Karonil
:Story::Search::Candidate::Hatching::Weyrling::Adult:
:Dark Moon Weyr::Tripaldi Weyr

The next day Karonil had not a moment to spend with his wife as Hold business kept him out and about almost all day. He ended up having to take a ride on dragonback to the Harper Hall to speak with the Masterharper and that ended up keeping him gone past dinner. When he returned he inquired about his wife and was told she’d closeted herself in their rooms all day and had spoken to no one. Frowning as he walked into the bedchamber he found her sleeping peacefully, her breathing strong and even.

Karonil heaved a sigh of relief and quickly stripped off his clothes and climbed into bed beside her. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and inhaled the smell of her hair as it tickled his nose. He fell asleep and had pleasant dreams all night of them having many children and basically living happily ever after.

Karonil woke before his wife the next morning and snuck away silently to go back to Hold business. Today he refused to allow matters to keep him from her for long so when the head cook came to him with complaints he turned over the audience to his headman and dashed upstairs.

He entered the room and looked about for her. She rarely left their rooms so he knew she had to be there. He called her name aloud and got no answer. Suddenly alarmed he rushed into the bedchamber and still did not see her anywhere. He turned to rush from the room and gasped as his eyes swept across her figure lying crumpled behind the long sofa. He rushed to her side only to find her barely conscious and struggling for air. He immediately lifted her and carried her to their bed, laying her out there before dashing into the hall and bellowing with all his might for a healer.

The healer came as fast as he could and forced Karonil out of the room while he examined her. Karonil protested but the headman was there and as the two were great friends Bonilek managed to convince Karonil that he was only in the healer’s way. Reluctantly was he pulled from Deisah’s side and he spent the entire waiting period pacing in front of the closed doors to the bedroom.

Finally the healer emerged, a dour expression on his face. Karonil practically pounced on the man as he walked through the door and had only to see the expression on his face before his own became a thundercloud.

“Well?” he demanded angrily. “How is she?”

“Deisah is very weak,” said the healer, frowning in worry. “Forgive me sir but we all warned you of the consequences...”

“Shards man, you warned us once she was already pregnant,” said Karonil angrily and tried to soften his tone as Bonilek laid a warning hand on his arm. He half turned his head toward his friend and took a deep breath. “What is wrong with her?”

“Her body is too weak to support the pregnancy. In effect the baby inside her is draining her of her life.”

“What can you do for her?” he demanded, careful to keep the anger from his voice.

“Perhaps if we’d known sooner...” the healer trailed off seeing the anger in Karonil’s eyes. “I’m terribly sorry.”

The anger melted away as Karonil realized what the healer meant. Pain creased his brow and tears began to well up in his eyes. He walked past the healer without another word and knelt by the side of his wife. Taking her hand in his he pressed his forehead to the bed over it. The healer left, ushered out by Bonilek, who closed the doors behind them.

Karonil saw none of this as he wept miserably over his wife’s hand. She was too young to die of this; she was too strong. But he recognized the lie even as he thought it. Her body had always been weak. He remembered her mother telling him stories of how Deisah had almost died at birth. The healers had said it was a miracle she had lived past one turn of age. But live she had and happily.

Deisah and Karonil had known they were meant for each other since they were little. They had grown up playing together and pretending to be married. Finally when they were old enough they made it legal. Less than a year later Deisah had gotten pregnant and now the child was killing her. Karonil cursed silently that the much-wanted child would be responsible for taking away his beloved wife. Consumed with his grief Karonil stayed there and cried, uncaring how the hard floor hurt his knees or how his neck got stiff from the way it lay on the bed. He wanted to be there with Deisah in her last moments.

Deisah died in the night. She woke up only once and in her dying breath she asked Karonil to forgive her for not letting him send for the healers. His tears had begun falling again at that and he had sat on the bed, cradling her in his arms as she drifted away. When she finally expelled her last breath he howled in agony and the entire hold knew that she was gone.

It was several days before anyone could get him to leave the room. Then he only left to attend her funeral and returned to the bedroom. He kept the doors closed and the curtains drawn. Letting no light into the room he spent all his time kneeling beside where she had last laid, wishing she were still there and cursing himself for having ever wanted to be a father.

Many days later Karonil was still kneeling there when the door was pushed open letting light stream in. He blinked trying to adjust his eyes to the bright light. He frowned, wondering who was standing there in the doorway. Eventually his eyes adjusted to the light and he scowled as he recognized the man standing there.

“Karonil,” said the man and Karonil’s scowl deepened as he remembered vividly the last time the two of them had met.

Continue...