Lythena gazed admiringly at her golden queen, now an adult. It had been little more than two Turns since she had Impressed the abandoned hatchling, yet it seemed like forever. Marith was still asleep, head resting on forepaws. The rider's green firelizard, Ithya, was fluttering about the golden wings.
Lythena stood back and appraised her dragon proudly. Marith was a bright, cleanly shining golden-yellow, and big for a young queen. She couldn't quite match the older queens in length, but had a becomingly slender appearance. Lythena wondered when Marith would rise, for she saw that the golden dragon had lost all her "baby fat" and was just about old enough. Soon, 'Thena, soon. Dragons will know. Don't worry replied Marith, who had awakened. Lythena stroked her dragon's soft-downed eyeridges, replying humorously, Oh, love, I'm not worried! You'll lead them on a merry chase, mark my words. The queen dragon nodded assent smugly. Only the fastest, strongest dragon is worthy of me!
"Well, love, I've signed you up on the flight board! You've got three followers so far." Lythena informed her dragon. Only three? What color? Marith sounded slightly put out. Lythena laughed, blue eyes twinkling. "Well, there's blue-green Doidith, and browns Eatanth and Keith." she read off the list. No bronzes? Huh. Well, I suppose if they're big, strong browns I wouldn't mind. I overheard Keith say I'm the most perfect queen. Nice-looking brown, he is. But I'm going to chew those bronzes out! Marith sounded even more huffy than before, blowing out an annoyed breath in her rider's long reddish-gold hair. "Oh, I say, Marith! I'm sure the bronzeriders just haven't had the time to sign up yet. Don't you dare go around getting angry at them! And besides, you've got more followers than the others." Lythena chided, scratching the golden dragon's eye ridges comfortingly. I have the most admirers? But Lillith said one of the bronzes signed up for her flight! The young queen sounded slightly jealous, but happy that she was that popular with the males. "Now you stop fussing about that! Come, I'll give you a good scrubbing in the lake." Marith appeared to forget all about her complaints at the prospect of a bath, and flew up in a flurry of shining wings. The golden dragon hovered over the crystalline lake before plunging into the water with a smooth dive that must've displaced half the water. At any rate, it soaked Lythena. Marith! You naughty naughty dragon! Lythena admonished mock-angrily.
"Marith, will you stop bugging me and the whole Weyr about your mating flight?!" Lythena complained. Her dragon's proddiness was beginning to show in the goldrider. "You have five followers already, one of them bronze, and that should be enough for your vanity!" the rider continued, giving Marith's golden hide an extra hard scrub to emphasize her words. Lythena sighed and stopped scrubbing. I'm sorry, love. But I don't want any rider to..to- well, you know. Not like that; not just because of a mating flight. I hardly know any of them. But all these riders are giving me these looks that make me want to blush and dive under the nearest rock. The goldrider laid her head against her dragon's neck, wanting comfort. Don't worry, 'Thena, don't worry. I love you. No one will dare hurt my rider while I still live! Marith declared, crooning softly to her rider. Lythena smiled slightly. "Thanks, Marith. I needed that." she whispered.
The next morning....
"Get the queens away! Marith's about to rise!" Lythena was eating breakfast when the Weyrwoman came running in. All the goldriders hurried out to their queens. Lythena reached for her dragon’s mind and almost staggered back at the turmoil in the golden dragon’s mind. The rider dashed out of the Dining Hall and down to the Feeding Grounds right in front of her weyr. On the Rim, the male dragons who had signed up for the flight were already gathered, having blooded before. Lythena turned her attention back to her dragon.
Marith leaped, dragging a fat herdbeast down with her talons. She was about to tear into the succulent flesh when another voice entered her mind. Don’t you dare eat, Marith! Blood it only! Blood it! Lythena ordered firmly. The golden dragon hissed rebelliously. No mere human was going to tell her what to do! Do you want to be caught before you’re a dragonlength off the ground? If you eat, you’ll be heavy and slow! The goldrider used another tactic to get Marith to blood the herdbeast. It worked.
The golden dragon hissed again but latched onto her kill’s throat and sucked it dry. Marith swooped again, bringing down yet another herdbeast. This time she resisted only a trifle before blooding again. The queen blooded three more, each time with less resistance.
After her fifth kill, Marith seemed to glow even more brilliantly as she surveyed the suitors contemptuously. Even Lythena was shocked at the speed of Marith’s take-off. The males, three browns and a bronze, with another special blue-green dragon, were equally surprised, but leaped into the air quickly. Bronze Keneth, being the biggest, was leading, but only slightly.
