Lacuna was a pretty girl that lives on Pern.
It was the child every parent would dream about. She had blue eyes and long blond (almost gold shiny) hear, in her hair was a little curl. She had light freckles on her turned-up nose.

She had a great personality. She had a lot of friends who could always come to her. She would help till the last problem was solved and wouldn’t hesitate to help you. Even if she didn’t know you, you could always go there for a laugh to, she would just do everything for you.


But all of that changed on a hot summer morning. The grass was still wet from dew. And the grass was really green today. She walked through the grass and felt it with her hand. She felt amazing. She looked at the sky and it was clear, no cloud in it.

She sat down at a tree and started to draw that view she had.

It was with a lake and the clear blue sky with no clouds. A light freckle was in the water of the soft blowing wind. A few flowers were on the grass beside the lake... But there was something missing on the drawing. She couldn’t see what it was though..

She decided to go home.

She walked slowly home. Something was keeping her back. Maybe if she sings it would get better. She started humming. After a while she sung and some birds flew past her and whistled with her. She spinned and fell on the ground laughing. After a while she got up. It started to get dark. The moon shined high above her when she got home.

‘Mommy, daddy? I’m home!’ Lacuna ran on the stairs to look for her parents. They weren’t there. ‘Strange...’ She said.
‘Mommy?’ She went back down. ‘Daddy?’
Suddenly it became dark.

She didn’t know how late it was or what happened. ‘Mom? Dad?’ Her voice was very weak and she didn’t recognise it at first. She tried to stand up. At first Lacuna couldn't, everything turned, but at the second try she stood up. the turning didn't got any better though. ‘My head...’ She looked after her parents.

She fell over something. ‘I don’t remember that there was something there..’ She felt with her hands. It was a leg. ‘Mommy?’ She went up. She felt the cold face of her mother. She felt the neck.. It was sticky and whet. ‘No....’ Lacuna started to cry.. She sat there beside her mother. How could this be possible? Who would want to hurt them?

She crawled over the floor to look for her dad. Everything was so dark... Why couldn’t she see? It was a full moon. She bumped unto the couch. Now a hand fell out of it. She heard it. She looked in that direction. She felt along the couch. She grabbed the hand, it felt so cold ‘Daddy?’ No reaction. It couldn’t be....

She tried to stand up. But fell down again. She crawled to a wall. She had lost every sense of direction.

A wall.... She felt relieved.. She followed the wall and got at a door. Now she knew the way out. She stood up again and stepped out the house.

She wondered around. She didn’t know where she was or where she was going. But she screamed for help. ‘Please help me... Someone?’ She walked for hours and hours. She fell down, the screaming turned into a whisper. Lacuna cried. ‘Doesn’t anybody hear me... Why is it so dark???’
Lacuna laid there for so long. Although it seemed lick for ever. Why wasn't anybody there to help her? Why didn't anybody listen? What had she don wrong?

‘What is the matter?’ A low, soft voice from behind her answered her prayers. She turned around, hopeful. But that changed. What if he was one of the killers? And he was going to finish the job. ‘No, leave me alone...’
‘I’m not going to hurt you..’
‘How can I be sure of that?’
‘You just have to trust me...’ He laid his hand on her shoulder and turned her to him.
‘My god.....’ He whispered ‘What happened to you?’ Lacuna turned away from him.
‘Why? What’s the matter?’
‘I’m going to bring you to a doctor..’ was the only thing he could bring out.
‘Do you trust me? He asks
‘Why?’
'You've got to go to a doctor. You can't stay here like this.. You have to come with me.' He sounded worried. Lacuna decided to go with him, if he was a killer he would have killed her by now... she wondered what his faced looked like. Would it be soft, or rather with scares and old?
She stood up, almost fell, but he was in time to get her up.

'Thanks'

‘Are you alright?’ he whispers
Why is it so dark?'
'It's not dark, it's brought daylight..'
'Then what happened to my eyes?!' She became desperate.
'Ssshhtt, be still. That's why I'm going to take you to a doctor.'
Lacuna didn't say anything after that, and they left.

'I didn't introduce myself yet..' 
The man said
'My name is Simen and I live in a village a couple of miles from here. I came here to go to Cincanta Weyr..'
'I'm Lacuna, I don't make any change.. Because I'm blind. Or at least I think that I am.'
'You don't know that. Maybe you'll get a dragon and I wont And maybe your eyes need a rest..'
She smiled. but the smile changed into a sad look.
'What's wrong?'
'I was thinking of my parents...' Lacuna looked away.
'
What happened to them?'
'I don't know. They were killed. But I don't know how or why. That's why something happened to my eyes to.'
He felt so sorry for her. He couldn't imagine not to see. That would be unbearable.
'I still see the green grass before my eyes, and the clear blue sky...' She started to cry
'Don't cry. I'm here, nothing will happen to you, I promise' he whispered
She felt his breath on her shoulder.
They said nothing till they came into the village. It was dark, Lacuna fell asleep in Simens arms a while ago. He knocked on the doctors door. 
'Hello?'
he heard a voice at the other end of the door. It was a creepy voice, it sounded really old.
'Hello, can you help us?' Simen asked
'With what?'
'I have a girl here that needs medical help. Can we come in?'
The door opened slowly revealing an old man, with glasses and a curved back
'Bring her in...'
Simen brought her in holding her in his arms. 'Where can I put her?'
'Bring her in here. On that table'
He putted her there and the doctor looked at her. 'Bring me that light, will you?'
Simen took of and came back with the light, The doctor turned it on and asked Simen to hold it above Lacuna's face. 'My god.... what happened to her?'
'She doesn't know..'
That was the only thing he said. It took a long time, than he said there was nothing to do about her eyes. She was blind and could never see again.
Simen didn't know what to do. Couldn't he just go to the Weyr and leave her?
It was with pain in his heart that he left her but he had to go, the clutch was about to hatch.
He asked the doctor that he would take care of her, and that he would tell her that he had to leave.
Then he left

