The talk was politics, as usual, Aramina thought as she sipped a fine red wine. It was as good as she could have gotten at the White Tower, which showed how much her host wanted to impress his guests tonight. The celebration was one of many that had come about in the past week since she had been in Cairhein though the first invitation that she had accepted. It had taken less than four hours for the Houses to find out that an Aes Sedai had taken up at the Golden Blossom and the Innkeeper had been dancing practically dancing around her to make sure she was happy in her rooms, overjoyed because it meant spies in his commonroom buying up wine and ale and a little prestige since Aramina seemed to elicite invitations from the higher Houses.

 

The party around her buzzed as she listened intently but appeared to be admiring a stunning mural done by a man they all claimed was a genius. She would have to hunt him out as well. Perhaps he did battle scenes? She had a wall that needed just the right touch... she pushed such thoughts from her mind. She was here tonight on Tower business. Her own really, but her business was always Tower business, there was nothing else in her life that mattered.

 

Unless you counted the man that walked through the crowds across the room from her. A more unlikely companion for her, Aramina wouldn't have been able to imagine, but for all their differences, Aramina wasn't sure he wasn't the perfect companion for her, someone who made her remember what it was like to be just a woman and forget about the Tower and all it's trappings for a small while. She fought a smile that threatened to show as she looked at him, but tonight she was successful in her facade, only glancing at him for a moment.

 

As she did a young woman came up beside her. "Your companion is quite interesting Aes Sedai." The woman said in a perfectly neutral voice.

 

Aramina turned to look at the golden haired beauty beside her. It was really a good fortune to be so tall for a Cairheinin, she thought as she looked down her nose at the other woman. "Lady Alanda." She said in the same neutral voice, bowing her head in welcome. She was from a high House and it was always well to treat them carefully. She wasn't sure where she stood on the political front, a cunning woman at such a young age, but she didn't think she was close to the House of Mallien. No matter that the man that had tried to betray her was dead, she didn't trust the others any more. "Yes, he is a find among men." She said with a small smile. "A good man to have at your back when Darkfriends pay a visit." She said.

 

The woman beside her shivered and hid it quickly by grabbing a wine glass from a passing servant. Aramina hid her own smile in her cup. They could plot death and murder at the drop of a hat, but mention a darkfriend and they could fall to pieces. It was a good reminder to her that Aramina wasn't just a pretty face though. She found a strong reminder in the beginning of such conversations tended to make it's way through parties like these and by the end few would think of folloing her home. And most would forget that Aran had a brain beyond a sword. Though it did make Aramina a bit nervous. She preferred her weapons without a will of their own.

 

"Do you have much trouble with Darkfriends?" The woman asked.

 

Aramina smiled. "Trouble, no. But I am Green Ajah, and there is little that can make trouble for a Green Sister. My life is dedicated to battle and i've spent more years learning to decapitate a Trolloc than you've spent alive." Aramina said, as she turned to the woman.

 

The conversation was over really. A few stammering words to try to come back and a hurried excuse to leave her presence. The others noticed. Of course what they noticed was that a few words to Aramina had caused an influential woman to leave in a hurry. The servant would have the word Darkfriend circulating before Aramina could finish her drink. The two ideas would put all sorts of speculation into their minds and they would remember Aramina was someone not to trifle with, no matter what the former High Seat of Mallien had done.

 

You owe me.

 

Those words were going to remain with Aran for the rest of the night he was certain. Few things were free in Cairhien, especially safety. Even brotherly love couldn't secure that for free, though it did manage a discount. In a sea of faces he had not seen in years, there were those here and there that he did. People he could rely on tonight if they were needed, because he certainly didn't trust the rest that had turned up, especially the Mallien. While they might not have liked their previous High Seat, they certainly didn't like the fact that someone other than them had arranged for the man to fall on an iron fence.

 

Aran was content with the little conversation he had. Those at the dinner were for the most part busy fishing for information from one another, and those who had tried to fish from him he had fobbed off with promises he had no intention of keeping. Well, there was a tempting one or two, but not this visit. Then there were one or two who had something to tell him, and it was those who had something to tell rather than ask which had truly been welcome.

