Sun shone brightly from a cloudless sky illuminating the gleaming White Tower and the sky bridges of Tar Valon and the beauty of her hometown still brought wonder to Sahra Covenry. It was a perfect weather for a free day and the only thing that would have made it even better was if she had some company. Her lover was off in a mission Light knew where and why, her mentor had been assigned to gather cheese and other foodstuffs for the Tower from the surrounding villages, her two best mates would have their days off in different schedule this time and Aran wasn't to be found. Sahra had never really gotten along that well with other females and even though she was on good terms with almost all other trainess, they had their own little circles just like she had hers.

 

Shopping and window browsing was getting boring and she had already visited Emma and the other important people in the orphanage so she contemplated dinner in one of the better inns. It wouldn't be as fun alone but maybe a pint would cheer her up and she might find some light-footed male to twirl her around in the dance floor. But Light seemed to shine on her that day as the crowd parted to give way to a full cart accompanied by a few red cloaks. Sahra snickered at the stoic looks of Sana and the two other men. Guarding farm wares in what was one of the most peaceful and robber free region of the world was hardly a dream mission for any Tower Guard when they could have instead been sent to some more exotic place with more action.

 

She waited for the entourage to pass her and joined the side of her mentor snucking under his arm to give him a quick squeeze. "Well hello cheese boy. Have you had an exciting time?", she asked mirthfully.

 

Sahra Covenry

Tower Trainee

"Cheese boy?"  Sana gave a small laugh at the title as Sahra came up beside him.  "I've been called many things in my life, but Cheese boy... that's a first."

 

He couldn't really remember a time when he hadn't had Sahra around to tease him.  Oh, he knew it was there.  In fact it wasn't all that long ago, but it seemed that she had always been a part of him, just waiting around the corner somewhere to peek out and give him a good kick when he needed it.  Or a laugh when he needed it too.  Like today.  Nothing exraordinary today.  A routine type thing that was boring and officious and nothing at all.  Yep, everything he had planned on doing when he became a Tower Guard.

 

He shook his head at his own thoughts.  Boring it might be, but safe and he was far more happy with this sort of mission than the other kind.  He went where he was ordered, but he was about love and friendship and family... not glory and honor and death.  There were other lug heads who thought that way and he was more than willing to let them have their 'glory'. 

 

No, walking along, playing guard with Sahra at this side was more than enough for him.  "And what are you playing at today?  No training today?  No sleeping in?  What mischief can I expect to hear back about you today?"

 

He smiled at her, but as he did he caught someone's eye.  He didn't know the man, but he moved purposely towards them, his eye moving off Sana's as if they hadn't met in the first place and moving over to Sahra.  And he was almost on top of them.

 

"Sahra?"  He asked her, his eyes pointing the way to the man in question . 

 

Ursana 

She linked her arm to his and enjoyed his laughter. It always made her smile and she had missed him. It would be good to spend the day with him... unless he had some other plans. She didn't want to know. It would be Cairhien all over and she didn't need any kind of emotional turmoil right then. Last time it had led her to the worst decision of her life and even if she couldn't regret the time spent with Fior, she bitterly regretted the way it had ended and her own stupidity for not seeing the wisdom in everyone's words who had counseled waiting. Any pain was deserved and her own doing. She just had to keep it from him and everyone else because she didn't want to hurt and be thought to be as woolhead as she was.

 

She tried to shake away from it and be genuinely amused by his teasing. She loved it and she wanted the light-heartedness between them to never change once they had reached it again. "Training on a free day?", she scoffed. "I want a share of what ever it is that you have been drinking. I slept late enough and I was just thinking what all fun I could do without Conor and Mahiko who are not due for their day off in a bit. It seems that now I won't have to do it alone", she grinned at him happily.

 

At his questioning tone, she turned to look at the direction of his gaze and saw a complete stranger who was staring at her almost frighteningly intently as he approached. She shrugged slightly to indicate that she had no idea who he was and felt the urge to step backwards. She suppressed such desire angrily and reminded herself that she was a bloody Tower Trainee now and she could defend herself and didn't have to step behind any man for protection. Lifting her chin defiantly she faced the man until he stopped in front of them.

