Author's note: So once again I find myself apologizing for not updating in a long long time - however I have a good excuse. My husband and I moved in May, and then our baby boy decided he didn't want to wait till September to be born - he wanted to come in June. Thankfully we were able to convince him to wait until July, but that was still two months too early. He spent his first three weeks of life in the NICU at our local hospital, and then the following month in and out of the local children's hospital due to some breathing issues he was having. Then I had to have surgery to deal with the problem that made him come early.

So, long story short, it's been crazy around here.

But we're all doing much much better now. Baby boy has grown so much that you would never know that he's a preemie. I'm completely healed from my surgery, and back at work. And somehow my husband didn't go insane during all of this.

Anywho, now that things have calmed down, here's a new chapter to enjoy!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Love, AS

For once, Kayta's dreams were pleasant. Rather than having nightmares about when she had broken her leg, or of Z'char hurting her, or of the Weyr being disbanded, she dreamt that she was in the fields outside of Blue Vale. She crouched next to the holding she had fancied when she was younger and covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her giggles. Off in the distance they could hear Malena calling for them, but they were hidden from view by the tall hay.

"Fine." The holder girl growled in annoyance. "You can just go hungry then!" She stamped back towards the hold, her foot falls reverberating through the ground.

"Good. I thought she would never leave." The holdling flopped backwards, the stalks behind him bending under his weight.

"We should go back. They're having roast beast tonight, with tubers and greens."

He groaned. "We have roast beast at least once a week." He tugged on her hand, pulling her down next to him. "Stay."

"There will be bubbly pies."

"I want something sweeter."

He stared at her with an intense expression on his face, like he planned to eat her up. Kayta flushed. How had she never noticed how dark his eyes were? Or how soft his lips looked?

The next thing she knew he was kissing her, and she was underneath him with her tunic pulled up above her chest. She hummed in delight, enjoying the way his lips and hands felt on her skin. She had wanted him, and this, for so very very long...

He pulled away to fumble with his belt, and Kayta frowned. The man above her was not the holdling she remembered. Instead the silhouette framed by the stars overhead was that of a certain brownrider.

"N'kar?" She gasped in surprise.

"Yes."

"What are you doing?" He had finally managed to get his pants undone, and now he was working on hers.

"Something I've wanted for a long long time."

"But you're a brownrider."

"What?" A sleepy voice murmured in her ear.

Kayta blinked as she took in her surroundings. The field from her dreams had faded away, leaving behind the plain walls of her weyr instead. Someone held her tight against his chest, his arm wrapped firmly around her waist while her legs tangled with his.

She screwed her eyes shut, struggling to remember how she had gotten here, who she was in bed with, and what they had done. Had she had too much wine?

The memories came back to her all at once: the bronzeriders gathering, Lysith blooding her kill, the press of bodies around her, Elanth winning, and N'kar...

She flushed and twisted her head just enough to confirm that, yes, it was the brownrider in bed with her. He was just as naked as she was, and judging from the state of a specific part of his anatomy, his dreams had been pleasant as well.

The Queenrider squirmed, trying to break free of his grasp, but he just held on tighter. His eyes still closed, he shook his head slowly.

"Stay." He murmured, his lips brushing against the sensitive skin at the back of her neck.

"I need the bathroom." She whispered.

"Oh." He yawned and released her, rolling over onto his back in the process. "Sorry."

Kayta quickly slipped out of the bed and bolted for the bathing room at the back of her weyr, stopping only to grab a robe off of a hook near the doorway. Once she was inside of the safety of the bathroom, she tied the curtain shut and sank to the floor.

A brown had caught her dragon.

A brown.

Browns never flew queens, they were too small, and bronzes were so much stronger.

Elanth is smart and almost as big as I am. Lysith's voice interrupted her thoughts. And you think highly of his rider.

Kayta didn't answer. Yes, N'kar was a handsome man, and he was one of the few mainlanders who seemed to appreciate and enjoy the island and didn't constantly complain about it or the Weyr. But...

She sighed. Brownriders cannot be Weyrleaders.

Just because it has not happened before, does not mean it is impossible. Her dragon replied. Are you not pleased? You were not complaining last night.

The Weyrwoman flushed again as she recalled everything she and the brownrider had done. Where Z'char had been rough when he was lost to the dragon passion, N'kar had been considerate and gentle. He also had far more energy than the ex-weyrleader did - Z'char had always snuck away after their dragons had returned, but N'kar... she had lost count of the times they had come together over the course of the evening.

