[DL] Meena

>"Your sister?"  Harkon asked, startled  "Don't look much like you does 
>she? Can't argue with tradition and Treaty I suppose.  What if I can 
>persuade Meena to let me take the boy?  What then?"
>
>"That of course is up to Meena." 
>
>"Well Meena?"  he turned to her, and demanded  "Don't you want the best 
>life possible for your son?...." 

Meena had been standing on the far wall, pretending she wasn't listening to
this. It couldn't be real... She began shaking her head, "No... no, no,
no... I can't be without him."

"Now you are simply being selfish." growled Harkon. "Listen to me, D'Gerrit
was right about many things. Those of you in the Warren depend on us. We
send you tithes, despite what King Jaldor has ordered. If you do not uphold
our laws, how can we be expected to follow through on our duties to you."

Meena knew her father was not one for idle threats, but she couldn't just
hand Demee over. She needed more time. Time to come up with an alternate
solution. "Please, don't just take him away. Give me a little time to think
about all of this. You've dropped quite a surprise on me... and... and I
can't be expected to think rationally about it until I've had some time."

Harkon began to gloat, as he watched Meena begin to crumble. He knew he had
won, what harm could it do to allow her some time. "I will give you an hour."

Meena begged, "Please, please father," she tried not to choke on the word as
she continued to grovel. "Give me a couple days. I promise I will bring
Demee myself after I've had time to say good-bye."

"How do I know you won't run off with the boy," he asked suspiciously.

Naomi looked at him, "Run off where, Lord Harkon?"

"She's run off before, you know."

"Naomi's right, where would I go... All warrens would be under landbound law
and subject to the same restrictions as Norwall. I promise you that Demee
will not leave the confines of Norwall Warren, unless it is to bring him to
you."

Harkon looked at his daughter. She did have the look of defeat he'd come to
expect when he knew he'd won. He turned to Naomi, "You will guarantee that
she brings the boy to me?"

Naomi looked at Meena, "I will guarantee that the boy will not leave the
confines of Norwall Warren."

Lord Harkon seemed satisfied with that. He looked at Naomi, "Fine, then I
leave my heir in the WarrenLady's capable hands. Do not fail me." He then
turned to Meena, "You have two days. Then I want the boy." He walked out of
the office.

When he was gone, Meena breathed deeply and straightened up. He look of
defeat vanished and was replaced by a look of relief. Naomi opened her mouth
to say something, but Meena held up her hand and walked to the window. She
watched as Lord Harkon motioned to his guards and headed out toward the
caravan which had brought him.

She turned back to the WarrenLady. She didn't say anything and finally Naomi
broke the silence. "Meena, are you going to be able to send Demee to live
with him?"

Meena shook her head, "No. But I promised. So unless, we find another way,
I'll have to." She looked Naomi in the eye, "At least now we have some time."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I'm not sure. Can you work it on it from your end, I'm going to have Vonn
fly me to Whitbarrow tonight. I have a few people I have to see. And I have
to find out what happened to my brother, and why Harkon refuses to discuss it."

"How will that help Demee?"

"It might not, but I have a feeling that there is something going on there."

"I don't want you to go alone. Wait until morning."

"I can't... The caravan is leaving now. They'll be back to Whitbarrow by
morning and I can't hide Vonn, so he'll know I'm there.  I don't want him to
know." She moved to the door. "I'll be back before morning. Please have
Lacey take Demee to Rybeth's." She turned and left.

<Vonn, meet me outside Naomi's office. We have some business to take care of.>

<What about Demee?>

<He'll be safe here with Rybeth.>

She meet her dragon and together they teleported to Whitbarrow.  Whitbarrow
was not a large town and the only place large enough inside the walls for
Vonn to land was at the courtyard in front of Lord Harkon's residence. 

Meena slipped off and quickly ran toward the street which led to Hered's
little store. Daylight was just beginning to fade, but she remembered the
way well. It took her several minutes and she was out of breath by time she
arrived at the little cobbler's shop. Thankfully, though the downstairs was
dark, there was a little light shining through one of the upstairs windows.

Meena knocked on the door loudly. A short time later, an older man peeked
his head out of the upstairs window, "We're closed," he shouted.

"Hered, It's me, Meena. I must speak to you."

"Meena? Well, what are you doing here? Just a minute... I'll be right down."

Soon, she heard the click of the locks coming undone and then the door
opened and Hered ushered her in. "You're here awfully late, and where is Demee?"

"That's why I'm here." She followed him up the stairs to him home above the
shop.

"He's alright, isn't he?"

"Yes, he's fine." She took a seat and began to pour out her story of
Harkon's visit.

Hered was silent as he listened to her story, and as she began to cry, he
comforted her. "It's alright, Meena. We won't let that happen."

"How are we going to stop it?" she said frustrated. "I want to believe that
Naomi will find a way to prevent this, but I'm so scared. And I want to be
home hugging that little boy, but I know just holding him isn't going to be
enough."  She looked up at the old man, "Hered, promise me, that you will
keep an eye on him when I can't be here."

"Meena, don't you think you're putting the cart in front of the horse?" He
smiled, "I know something you don't. Something that may help us all a great
deal."

"What?"

"Your brother's child."

Meena was dumbfounded. She didn't know anything about Stont's having a
child. "What are you talking about?"

"Stont has been keeping company with the whore, Greta, for years," he
nodded, when he saw Meena's astonished expression, "Yes, Meena even before
you and Devon left. Devon knew about it. I'm a little surprised he never
said anything to you. Perhaps he didn't want you to have to worry about.

"You're father wouldn't have approved as you well know. Stont did an
excellent job of hiding it up until about a year ago. He had been spending
less and less time in your fathers house and more and more time down in that
end of town."

"So what happened to Stont?"

"I'm not really sure. There have been rumors, of course, but Harkon's guards
have been pretty good a suppressing the whole thing."

"But you're sure he's got a child."

"Yes. Possibly two. But the boy... it's definite. Spitting image of your
brother."

Meena smiled. "His mother is a whore though. That's why Harkon won't accept
the boy."

Hered nodded, "Perhaps he thinks there's too much doubt about the boy's true
parentage. Perhaps it's simply because of how Greta earns her keep. Gods
know, that's what he held against my Devon," the man's voice was quiet.

"Which is one reason why it surprises me that he wants Demee."

"Ahh, but my son didn't die a poor cobbler's child. He died a dragonrider.
That carries a lot of prestige, even among the landbound nobles."

Meena fought back the sadness that came when she began thinking about Devon
again. "That's they key then. We have to find Greta and her son. It's the
only thing that will save Demee."

Hered nodded, "She still in town. But laying low... I think she's been
threatened to keep her mouth shut about the boy."

"I'm going to send Vonn back to Norwall to inform Naomi about this. You and
I can search Greta out tomorrow."

He smiled, "Sounds like more excitement then I've had in a long time."

-- Meena & Vonn
****
NRPG: Okay :) Meena doesn't have to do this on her own. If Naomi would like
to send someone to help her... it is a pretty rough part of town for a young
girl and an older man :) They won't be going out until morning to try and
find the child. 

Kristen 
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    "   "  "      "   \ : :  : : /   "      "  "   "

(AKA - Darlea & Makayla, Lt. Krysa Jenn, Ens. Darla Shane, 
Ens. Ainese Kev, Bree, Dr. Janna Swansen, Captain Gabriel 
Faison, Waylene & Aura, Meena & Vonn)

http://homepage.interaccess.com/~sgant/kris.htm
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