 

Searching out Aramina, he smiled as he saw a young Lady Alanda scurry away. Clearly Aramina was proving the life of the show. "Now now, there is no need for that." Grinning, he dropped his voice even lower as he spoke. "I'm told there will be a guest that you may wish to speak to. Are you familiar with a Lady Raina Dulcei?"

 

Smiling broadly at the look he got, Aran continued. "She will be here tonight as a guest alongside her fiancee, Lord Jenad Mercio. I thought you might, at some point during the night, decide to speak with her."

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

Aramina barely managed to keep her face from showing anything that might give her away. Someoen might have noticed a slight surprise at Aran's words, but they were mostly huddled around each other trying to figure out what had scared the other woman off to notice. She took a deep breath, sure that she was calm enough to speak in a calm voice. "Lady Raina Dulcei? She thinks highly of herself these days. What have you heard and what makes you think I would search her out tonight?" She asked.

 

 

Aran grinned as he spoke in a whisper. "Doesn't every woman? Look, she may be well removed from you but she is family. It wouldn't do you any harm to get to know her a little, and see your family with your own eyes. If not for yourself, then humour me, I shall owe you a favour."

 

She felt like she'd taken a kick to the stomach. Her connection to her family, she had always though, was fairly well hidden. She hadn't met face to face with any of them since she had left Cairhein centuries before to go to Tar Valon. True, she had written an introduction letter for her great neice to one of the Houses but she had thought her reasons for doing so had been covered. To hear her relationship so blatantly spoken of shook her. She took a sip of her wine to rid herself of a dry throat. "Where did you hear she was family Aran? I've hidden every connection I could to them."

 

Frowning, his expression turned contrite as he realised how much of a shock he'd given her. "I wanted to know about everyone who was going to be here, so I could know who to keep an eye on in particular. I just discovered it a short time ago, Dulcei traces back to Dulciena if you go back far enough. Some things you cannot hide."

 

"We should leave." Aramina said, trying to think her way around this. If she made it known that she was aware that Raina was coming and left before seeing her it might send them the idea that she didn't care to see the girl. It might hurt her to realize her Aunt had been there, but those bridges could be mended at another time. The Game she played here was far too dangerous to pull her family into. It had killed her father. She didn't want to lose anyone else to it, no matter how distant.

 

 

"No." Smiling for the benefit of those around them, Aran's tone was far from happy. "If you leave now, you will cause everyone here to wonder why. Someone else will stumble across the connection sooner or later. Better to see it through, speak to her briefly as you will to the others tonight. There isn't any choice at this point."

 

Aramina realized he was right. She had no choice. No sooner were the words out of his mouth than a young woman walked into the room on the arms on a slightly older man. She had met Jenard Mercio on more than one occassion and had thought of him as a schemer and manipulator. Not traits she disliked really, but seeing her neice on his arm was disturbing. And there was no doubt it was her. In some bizarre twist of fate, the girl looked almost identical to her grandmother.

 

Her heart clenched slightly at the thought of her sister Ramia, dead more years than she had lived, a sister she had never truely been close with and had never truely mourned for. To see her smile on the face of a stranger made her want to turn away, but she couldn't. And though she hoped there was some way to avoid this meeting, there was no way the girl could mistake who she was. There was no mistaking the ageless face and the bearing that came with the years she had lived. The girl's eyes sparked interest as they moved over Aramina's face though she and her fiance moved among the others. Aramina looked at Aran, unsure of what ground she stood here.

 

Well, there was little mistaking who had just arrived from the way Aramina's eyes followed her. Stepping between the two to break her gaze, Aran's more polite smile made a home on his face as he spoke. "Aramina Sedai, perhaps you would care for a drink?"

 

Aramina took a deep breath as she caught Aran's smile. She nodded slightly then smiled, the same polite smile that came so instantly for her. "I think a drink would be a good idea. Though do be a dear and don't let me repeat our first meeting."

 

His lips quirking at her comment, he nodded and made his way to where they were serving drinks, unlike most countries, people did not hover there because it was too close to the servants for protocol. Asking for two glasses, there was no change in expression at the murmur he heard. Taking the drinks with the daintiness worthy of a High Seat, Aran returned to Aramina and spoke quietly as he handed her one of the glasses. "She seems to have an undue amount of attention paid to her, one would ask why. Its not safe to assume, but we may not be the only ones that are aware of her blood. We should keep an eye on this."

