Post by Zen on Apr 12, 2015 0:51:17 GMT -5
Roughly 2 Turns before the start of the 10th Pass
They were back in Tillek, the place most of the crew had been born and raised. Treyjen supposed if he had to claim some piece of land as his place of origin it would be Tillek. His mother had given birth to him here, and they had family roots in the Hold, his parents had also been born there, but since his birth he had spent the vast majority of his life on a ship and the sea was more home to him than any place else. He felt lucky, at least, to have been born into a Trader family. It meant lots of travel, lots of new experiences, and little idleness. As Sea Traders they were limited to coastal Holds, but he had still been to far more places than the majority of Pern's population could claim. Traveling between the Northern and Southern continents, for one. Few people beyond dragonriders could ever claim that they had visited both. There were so many on Pern that lived and died in one place and never saw anything else.
So being back in Tillek meant little and less to him, and he couldn't wait to be off again. But there were members of the crew that wanted to be with families they hadn't seen in months; all Treyjen could think was lucky them. At least he had his own ship now, and the only member of his family that was frequently aboard was Nalyra. His little sister had chosen to follow him when he'd been named a captain, much to their father's displeasure. Honestly he wasn't sure why the man had allowed it, she had only been... 14 at the time? Perhaps their mother had spoken to him. After they had tried to keep her away from him when his 'bad behavior' had started, she had seemed all the more interested in being with him; their plan had backfired rather spectacularly, causing the girl to act out simply to spite them for trying to keep her away. Their mother was always more sensible about him than their father, who seemed for some reason incredibly emotionally involved in anything to do with him. And those emotions usually consisted of disappointment, frustration, and anger... often irrational anger. It was more amusing than anything.
The moment they had made landfall, Treyjen had made for the nearest alehold with a number of younger men from his crew and gotten good and drunk. Inevitably a brawl had broken out and as much as he would have liked to have gotten involved, being in Tillek meant he had to watch his behavior so he'd somehow slipped out before he could be drawn into it. He'd managed to find his way back to his quarters aboard the Storm's Eye and disappointedly consigned himself to bed rather than getting into trouble which would most certainly get back to his father. He woke up slowly in his bed to the sound of crying. Pushing himself up on one elbow, he squinted blearily around his quarters until he finally managed to make out his sister huddled against his door, hugging her knees, her face obscured by her long, dark hair.
He sat up, wincing at the headache that accosted him, and forced himself out of bed. He made his way over to her slowly, one eye closed against the pounding in his head, and slid down against the door beside her, settling his arm around her. He didn't say a word, she'd speak if she wanted, and if not she would know he was there for her. She leaned into him, wiping at her eyes and sniffling back more tears, “How come you're not married?”
He choked on a confused laugh, “I'd rather shove Between.”
She turned slightly to glare up at him, though he could tell the anger in her eyes wasn't for him, “But you're older than me! Why do I have to get married if you're not?”
He blinked down at her, still confused, his pounding head not helping, “Wait, what? Who says you have to get married?”
She stared down at her knees, still hugging them tightly, “Father.”
Rage seared through him at that and he shifted more toward her, tilting her face up to look at him, “What do you mean?”
She jerked her head back, resting her cheek on one knee and turning her gaze away from him, “He said... I have a duty... like Jeylokar.”
He scowled, growling, “Your only duty is to yourself, Nalyra. You don't have to do anything he says.”
She shook with a suppressed sob and looked back at him, frustration clear on her features, “He said it'll bring three more ships to the fleet... if I don't, that he'll....” She buried her face against her knees, taking a deep breath and shaking her head.
“What? What could he possibly do?” Treyjen demanded.
She looked up at him, “Disown us... both of us. He said he'd take the Storm's Eye from you if I don't!”
Their father was using him against her? His hands curled into tight fists as a tremor of barely suppressed fury coursed through him, “Nalyra... you do not have to do something you don't want to do... not to protect me, not for any reason.”
She buried her face again, “But he'll leave us here... he'll leave us if I don't... I don't want to be stuck here... I don't want you to be stuck here either... not because of me....”
He pulled her into his arms, “I won't let him do this to you. I promise you....”
She choked on another sob and clung to his chest, “You can't... you can't change his mind.... He doesn't care about anything but stupid business deals! I hate him!”
He tilted her chin up to look at him again, “I will not let him do this to you.” A tear escaped down her cheek and she closed her eyes tightly while he brushed it away with his thumb. He touched his forehead to hers and she met his eyes, “I promise, I will always protect you... from father, or anyone or anything else. I'll do whatever it takes.” He gave her a small smile and slowly released her, “Stay here. I'm going to talk with father.”