 

"Mavra? Mavra Oselle?", he asked in an awfully hopeful tone. He blinked a few times and his face turned blank. "No, of course not. You have to be her daughter." She was almost certain that she heard him mutter under his breath something about that Covenry bastard and saw him give a nasty glare at Sana but she must have just been imagining.

 

"You knew my mother?" She squeezed Sana's arm with excitement and leaned forward eagerly. She had been only two when her parents had died and she couldn't remember a thing about them. She loved hearing stories of them from people who had known them and this man had to have known her mom before she got married. "Who are you good master?"

 

A vindicated look flashed on the man's face briefly before he gave her a charming smile. "I am Pander Wilkes, a spice merchant and I had the pleasure of knowing Mavra indeed and now the Wheel has given me the chance to meet her lovely daughter too. Sahra, isn't it? Me and her basically grew up together living in the same street. I still have a house there, close to where Mavra's parents lived and later her and her... husband after the sad loss of your grandparents. Another terrible tragedy what happened to your family." He shook his head sadly but she couldn't shake off the thought that his smile wasn't forlorn but almost... sadistic. What was wrong with her today? Surely no one could have been glad of their deaths, her parents had been good folks and liked by everyone she had ever spoken to.

 

She just nodded weakly and didn't really even want to hear more from this man. He gave her the creeps for some reason but she had to be polite. Unconsciously she stepped a bit closer to Sana. "It would be an honour if you would dine at my house tonight. I would love to make a closer acquaintance to dear Mavra's daughter and if you would be interested, I have a vault of stories from our childhood and youth to share."

 

Sahra was badly torn with her desire to learn more of the mother she had never known and her instincts that warned her against it. But it was silly really. What on earth could happen to her here in Tar Valon and surely she was just being spooked by the surprise of having to think her parents all the suddenly. She had had nigthmares of their fate after all.

 

Pander seemed to sense her reluctance and now his smile was truly regretful. "Maybe your... friend here would like to accompany you", he suggested and Sahra turned to Sana hopefully. Yes, that would work. If Sana would go with her, she would go. For a moment they stared at each others, her begging him silently to say yes and him just regarding her. When he finally nodded in acquiescence, she smiled at him with gratitude and laid her palm momentarily on his cheek before she turned to Pander.

 

"Well, master Wilkes, we will be coming then."

 

"Splendid. My chef will work to give you the best dinner of your lives. Is at seven good? I can send a carriage to receive you."

 

They agreed about the time but decided to walk and then master Wilkes had to depart to mind his business. Sahra stared after him and had to suppress a small shiver. As much as she wanted to hear about her mother, she was unable to shake off the unease which was nonsense.

 

"Thank you for coming with me, Sana", she said from the bottom of her heart brushing his arm with her free hand that wasn't coiled on his. "A very strange man... what did you make of him?"

 

Sahra

Having a bad feeling about this

"Too much and not enough." Was Sana's cryptic response.  He held off her questioning by reminding her that he was on duty and would have to talk to her after.  Luckily enough, he had only an hour left before he could leave his position and go off with her. 

 

When the time came, he found her quickly enough.  She hadn't gone far and Sana would have had her running laps until she passed out if she had.  There was something untrustworthy about that man and as long as Sana knew the man was around, he wasn't happy letting Sahra out of his sight.  He thought about talking to Aran who seemed to have a habit of knowing the worst sort of people in any city they'd ever visited together, but he wasn't sure he had time to track his friend and old mentor down. 

 

"Food?" he said as he offered Sahra his arm.  She took it and flashed him one of her beautiful smiles but he could still see the concern in her eyes.  He nodded as they walked to one of their favorite Inns.  "I don't trust him Sahra.  I agreed to this dinner because I know how much stories of your parents mean to you, but I don't like it."

 

Arriving at the Inn, they took their seats and had their orders in before he started talking again.  "It would have been safer to meet him someplace more public and not his home, but I get the feeling he would have turned that down.  Light, I really don't like this Sahra."  The thought came to him that it might just be his overprotective nature that disliked any other man looking at Sahra as intently as this one did, but he tossed that aside.  Even knowing about Fior had never given him this sort of discomfort.  Still, this was Sahra's choice and if she insisted on going tonight, he was going to go with her. 