Back on the ground, Lythena was aware of nothing but her dragon. The rider was more dragon now than she was Lythena. She saw the pursuing males through the golden dragon’s eyes, felt the glory of flight through Marith’s mind. The goldrider smiled triumphantly, one with her dragon, as brown Eatanth dropped out.
Marith crowed her superiority as yet another dragon, this time blue-green Diodith, drifted down in defeat. She spiraled high, then dove sharply as the pursuing dragons labored behind her. Another brown, Keith, flew down, dropping out of the flight.
For several moments the golden dragon forgot about the males and revelled in the joy of flight. She was unbeatable, unstoppable! She was the most beautiful gold on Pern, the object of every bronze and brown’s desire! That thought made her remember. Oh yes, the males. Glancing back, Marith was faintly amused to see only two dragons remaining, a bronze and a brown. Both were big, strong beasts, both in their prime. Worthy of her? Perhaps. Marith condescended to slow down, mocking them by swinging her tail fingertips away from the two dragons’ snouts.
Tired of taunting the males, the queen dragon shot up into the clouds. Keneth, the bronze, saw Marith’s tactic and gathered up the last of his strength, fueled somewhat by his rider’s liking for Lythena. The big bronze angled above where the golden dragon should emerge from the clouds. One shining wing appeared. Keneth reached for his prize.
Marith, coming out of the mist, did not see the waiting bronze. Powerful talons locked onto her wing joints, and the queen dragon instinctively wrenched around to meet her attacker, then realizing she had done just as the bronze had anticipated. The golden dragon struggled, wriggling uselessly in the bronze’s grasp. Then Marith realized that only one dragon had ever been worthy of her, and abandoned herself to the bronze.
Lythena's mind came back to her body with a jolt. She blinked dazedly and felt herself swept up in the bronzerider's arms, then carried a short distance and dumped onto her bedfurs. Soon the two riders had given themselves up to their dragon-roused passion, unaware of anything else.
Lythena woke groggily to the awareness that she was not alone, and was also firmly tangled in her bedfurs. "Wha...?" she murmured sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She sat up, looked around, and gasped. N'vin, one of the riders who had signed up for Marith's mating flight, was lying next to her. And what's more, they both weren't wearing anything! That made the goldrider's memory of Marith's flight and the...aftereffects...come rushing back. Lythena blushed involuntarily and slipped quietly out of the furs to pull on her clothes, smoothing back her tangled hair. "I guess his Keneth won." she whispered to no one in particular. Lythena touched on Marith's mind gently. The golden queen was asleep on the weyr ledge. The rider glanced out and saw the bronze who had won the flight standing rather protectively in front of his mate with a proprietary air. Lythena chuckled, then clapped a hand over her mouth, glancing back at the slumbering bronzerider. The bronze dragon turned his head and snorted in amusement, eyes whirling a calm blue. He dreams about you at night, you know, when he thinks I'm sleeping. It was his idea to sign me up for Marith's flight. I did so want to win anyway, though. Marith's quite popular and beautiful. He said that when he first saw you, he couldn't take his eyes off you. the bronze dragon informed her,a hint of smugness entering his mental voice when mention of his queen mate arose. Lythena reached out hesitantly and patted Keneth's muzzle. The bronze's comments made her feel a lot warmer towards this N'vin. Who would've thought that the bronzerider, whom every girl seemed to adore, would like her? She remembered the girls who had been coming out of N'vin-then Nevin-'s weyr when she had visited all the Candidates, and sniffed. N'vin would never visit any other girl's weyr after this!
Just as Lythena finished that thought, the sleeping rider stirred and sat up, looking confused and not seeing the young woman. Lythena took a deep breath and moved into N'vin's line of vision. He looked even more flabbergasted, then seemed to recall the events of the day before, and turned red. "Ah..." he started tentatively. The goldrider cut him off. "Yes, your Keneth won the flight, it was not your imagination." she smiled gently. "And now you're Weyrleader of Andromeda Weyr. Keneth told me all about you..." Lythena grinned as N'vin turned even redder and looked accusingly at the bronze dragon. She walked over to stand by the bed. "Well, don't blame the poor dragon; it's a nice feeling that someone actually did like me." the queenrider nodded absently, mind transported back to her first so-called love. It had been a short affair, as the young man was constantly drunk and often hit Lythena. She still cringed at the memory.
Therefore she was not expecting N'vin's hearty laugh as he moved over to her. "I was surprised that you didn't have admirers following you around all day. You're exceptionally beautiful, you know." the bronzerider said thoughtfully, pulling Lythena down to sit next to him. She smiled, and replied half-jokingly, "Well, everyone was warned off the goldriders." N'vin nodded in agreement, planting a light kiss on Lythena's cheek.