 

Aramina took the glass and let her fingers linger a moment on Aran's hand. It was a small gesture of thanks but a hard move for Aramina to make. Her years of avoiding physical contact had meant not reaching out to others herself. She didn't know if Aran would understand how much a small gesture like that meant to her, but she made it nonetheless. The break gave her a chance to get her head clear, to think about what was happening around them.

 

Raina was indeed getting more attention than a woman of her status should, even one marrying up into one of the Houses. Light, she should never have introduced the girl to this life. She wished Ramia had never learned of her life in the Tower, had never decided to teach her daughters to want more from life as Aramina had been taught. They would have been safer living in the countryside. But Ramia could hardly have known what her daughter would become, or what she would teach Raina.

 

Her facade back in place Aramina gave Aran a small nod. "Of course, you're right. I doubt our fellow guests will be very forthcoming about what they know, but we might be able to learn more before we leave for Tar Valon." She couldn't postpone her trip to the Tower for this. She had come on Tower business, not personal business.

 

Before she could ask Aran to begin circulating, Aramina heard the faint rustling of clothes behind her. She gave a small smile to Aran again and turned to see her great-niece before her. The same brown hair as Aramina, twisted up in elaborate knots and braids. The same ice blue eyes regarded her, but the other features were off. Raina had her mothers smile and cheek bones. The nose was actually reminescent of her brother Rokan's, though as bit shorter and more upturned.

 

The voice was huskier as she smiled warmly at Aramina. And far too loud in a room full of enemies. "Aramina?" She asked.

 

Aramina's eyes hardened. Even from family she deserved the proper title and she expected it. "You may call me Aramina Sedai, or Aes Sedai child. You do not know me well enough for such informalities. I would have expected you to know better than that before reaching these levels." She said, her voice quiet though stony as she spoke.

 

Raina's eyes opened wide, then she licked her lips as if understanding Aramina's warning. "Forgive me Aes Sedai," she said. "I did not mean to intrude upon you and your companion. I have never been to Tar Valon myself and I was planning a trip in the near future. I was simply interested in asking a few questions, if you wouldn't mind."

 

Aramina nodded. "Of course. It might be best if we talked later. I'm afraid I've developed quite a headache tonight. I'll expect you for dinner tomorrow night." And if the girl coudln't find out what Inn she was staying at on her own, she didn't deserve to meet with her. "If you'll excuse me."

 

She walked away from Raina leaving the girl slightly wide in the eyes still. "We'll keep an eye on her Aran, but I won't let this interfer with what I came to do. I can't." Her voice was cold as she continued. "If they think they can stop me, well we'll let them know how little an Aes Sedai's blood is really worth."

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

Green Sister

 

Aran

Tower Guard

 

Raina Delcei

Aramina's Great Niece

Slipping into the tub, Aran grinned as he took up the soap. Aramina had been all nerves since last night, a bath in her room would help by soaking her and allowing the worry to leech out. He hadn't quite expected her to be so afraid of meeting one of her family after so long, but then maybe he shouldn't have been, she didn't like getting close to people. Holding a hand up, he twirled it around for her to turn about as he held up the soap in the other hand. "So, you thought of something to say to her yet or you cannot decide?"

 

Aramina let out a deep breath as she tried to relax into Aran's hands. Normally a smile and a light touch were all she needed from him to get away from her typical reactions but right now she felt like she was going to fall apart if she shivered any harder. Part of her hoped he wouldn't notice it, but she knew better. He was far more observant than that. "What is there to say?"

 

She asked him in a quiet voice. "She is her own woman and I have no right to interfere with her."

 

Chuckling, Aran slowly worked away at her back with the soap as he spoke. "Then don't interfere with her. There are plenty of other things you can do, like speak of the things you have in common. You're kin, family is not something to be lightly put aside, Aes Sedai or not."

