There, said Mirrim with great satisfaction as she reentered the sleeping room. Theyll eat and come right back. She moved quietly around the room, turning the shields on the glow baskets so that the room was dark enough for sleeping. Fnor says you dont like to be left alone so Ill wait until he comes back.
But Im not alone, Brekke wanted to tell her. Instead, her eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep.
As Lessa looked around the Bowl, at the tables of celebrants lingering long past the end of the banquet, she experienced a wistful yearning to be as uninhibited as they. The laughter of the hold and craftbred parents of the new riders, the weyrlings themselves fondling their hatchlings, even the weyrfolk, was untinged by bitterness or sorrow. Yet she was aware of a nagging sadness, which she couldnt shake, and had no reason to feel.
Brekke was herself, weak but no longer lost to reason; Fnor had actually left the girl long enough to eat with the guests; Flar was recovering his strength and had come to realize that he must delegate some of his new responsibilities. And Lytol, the most distressing problem since Jaxom had Impressed that little white dragon how could that have happened? had managed to get roaring drunk, thanks to the tender offices of Robinton who had matched him drink for drink.
The two were singing some utterly reprehensible song that only a Harper could know. The Lord Warder of Ruatha Hold kept falling out of tune, though the man had a surprisingly pleasant tenor voice. Somehow, shed have thought him a bass; he had a gloomy nature and bass voices are dark.
She toyed with the remains of the sweet cake on her platter. Manoras women had outdone themselves: the fowls had been stuffed with fermented fruits and breads, and the result was a remission of the gamy taste that wherry often had. River grains had been steamed so that each individual morsel was separate and tender. The fresh herbs must have come from Southern. Lessa made a mental note to speak to Manora about sneaking down there. It simply wouldnt do to have an incident with Tkul. Maybe Nton had gathered them when he went on his grubbing expeditions. Shed always liked the young bronze rider. Now that shed got to know him better …
She wondered what he and Flar were doing. Theyd left the table and gone to the Rooms. They were always there these days, she thought irritably. They must be cleaning the grubs orifices. Could she, too, slip away? No, shed better stay here. It wasnt courteous for both Weyrleaders to absent themselves on such an auspicious occasion. And people ought to be leaving soon.
What were they going to do about young Jaxom? She looked around, locating Jaxom easily by the white hide of his dragon in the group of weyrlings watering their beasts by the lakeside. The beast had charm, true, but had he a future? And why Jaxom? She was glad that Lytol could get drunk tonight, but that wouldnt make tomorrow easier for the ex-dragonrider to endure. Maybe they ought to keep that pair here, until the beast died. The consensus was that Ruth would not mature.
At the other end of the long high table were Larad, Lord of Telgar, Sifer of Bitra, Raid of Benden Hold, and Asgenar of Lemos with Lady Famira (she really did blush all the time). The Lemos Hold pair had brought their fire lizards fortunately a brown and a green which had been the object of much overt interest by Lord Larad, who had a pair hardening on his hearth, and covert inspection by old Raid and Sifer of Bitra, who also had eggs from Fnors last find. Neither older Lord Holder was entirely sure of the experiment with fire lizards but they had watched the Lemos pair all evening. Sifer had finally unfrosted enough to ask how to care for one. Would this influence their minds in the matter of Jaxom and his Ruth?
By the Egg, they couldnt want to disrupt the territorial balance because Jaxom had Impressed a sport dragon that hadnt a chance in Threadfall of surviving! How could you make an honorific out of Jaxom? Jom, Jxom? Most Weyrwomen chose names for their sons that could be contracted decently. Then Lessa was amused to be worrying over how to shorten a name, a trivial detail in this dilemma. No Jaxom must remain at Ruatha Hold. Shed relinquished her Bloodright on Ruatha Hold to him, Gemmas son, because he was Gemmas son and had at least some minute quantity of Ruathan Blood. She certainly would contest the Hold going to any other Bloodline. Too bad Lytol had no sons. No, Jaxom must remain as Lord Holder at Ruatha. Just like men to make a piece of work over something so simple. The little beast would not survive. He was too small, his color who ever heard of a white dragon? indicated other abnormalities. Manorad mentioned that white-skinned, pink-eyed child from Nerat Hold who hadnt been able to endure daylight.