However, just because a man was good in bed, did not mean he was a good leader.

The others approve of him. He is the only mainlander who talks to our riders.

They all talk and they are all our riders.

Her dragon gave the mental equivalent of a snort in response.

No, they are. It's time to put this us versus them nonsense to rest. She stood and stretched, wincing as sore muscles made their complaints known.

She eyed the tub standing in the corner of the small room; a hot bath would help, but did she dare ask Berjoui to bring a pot of hot warm water and risk waking the man sleeping in her bed? Maybe the water in the cistern was still warm from the day before...

She turned on the tap to find that, yes, the water was still warm. She filled the tub, stepped inside, and quickly started rubbing herself with sweetsand.

N'kar woke and eyed the unfamiliar walls around him in confusion. His weyr was nowhere nearly as large, nor as nice. Gauzy curtains billowed in the morning breeze, and the walls were painted in soft colors. Where in Faranth's name was he, and how much wine had he had?

None, Elanth answered him quickly. You are in the Weyrwoman's quarters because I caught Lysith.

So that wasn't a dream. The brownrider replied. That explained his exhaustion and the fog that was currently occupying his brain. He had spent so much of the flight fighting his connection with his dragon, trying to remain in control, to make sure Kayta was safe. It was ridiculous in retrospect - she was a Weyrwoman with turns of experience under her belt.

He had to remind himself that experience had nothing to do with it. There were rumors of holdbred female greenriders who were often unprepared for their first flight and had been afraid of flights ever since. Perhaps it had been the same for Kayta... or so he assumed. From what he understood the previous Weyrwoman had been horrible and had preferred staying in bed and drinking all day much like Z'char had. He doubted she would have taken the time to explain things. And since Kayta had been so young when she had been brought here, and since she had been put on the sands almost immediately, he didn't think she would have had a chance to experience the joys of sex prior to impression. Once impression was made, weyrlings were warned to stay chaste until their dragons were mature enough - which could take at least a turn, to a turn and a half. That first flight had probably taken her by surprise. He was sure it didn't help matters that Lysith rose less than a normal queen did since the Island weyr was so small...

Yes, he nodded to himself, that had to be why Kayta had looked so terrified the day before.

However, another thought quickly occurred to him; if her previous experiences with mating flights had been subpar and had traumatized her so, then why had she stayed in bed with him? Why hadn't she kicked him out as soon as everything was done? And she had been a willing participant in everything they had done after their dragons had returned...

He slid out of bed and picked through the pile of clothes on the floor as he searched for his trousers and shirt.

Ramoth says that the Weyrleaders would like to know when would be a good time to discuss this recent development.

N'kar finally located his trousers and gave them a snap to clean the dust and dirt off of them. Why don't they ask R'nahl?

Because he is not the Weyrleader anymore.

Right. He was the Weyrleader now, so R'nahl would be answering to him. That was going to take some getting used to. He pulled on the trousers and sat back on the bed while he considered their request. Where is Kayta?

In the bath.

Ah. He would wait until she was done then. His stomach growled loudly, reminding him that he had not eaten since breakfast the day before. Can someone bring some food? Lots of it?

The lower caverns woman is on her way.

Good. Good.

Just as Elanth promised, the clatter of dishes drifted through the curtains separating the sleeping rooms from the dining area. N'kar stood and entered the room, quickly grabbing a pot of klah and a mug from one of the lower caverns women before she could set it down. She tittered as she watched him fill the mug, drown it, and fill it again.

"Save some for Kayta." Berjoui smacked his hand before he could repeat the process with the second mug of klah - something that the giggling lower caverns woman must have found amusing, because she because she began to titter again. "Or should I bring two pots of klah in the morning from here on out?"

"That won't be necessary." He leaned against a wall, trying to stay out of their way as they went about setting out breakfast. There was enough food to fill an army; a big bowl of porridge, plus meatrolls, cheese, bread, and various fruits.

"Will you need anything else Weyrleader?"

It took him a moment to realize she was speaking to him. "We may need refreshments later but I'll leave that for Kayta to arrange."

"Leave what for me to arrange?" Kayta asked.

He looked up to find the Weyrwoman standing in the doorway, her hair hanging around her face in wet ringlets. He didn't think he had ever seen her with her hair down before. "The Benden Weyrleaders have been advised of what happened, probably by R'nahl -"

"I'm not surprised; he was reporting to them weekly, to keep them appraised of things in between their visits."