 

Ursana Tahn Sakhr

Sahra spent the hour Sana had left of his duty left usefully by training and she managed to loose her worries and doubt into the Spring and her forms. She had made sure to not exert herself too much to break heavy sweat and she had packed with her extra clothes if they would go to see this master Wilkes. When Sana returned, she smiled at him touched by the fact that he would do this for her despite his own misgivings and hers. She gladly obliged his offer to go dining even if it would be a bit impolite toward the man's chef if they had a full belly when they arrived. But then you could eat more with full belly.

 

She nodded unhappily at his words after they had placed their orders and were seated. "You are right. It would have been better to meet him somewhere else than his home. But that is what we agreed to if we go. I just don't see what he could do even if he is some kind of a creep. We are in Tar Valon and we both can defend ourselves to some measure." She was disbelieving that he would go that far but the unease wouldn't dissipate. "And if we suspect that something strange is going on, wouldn't it be our duty to go and see? Tell you what, how about if we set the dinner a time, say two or three hours and let the Guards in the closest guard post know where we are going. Then if we don't report back in time, they will come looking for us. Does that ease your mind?"

 

It didn't entirely but they finally settled for two hours and after finishing the excellent lunch and her changing clothes, it was time to go notify the Guards and head to the man's house.

 

Pander Wilkes welcomed them personally in a most warm manner and the first small hitch was when he suggested that they leave their swords to the entry hall. They excanged a look that was a whole conversation and finally Sana shrugged and gave in to the demands of politeness. They both had their daggers still and he had throwing knives.

 

Sahra informed master Wilkes of the time limit due to her curfew - a small lie - and he was regretful and suggested another dinner with more time and she agreed to consider it. As they waited for the dinner to be served, they had light conversation and he proved to be a charming host. He seemed mainly interested in Sahra which suited Sana just fine as it gave him the chance to observe. There were no glimpses of any strangeness in master Wilkes now, or Pander as he insisted on, and he flattered Sahra and complimented her just the right amount to make her feel good about it. She obviously looked just like her mother and there were many other similarities too. He also told stories of Mavra's and his childhood like he had promised. They had both been only children and since there was a bit of an age cap to the older and younger children in the street, they had been spending alot of time together.

 

She had heard some of her mother's pranks and stunts but he knew even more of them and from what he told, Mavra had been a horrible rascal. Her poor grand parents. Pander clearly missed his childhood companion alot and when it was time to enter the table, Sahra was very relaxed and enjoying herself.

 

Sahra Covenry

Gullible Trainee

The dinner was as good as Pander had promised and by the time they were half finished, he had gotten in his story to the age where he and Mavra were a young man and a woman. It became quite evident to Sahra why he had been looking at her so strangely, he had been taken with her mother. She felt sorry for him. Obviously Mavra hadn't returned the feelings since she had married her father instead. She was really surprised to hear that Pander had thought that she did and that they had been engaged. No one she had ever spoken with had told her as much. She didn't dare to ask what had happened but Pander continued the story himself and the intensity, even fervour were returning to his manner. She felt the first stab of worry and looked at Sana biting her lip. He took her hand under the table as the story was getting more and more rantish and she was glad of the comfort.

 

"That's what all women are like, treacherous", Pander spat bitterly. "I return from a business trip with my father and what do I find? My fiancee is preparing to get married with someone else. She dared to claim that we never even had been engaged at all, that she hadn't said yes. Tried to justify her own wantoness. Whore!" Sahra just listened incredulously but she was getting more and more furious by the moment.

 

"But I taught her right. Two whelps she spawned with her stud but then I had had enough." He laughed and the cackle held more than little insanity. Sahra was starting to have a horrible suspicion and obviously he read as much from her blanched face as he laughed even harder. "Yes, fire burns away all sins. But I was kind enough to try to save the children and raise you right. You were a little hellion who has inherited all her parents' bad traits and bit me and ran away. But little Sansa was spared from her adulter mother's and father's infuence. She is a good girl now, just like her mother ought to have been."

