chairs to indicate he hoped she would sit. After all, she was an old friend of his, and he would like to know how she came to be married to Enald, and how things had played out for her while he was away.

[kayla]

For a moment, when Eamon expressed his sympathy for the pain that Nevon had caused her, the Lady had studied her friend's face. She needed to know if he had known, if he had been complicit in the deceit. She was not entirely sure that there ways any possible way that he could not have known, she knew how close friends the two were. She also knew that, with the exception of Enald and Nevon himself, Eamon was the only who was aware of what had happened between herself and the Harper.

Satisfied after only a brief moment that, somehow, he had not known, she would smile. "It is an old wound, Eamon. It no longer hurts me." Before he could protest that she obviously was still hurt by it, she would elaborate. "I did not even realize I was still angry about it until you mentioned him. Even that is probably is silly of me. I'm happier with Enald than I believe I ever would have been with him." Yes, she was avoiding saying Nevon's name.

She chuckled at the invitation to tell her story and would nod, "Of course, I will, Eamon. But only on the condition that you will tell me your story as well. I'm sure your journeys as a Harper are much more interesting thany any story I could tell." She grinned, "Or you could at least tell the story better than I could ever hope to."

She made a mental note to herself that she would have to remind Eamon that her intelligence was a secret, though it would be good to have someone else she could truly play stones with! She'd also need to make sure to let Enald know both that Eamon knew the truth and that he was an old friend. While she'd be careful to maintain propriety at all times, she did not want her husband to have even a moment's reason to suspect that she was being less than perfectly faithful to him, though she did not believe that Enald was the kind of man to be threatened by her having a male friend.

"To be honest, Eamon, I do not know how our parents came to arrange our marriage. I do not know why I was chosen by Enald's father." She grinned, "I suspect it was because I had successfully cultured the appearance of being a wherry-brained girl who only cared about dresses and jewelry and gathers and love songs."

"I wasn't really in a place to argue. I guess I didn't care. I probably could have argued Daddy out of it if I really tried." While she could get anything from her father when she tried, though she was not sure that on an issue of marriage that he would have given in. "I accepted that I would marry a complete stranger and that love was no longer an option. I was wrong." She smiled at that.

[FireThorne]

Eamon was aware of the lady’s scrutiny of his face, and he wondered what she was thinking. He could wager a fair guess. Though he and Nevon had been close, the man knew nothing of anything going amiss, but it had been several turns since he had seen the journeyman. Actually, he had left Benden before Nevon, traveling to Crom as a favor to Leshya, so he was out of the lover’s loop after that. However, he did not believe her brave words, or her smile. The Lady seemed to be purposefully avoiding saying Nevon’s name, and to Eamon, it seemed it did indeed still cause her pain. However, he was not going to argue, or push the point.

“I see that you are happy, my lady. That is worth much.” Smiling as she seated herself, the Harper took a chair directly across from her so they could talk and exchange stories easily. Listening as she told her tale, Eamon nodded thoughtfully, grinning when the lady spoke of her carefully cultured front. Chuckling, the slim man slipped her a private wink, something he would only do to a friend as close as she. “You always were good at hiding that sharp wit of yours. Tell me, have you bested your husband in stones yet, like you did so many times to me?” Back at Benden, the pair had played many a time when there were no others about, and she had proved to be a difficult enemy. The Harper had lost to her a fair few times.

“So, you are truly in love?” Eamon asked, smiling a little. “Not many victims of arranged marriages may claim that, my lady. I am happy for you.” The Harper was glad to see the lady had been given a good life. He had always favored the Benden daughter closely, and he would likely stay at Telgar now longer than he had first planned. Leshya was a good friend, and he needed a familiar face after spending so much time out on his journeys.

“As far as my story goes, my lady, after I left Benden for Crom, I found myself rather uncomfortable at the Hold, considering the Lord Holder and I had....differing opinions on the dragonriders. Bad blood there now, lady Leshya. I have told no one of that.” His black eyes rose to meet hers, and he hoped she understood. Eamon did feel better telling someone else of it, especially a friend as close as she, but many would have thought him foolish for defending the weyr. “I then went to Ista and even Bitra, and have seen many things. When you have some time, my lady, I would tell you of my experiences, especially my Bitran ones. They are unique.”

[kayla]

She chuckled at his question of whether she had defeated her husband at Stones. "I did, though that was before I began to love him. I had come to respect him, at least. And I asked him if he wanted to play Stones. He seemed horrified by he thought. He underestimated me, and I won rather decisively." She grinned, "He seemed happier after that. I think maybe that's when he started to love me. Now though, its a good contest. He no longer underestimates me, so we're fairly even matched."

She nodded, "I am. I began to love him after I told him the truth... about... well, about me, I suppose. He didn't put me aside. He didn't cancel the engagement. He seemed... disappointed, but not really even upset. Understanding. And most importantly, he didn't see me as damaged. To be able to trust him with myself like that, and not be shunned. I'm not sure I can even explain why that would make me start to love him, but it was from that moment that I began to grow in love with him."