 

Aramina turned slightly to look at him. "Not to be lightly put aside? For a smart man you can be remarkably thick from time to time." She said. "I did exactly that when I left Cairhein for Tar Valon. I left a brother and sister and never looked back. Just because I have managed to write often enough to know how many of them are alive doesn't exactly make me family. There are some things stronger than blood Aran." She looked away then, uncertain of herself and not wanting to show him anymore than he's already seen. "The Green Ajah is my family Aran. It's Sisters are the only family I will ever be a part of."

 

"You're right... and you're wrong." Setting the soap aside, Aran began kneading away at her muscles firmly as he continued. "If the Green Ajah has truly been family, why were you so lonely? And why did Raina last night address you without formality? Maybe it could have been some game, or could it have been something much more basic? Don't be so quick to discard it."

 

Aramina wanted to hide her head, to just duck under the water and scream until she couldn't scream anymore in a way that no one would be the wiser for. She didn't have that option though. Instead she leaned forward, pulling her knees up to her chest and laid her head on them. "Just because she is a fool girl who thinks to use her connect to me to better herself doesn't mean anything. I've never met her before and I have better correspondence with the Queen of Andor than my niece." she said with a shake of her head. "And the Green Ajah has been my family. You can hardly fault them for the behavior of their errant child, can you?" She asked with a small smile.

 

Leaning forward, Aran flicked Aramina's ear lightly. Grinning as she turned around and looked at him even as she had one hand on her ear, he shook a finger at her. "You're making assumptions. As you said yourself, you don't know her that well. You could be right, but you can't judge till its proven." He decided to let the other issue go for the moment, one thing at a time. "Everyone deserves a chance, especially kin."

 

"And what if she's exactly what I think she is Aran? What if she's a simple girl who's trying her hand at something too big for her? The Light knows I did it enough times, but at least I had the Tower as protection. I had my Sisters to keep an eye out for me. She's alone in this and she just uped the stakes with her approach to me."

 

"Then you would have to choose whether you would protect her as your sisters protected you I suppose, or whether to walk away." Aran was fairly sure of what Aramina would do if push came to shove, but it was a question she had to answer herself.

 

It always came back to the same thing, didn't it? The realization she had made in the cold loneliness of her room, the night before she had stood before the Green Ajah for the first time. The realization that she would walk away from everything, from everyone, for the Tower. She had left her family behind over 100 years ago, keeping up only through letters and even those had been sparse. The only two people who had ever been truly been close to her had left and she had managed to keep everyone else at bay. No one else had slipped under her skin as Aran had.

 

Though if she let the treacherous thought grow, she almost included Sirayn Sedai into the mix of emotions that meant family to her. A guiding hand, albeit a manipulating one. One that she respected and in all truth would die for. There were few people she could say that for in all honesty. Aran being one of them though she would never admit it to a man that was trained to protect her. The young woman she was about to meet was not on that list, and Aramina knew she never would be. "I will try to help her as I can, to protect her and keep her out of harm's way, but I will not sacrifice what I am here for or what I am about for a silly girl."

 

"Brave words." There was little doubting that Aran disagreed with her from the tone of his voice, but he was not harsh about it. "But, we have strayed. Thought of anything to say yet?"

 

She let out an exasperated sigh. Aran could drive the patience from the Amyrlin Seat herself! And still manage to bring the topic right back to where you didn't want it to be. Then she laughed slightly. "Yes. I've decided to tell her to stay home so I can enjoy a much longer bath."

 

Grinning, Aran couldn't help himself. "Careful, we stay in here too long and we'll look like we're ancient when we get out. I don't know about you, but I have a few more years until I get wrinkles, I'm in no hurry to see what its like."

 

Aramina laughed. "Most people would consider me ancient already young man." She said with a smile. "Of course if you ever reach my age you'll be far more than wrinkled."

 

"You're only as ancient as you act." Grinning, he slipped his arms around her and pulled her towards him.

 

Aramina laughed as she was pulled into his embrace and water sloshed over the edge of the tub. "Which means I'll never have to worry about wrinkles with you around."

 

Laughing, his lips found hers as they forgot everything else. One of the advantages of being in Cairhien instead of Tar Valon was that they didn't need to worry about someo-

 

BUMP!

 

Water went everywhere as the pair whirled away from each other. It was laughter that gave away the figure wrapped in a dark cloak, the one who had quite forcefully slammed the chair down next to the tub and was at that moment seating herself, making sure to keep her features concealed. "Can't you ever knock?"