 

"Enough!", Sahra cried and stood up filled with righteous rage. This filth had just confessed murdering her parents and now he claimed to have her little sister. But he couldn't! Baby Sansa had died in the fire too and she did not want to imagine her in the hands of this madman. Her vision doubled for a moment and she felt woozy enough to take support from Sana's shoulder. "What is flaming going on?", she asked with angry confusion.

 

"And you are just the kind of harlot your mother was, flaunting the men you spread your legs to in front of me", Pander screamed wildly with spittle flying. "But you will pay too, you and your wretched lover. Your food was poisoned!" There was a cruel and satisfied edge in his voice as he threw a transparent vial on the table. "There is just one antidote so only one of you gets to be saved. Which one will it be?"

 

Sahra Covenry

Pissed off

 

Pander Wilkes

More than little touched in the head

Poisoned! Sahra went cold all over because she really believed the bloody bastard. He was insane enough and her body was telling her that everything was not alright. Her stomach was beginning to really hurt, she was still feeling slightly dizzy and there was a headache coming. But worst of all was the guilt that she had dragged Sana into this. She should have listened to him. If they just somehow survived, she always would. This was ever worse than the worry and fear she had felt for him in Cairhien when she had thought him lost. Please Light, she couldn't loose him now or ever. As Pander Wilkes had put it so crudely, she definately wanted him between her legs and more. She wanted everything of Sana and them to be together like they had been meant to be.

 

She had barely time to turn to him and start telling him that he should take the antidote when he was already grabbing her and bending her backwards. Sana plugged her nose and poured the contents of the vial to her mouth and then began to stroke her throat to force her to swallow. She was greatly tempted to press her mouth on his and squirt the potion to his mouth but he wouldn't have accepted it. And they didn't have time to waste in getting Sana to the Yellows. Looking him straight in the eye, she let the liquid flow down her throat and she could see the relief in his face before she kissed him fiercely. It wouldn't be the last time but she had had to have felt his lips on hers. Finally withdrawing with reluctance, she was siezed with urgency to make sure that he would be safe. Then and only then she could avenge her family.

 

"So, that was the choice then", Pander called maliciously. "Awfully sweet but you will both still die. Guards!"

 

Exchanging a worried look, Sahra and Sana grabbed their daggers and he sent a throwing knife flying to the throat of the first man to kick open the doors to the dining room. He fell with a gurgling sound clutching his throat but there were more coming behind him and they were between their primary weapons and more importantly, the door.

The whole thing turned quickly into the nightmare Sana had been fearing.  He just hoped he lived long enough to tell Sahra 'told you so'.  Though with a poison running through his blood and the blood pumping through his body at a faster rate because of the physical exertions, he wasn't too hopeful about the last.

 

Sana was reaching for another dagger, absently thanking Aran for being such a sneaky bastard and knowing how to hide them all so well, as the first guard fell to the floor.  Four more guards came rushing in and Sana spared only a quick glance at Sahra to make sure she had her own daggers out.  She knew how to use them well so he didn't have to worry about her capabilities with them.. just the numbers they were facing who happened to have bigger toys.  The first came at Sana with a short sword and Sana stepped aside the first swing.  The man might have the muscles to swing a sword all day long, but none of the finesse that showed true training.  He used his momentum as he side stepped to slash at the man's wrist.  He cursed heavily and as he was drawing back, pressed an attack of his own.  An akward grip to hold the sword with the injury gave Sana another advantage and when the man overextended his arms to try to swing again, a sharp kick to the side made him drop the weapon.  Siezing it quickly, Sana turned it on it's former owner and was done with him.

 

Two of the guards were attacking Sahra as he looked over his shoulder and the other was holding back, licking his lips as if realizing for the first time that their 'easy' prey, might not be all that easy.  He dove into the fight with Sahra then, taking the focus of one of the men.  "I think it's time we said good-bye." He yelled at her.  She began moving her fight then towards the avenue of escape.   

 

Her guard finally fell and he held off his own as she grabbed for their weapons.  Sana's guard fell as she rushed in again and with the two of them on one, she managed to get a strong hit in.  Sana grabbed his sword, having forgone his typical weapon for a more showy one tonight, and then grabbed Sahra's hand as they hit the doorway together.  He stumbled on their way out but she caught him and managed to keep them both on their feet as they made it into the streets of Tar Valon.

 

Sana... um... help please :P