She grimaced slightly at the difficulties in Crom. "I'm sorry. Had I known, I never would have asked you to go. I'm so sorry." She sighed a bit, feeling guilty for having put him in such a difficulty. "I should warn you that Enald and I do not necessarily share the same perspective on the Riders either. He's not hostile to them, but I suppose he prioritizes our duty to them lower than I do. He does not mean to slight them, he really does not. He just puts the hold first - as he should. And as I do." She was not speaking ill of her husband.

"And do not worry too much about the bad blood while you're here. No one will harrass you." She'd see to that. "Ah, I'll want to hear the Bitra ones soon. We're going to a gather there this summer. But more I want to know how everything has been with you. Have you met anyone special in your journeys?"

[FireThorne]

Eamon nodded as the lady spoke, a serious and understanding expression upon his features. “He sounds to me like a good man, my Lady Leshya. It am glad that you have been given such a gift. Many women of your position cannot claim the same.” Yes, the Journeyman was indeed very pleased to learn that his favored Benden daughter had been give a good life, and a good husband, but it did make him wonder where his fellow Harper had disappeared to. Had Nevon truly always been a scoundrel, or was there something deeper to the story? What could have happened to the man? Their love had always seemed genuine to Eamon, and so he could not understand where the harper had gone.

Pulled from his musings by the lady, the Journeyman smiled at Leshya, shaking his head. “Do not apologize, my lady. I would return to Crom this instant if you asked it of me.” He would. Eamon respected her highly, especially for the kindness she had shown him at Benden. A holder’s daughter did not have to be kind to a harper, but she was, and he would not forget it. Not as long as he drew breath. “You could not have known of the feelings the Lord Holder harbored. The lady was most pleasant. I trust you have received correspondences in return?” He wanted to make sure his errand had not gone unrewarded.

When she disclosed Enald’s perception of the riders, Eamon did not show any outward reaction to her words. He had never felt that he needed to hide himself from Leshya before, but this was her husband, after all, and he did not want to damage their deep friendship. However, the harper had been seeing too much of Holder’s putting their holds first, and the riders were suffering because of it. It was a shame they did not understand how important the Weyrs were! Of course, Enald sounded far better than Crom. “At least he tithes, I understand.” The Journeyman replied, scowling. “The ‘tithes’ Crom sent Telgar were a joke. A starving canine would have thought twice about eating some of those offerings.”

He knew he could count on Leshya to keep the gossip down of the bad blood he held with Crom. She always had been a loyal lady.

“No one of particular interest, my Lady.” Eamon replied to her questioning of his journeys, grinning as he stood. “Though there were a fair few characters in Bitra one should certainly watch with a wary eye. I came upon this grand hold, Lady fair, and marveled at her sites, though I soon learned one must do much more watching of one’s marks than of the scenery.” Chuckling, the Harper bowed, happy to recite some of his tales to Leshya. He moved and gestured with his hands as he spoke to make the tale more interesting. “A peddler I observed first, my lady, who tired to sell me oil that would keep a lantern burning for a sevenday with merely three drops. I kindly declined his offer, though amazing it was, and told the fellow so and how I admired his clever invention. He did not seem to appreciate my praise. I do wonder why.” A perplexed expression came upon his fine features, and the Harper slipped Leshya a wink. “Next, a fine jester who offered me a simple game–to guess which cup the pebble was under. Odd that he seemed irritated when I pointed out that he had taken the pebble off the table before moving the cups around. I rather thought he would have been grateful that I pointed out his innocent mistake. An odd lot at Bitra.”

[kayla]

Leshya wondered as she listened to Eamon talk about how glad he was that she was happy, and the reality that many other women were not. She wondered if she would have to teach her daughters the same things she had been taught, and that thought made her sad. She looked away for a moment thinking.

She then shook her head to clear it and grinned at him, "Now that I know about the bad blood, I would never ask you to go back there, Eamon. That'd be just... cruel." She nodded, "I did. And I appreciate, even more, that you did this for me, now that I know it cost you so much."

She grimaced a bit, she would talk ill of her husband, especially since he was open to her suggestions on the matter. "Enald is a good man. I trust him. Though, I had no idea that Crom's offerings were so... horrid." She frowned and sighed, wondering if there was anything she could do to alter that... then shook her head. No, Enald trusted her and was allowing her to work on a plan legitimately. Telgar, not Crom, had to be her concern. Or she would stress herself out as Eamon feared.

When he began telling his tale, she would grin. Eamon had always excelled at telling stories. Though she also enjoyed when he sang as well, but his stories - whether sung or spoken - were always captivating. She laughed warmly at the appropriate parts and when he finished she applauded genuinely, "That was wonderfully told. And Eamonn and I will be approriately on guard at Bitra."

She grinned a bit at him, "If you would like, Eamon, perhaps I can arrange you meeting young ladies of marriageable age. Perhaps you will find one you can love who can love you as well?"