Lacuna woke up a day later. 
'Where am I?' She felt scared, she knew she was in a home, it smelled funny.
A voice answered, it wasn't simens..
 'You're at the doctor, I took care of your eyes.'
'What's wrong with my eyes? Where is Simen?'
'You're blind... Some-one ... I'm not sure if I can tell you this...'
'Tell me, It can't get any worse than this.'
He took a deep breath and 'Some-one stabbed in your eyes, probably with the idea that you would be death, you're lucky you know. A bit deeper and you were....'
She looked down. He breathed slowly and then looked up again. 'Where is Simen?'
'Is that the boys name? He was very worried, but he left yesterday, I promised to tell you that he had to go. He didn't say where he was going to.'
She held herself strong, so she didn't start to cry. 'Oh...'
He saw that it was hard for her so he tried to change the subject. 'Do you want anything to eat?'
'That would be lovely.'
he held her hand and together they walked to the kitchen. He left her at a table and there she smelled the great scent of egg and bacon. She felt that she was really hungry.
'Thanks for making this...'
'
You're welcome...' his voice changed, Lacuna didn't notice, but he had an evil look in his eyes. Then he took a small pot out of the cupboard. It was with, so it couldn't be a herb. No it was a medicine. He put the whole pot in the omelettes and turned it round. He smiled while he was pretending the death of Lacuna.
He took a plate and putted the omelette on it
. 'Here you go, It looks good.'
'Thank you again, for helping me...' Lacuna put her fork in the omelette. She raised the fork to her mouth and then suddenly a hand threw the fork away. 'What was that?' She asked.
'Lacuna, I'm sorry....' It was Simen, his voice was worried and angry at the same time.
'As for you. I trusted you, How could you?'
'Her family ruined mine. Her parents took away all my money and took my family from me.. Now it's my turn.'
He jumped at Lacuna, But Simen came to stand before her and protected her. He hit the doctor and he fell down.
'What happened?' Lacuna whispered.
'I protected you, I hit him, and he fell down bad.. I think he's death...'
'Put your hand against his neck... Is there a heartbeat?'
'No.... Did you know where he was talking about?'
'Absolutely not.... I couldn't picture my parents destroying a family.. We should bury him... Yes... take him into the garden, I'll help you.'
They picked him up and laid him in the garden, Simen found a shovel and began to dig.
After an hour he had dug a hole that was deep enough to put him in. Then he threw the sand back on the body.

'We can't tell anybody about this ok?' Simen said.
'No...' Lacuna was confused. She could have been death. Did she just burry the man who killed her parents?
I all started to spin. She fell in the arms of Simen. 
'That's the third time you saved my life. How can I repay you?'
'By coming with me to Cincanta Weyr. Maybe you could stay there with me...'
'I would love that..'

They left after washing there hands and all dearth areas.
It was night and Simen described the way over there to Lacuna. She was happy again. She knew who killed her parents and hadn't to be scared of the fact that he would came after her. The only thing that she couldn't believe was that her parents would have destroyed that mans family.. It would stay a mystery..

They arrived at the were and they had to go to the hatching sands. The clutch was near of hatching. 
Lacuna was very nervouse. What if no dragon would want her now that she was blind, or that a dragon would rage through the sands and hit her because she couldn't get out quickly.. But then she felt the reassuring touch of Simen on her shoulder. 

'Calm down Lacuna. I'll help you through this.'
Lacuna turned towards him and smiled. 

Simen described everything that happened. He told her that a strong brown male had hatched and bonded. After the brown a green and a blue dragon hatched hat seemed to like each other from the beginning. Then another brown hatched and bonded again. Then Simen got quiet. 
'Simen? What happened?' Lacuna asked, but then she heard him speak. But it wasn't against her, it was against a dragon.
It was so that 2 blue dragons had hatched and one of them, the smaller of the two blues, smaller but still well-built for his size, sat down before Simen and warbled. "There you are, Zeuixeth," he smiled, "Do you want to follow them?" Simen gestured to the other blue dragon, who by then had arrived at the banquet tables. Zeuixeth warbled again in the affirmative, and the pair hurried away.

Lacuna turned in the direction of her friend and his new life mate with a wistful sigh. She turned back to facing how she'd been, however, as a faint rustle sounded from in front of her. I won't let you be alone, she heard. With an unsteady hand, she reached out to touch the face of the fine-boned green. "Would you be my eyes, Occulith?" The hatchling warbled in the affirmative.
Lacuna leaned on her dragon as they walked outside. 
There is Simen. Occulith said to Lacuna. She guided Lacuna to him.

'Lacuna... There you are.' Simen said relieved. 
'Why did you leave me like that?' Lacuna asked a bit angry.
'I'm sorry.. It was just the hunger of Zeuixeth was overwelming... He needed to eat. I'm sorry..'
'I understand... I know what you feel.' She smiled. 'Let us eat.'

Zeuixeth                                                            Occulith

Days passed and Lacuna learned to walk alone. She also learned how to see with her hands and ears and she became rather good at it too. Then there was Occulith who helped her with so much patience she could give her. It seemed that the dragon had a third eye or something for everything that Lacuna didn't see.
Simen was very busy with Zeuixeth. He was a small dragon, but he could eat for two large dragons. He growed quickly, but he was still smaller than normal blue dragons.
Occulith grew  too, but she wasn't as demanding as Zeuixeth. It was rather strange for a dragon who was growing not to think of food constantly, but somehow Occulith could.

Occulith                                                                                       Zeuixeth

 

Lacuna and Simen are standing at Cincanta Weyr