Her grip on his shirt tightened slightly, but a moment later she let go, nodding. He stood and offered her his hand, pulling her up beside him. He ruffled her hair until she swatted his hand away, “You're messing it up!” She ran her fingers through it a few times to straighten it out, giving him a halfhearted glare.
“I'll be back soon... you're not marrying anyone if you don't want to,” he assured her, stepping past her to leave the cabin and head for his father's ship. He brooded silently as he made his way down the docks, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to notice when anyone called out a greeting to him on his way. Hopefully he would find his father aboard and this thing could be settled. He paused briefly at the foot of the gangplank leading up to the Lokarra, his father's ship. Drawing in a deep breath, he started up onto the deck, quickly spotting his father talking to one of his men. His jaw clenched and he made his way over, interrupting the conversation with a low growl, “Father, we need to talk.”
Treylok gave him a distasteful glance, “I'm in the middle of a conversation, Treyjen.”
“I don't care if you're discussing how to rid Pern of Thread forever!” He glared at his father, then shot a look at the man he was speaking with.
Somewhat awkwardly, the other man cleared his throat, “We can speak later....”
“No, we'll speak now, and my son will learn some respect and common decency,” Treylok growled back, though his gaze was set on Treyjen.
“You want to lecture me about respect and common decency? You're selling your children for ships without any consideration as to how they feel about it! How very decent of you, father,” he spat the word as though it were something particularly disgusting.
Treylok waved the other man away, and he took the opportunity to leave rather quickly, “Children have a duty to obey their parents, a duty I know you've long since cast off, but I'll not have you poisoning Nalyra any longer! Her marriage is none of your concern!”
“She is part of my crew, she is my sister, and anything that affects her happiness is my concern! You will not do this to her,” Treyjen demanded.
“How dare you try to interfere in this! She may be your sister, but she is my daughter. Her duty is to me and your mother, and my duty is to secure her future. Away from you and your terrible influence. Why is her marriage so concerning to you anyway? I don't recall you ever pleading a case for Jeylokar not to wed.”
“Oh, I'm not pleading, father,” he growled warningly, “She does not want this! And how dare you use me to threaten her! You'll take my ship from me if she refuses? You'll disown us both? Do your worst, because I will not let you do this to her.” An expression of surprise passed over his features as his father laughed.
“You act as though I'm sending her off to die. I knew you had no interest in marriage, Treyjen, but I did not know the depths of your abhorrence for it,” he studied his son for a moment, “She will wed. And I assure you it will not be as awful as you seem to think it will be for her.”
“You're taking away her freedom, you may as well be killing her,” he could not keep the emotion from his voice, a passion more than just anger. His little sister was more like him than either of their older brothers, “She needs her freedom... she needs to be able choose, to make her own decisions, to be her own woman. She is not merchandise to be bartered and traded!”
Treylok waved his hand dismissively, “I am done speaking of this. Nalyra will wed, as planned. She will obey me in this, as Jeylokar did.”
“She is not Jeylokar!” he stared his father down, desperate to make him understand and to end this before he destroyed Nalyra's happiness, her free spirit, everything he loved about his little sister, “You tossed Reyloran aside when he did not measure up to Jeylokar. I have been waiting for you to do the same to me. I thought you would when I came to you, demanding that you never try to marry me off for your own gains. By the first egg I cannot fathom why you have not cast me off yet... but I will be the one to cast you off, if you do not relent on this. I will not allow you to steal Nalyra's freedom. It will destroy her.”
“You seem to think you know your sister so well.... What on Pern makes you say such ridiculous, over dramatic things? Jeylokar survived his marriage just fine-”
“Did you not hear me? She is NOT Jeylokar!” he met his father's eyes, a long moment of silence drawing out between them, “She and I... we understand each other. We are the same, at heart. I know it will destroy her because it would destroy me! If you care for her at all, you will call this off!”
Treylok stepped closer, scowling, “Nalyra... is nothing like you. And if you think threatening to leave, and to take all your bad habits and disrespect with you, will make me change my mind then you're madder than I thought. I would not be happier than to be rid of you! Now get off my ship!”
He stood there silently, a turmoil of emotions raging within him, and finally spoke, bowing mockingly, “As you wish, father.” He turned on his heel and stalked away, “You shall be rid of me.”