Good - at least the bronzerider had kept her in the loop on some things. "They are requesting that we sit down to discuss the change in the leadership."

"Oh." She sat and started filling a plate with food from the selection Berjoui and the others had laid out.

N'kar grabbed another mug and filled it with klah. When he handed it to her, he half expected her to flinch based on the assumptions he had formed about her past, but she did not. Nor did she blush when his fingers brushed against hers. "About the flight..."

She shook her head, then glanced at the lower caverns women. When they left, and she was sure they were gone, she finally spoke. "I was not aware that browns could fly golds."

"Some have tried... but I think this is the first in many years, probably since dragons were first created, that one has succeeded."

"Since dragons were first created?"

"You haven't read up on our history - especially the history we've recovered from Landing?"

"Remember, I was a runner when Avias was discovered. That sort of information was something I wasn't privy to and, honestly, I probably wouldn't have cared about it or any other information Landing had to offer unless it could help me become a better runner."

"But I know Weyrwoman Lessa sent copies here, to our Weyr, for you to review in your free time."

"Which I would love to read - when I have free time."

She had him there. "Well, Avias said the first clutch held golds, bronzes and browns. Considering the size of the clutch, and how many of each color there were, I don't think it would have been unheard of back in those days for a brown to catch a gold - especially since they were roughly the same size." He sat down across the table from her. "Nowadays, with Queens being so much larger, it never happens. Doesn't stop them from trying every now and then though; Ramoth's last flight had a couple of bold browns."

"Was Elanth one of them?"

"No, he prefers greens." He smiled, remembering the first time he had met Kayta. "Before we knew who you were, he repeatedly referred to Lysith as the Green who isn't Green."

"I'll have to paint her blue next time then." She said, and he laughed. "What do you suppose the other Weyrleaders would like to discuss with us?"

"They probably want to make sure that there was no foul play involved in the flight."

"How so? There was no fighting... or..."

"You weren't fully... engaged with Lysith or the flight."

Her smile faltered. "I was with her."

"No, you panicked at least a couple of times. I remember speaking to you, reassuring you, multiple times - even after Elanth had caught Lysith when the connection should have been strongest." There was the flush he had expected to see earlier. It stained her cheeks a vibrant red and spread down her neck to her chest. The desire to see how far it went was nearly overwhelming and he had to look away. "What happened? Did the Weyrwoman before you, or maybe N'bel, not explain what happened during flights when you were younger? Was Z'char... Did he... Or maybe..."

"This is definitely not the topic I expected to discuss this morning." She sighed.

"Kayta..."

"N'bel made it very clear when I was younger what would happen during a flight. And while Z'char was often rough, he never touched me like that or even looked at me in that way once the flight was over. In fact, you are the first man to have spent the night in my weyr and still be here in the morning."

That surprised him. "Z'char never...?"

"No, he always left as soon as our dragons landed."

"I'm sorry if I've overstayed my welcome then."

"I'm not. I won't deny that Elanth catching Lysith caught me by surprise, but it... and everything afterwards... was definitely enjoyable."

"Good. I'm glad." He smiled, feeling more than a little smug. "So if your previous experiences weren't bad, why did you panic?"

"Because there were so many dragons and their riders there."

"But you agreed to an open flight, surely you knew -"

"I knew that there would be more than just our bronzes, yes, but I wasn't expecting every wingleader and wingsecond on all of Pern to be there." Kayta took another sip of her klah. "Regardless of how engaged I was, Elanth won fair and square."

"Others might claim that you influenced the flight based on our previous history."

She laughed. "Previous history? We danced a few times - that's hardly enough time together to make any sort of a connection."

"Well, you certainly had an impact on me."

Either she didn't hear him, or she deliberately ignored what he said. "And if I believed that I had had any influence whatsoever, I would have chosen M'rocav."

"Ah." He had gathered that the two had a history together, but still it hurt to hear her name the bronzerider.

"I'm sorry. I mean no insult, it's just that that was always N'bel's plan; I would impress and become Weyrwoman, and M'rocav would become the Weyrleader after Lysith's first flight."

"My apologies for messing up your plans then." He stood to leave. "I'll return when the Benden Weyrleaders arrive."

"N'kar, stay." She sighed. "Regardless of what the plan was, I'm glad things did not work out that way. M'rocav would have alienated the mainlanders, and any other mainlander would have continued to punish us islanders. Both the mainlanders and the islanders respect you, and who better to run an impossible Weyr than an impossible Weyrleader?"