 

"Revenge is a sweet thing." Making herself comfortable, Rakel looked over at the rather flustered Aes Sedai who didn't seem to be quite sure what was going on. Smirking, she turned back to Aran. "I wouldn't have come now if it could have waited, you should know that."

 

Aramina's heart was pounding and she felt her face going crimson even as she embraced the Source. Light, she had got herself so caught up in her niece that she had forgotten to place a ward on the door! This whole thing was unbareable from the girl thinking she could use Aramina, to her guilt over having left a woman with that face so long ago, and the embarassment of being caught in a bathtub with Aran. The female voice was obviously known to Aran which stirred a slight surge of jealousy in Aramina that she didn't know what to do with.

 

But Aramina had been in the Game for too long to just settle back and wait for her dignity to recover, light if it ever did! Her polite smile was back in place. She felt... less naked... with it. Funny how she felt less naked without her clothes than she did without her facades. "Then perhaps you had best be about your business so we can return to ours." She said in a neutral voice.

 

"Was it only business?" Resting back on her seat, she put her boots up on the edge of the bath as she spoke without the previous humour. "I'm afraid you can cancel your fun, Raina has disappeared. About half an hour ago, she was in the town, shopping for a gift as far as we can tell. She was snatched away, her guards found unconscious."

 

"Blood and bloody ashes!" Aramina rarely cursed and not since her days as a Novice had she done so in anyone's hearing. She barely registered the others there as she stood and got out of the bath, flows of air quickly drying the water from her body and hair as she wrapped a towel quickly around her form. "She was bound for trouble the moment I..." She stopped, looking back at Aran and ignoring the other person for a moment. "This had better be about her..." She said in a calm detached voice. The same voice was directed to the intruder. "Why are you concerned with Raina and why did you come here to tell us, child?"

 

"Tsk." Looking to Aran, Rakel frowned. "You didn't tell her?"

 

Aran shrugged as he stood up and got out of the bath, he needed to get dry and dressed. "I was told not to. You know how he feels."

 

"Fine." Looking to the Aes Sedai, Rakel stood as she spoke. "Firstly, don't call me child, you aren't my mother. As to why, that little gutter rat over there seeing to your protection found it prudent to secure some assistance doing so." Stepping over to Aran who had his back to her as he was drying, she wound back one hand and swung.

 

SMACK!

 

"AAAAAGH!" Stumbling forward, Aran turned about as he clutched his behind. "What was that for?"

 

"You know very well what." Turning to the Aes Sedai again, Rakel shrugged. "There are people trying to find out where Raina is being held, until she is found, all we can do is make ourselves ready and wait."

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

Sitter of the Green Ajah

 

Rakel

Rogue

Aramina was more than surprised by the woman's behavior though she was having a problem keeping her eyes from the red handprint that now decorated Aran's body. So, he had asked others to help him look after her? "How much trouble did you think I could be?" She asked without expecting an answer. "What can you tell me about Raina? Why this attack and why now?"

 

"You're playing the Game of Houses, how much could you get in?" Finishing drying off, Aran began pulling on some smallclothes as Rakel took up where he left off. "No idea, like I said, we wait for now. If you leave here without knowing where you're going, you tip your hand."

 

Aramina didn't like the idea of waiting it out but there was little chance she could find something on her own if Aran's people couldn't. If they were anything like Aran, and the woman's behavior towards Aran seemed to say they were, then they would know what they were about.

 

It was slightly heartening to know he had felt the need to get outside help in protecting her but he hadn't trusted her enough to tell her about that. Or was it something else that held his tongue? She didn't know but it was easier than trying to think out why her niece had been taken on the eve of their first private meeting.

 

She could follow a dozen different trains of thought and all of them led to one thought. This had nothing to do with Raina Delcei. Light if they hurt her! She wanted to cry, to stop the thoughts in her head, the images of what someone truely talented in such arts could do, but they continued to tumble from her memory.

 

And then it clicked again. Her detachment was back, her ability to shut out the world and the pain it carried, the ability to keep her distance from the people that wanted her to let her walls down. She looked over at Aran and the woman before him. She was probably a better match for Aran. Who wasn't really? She stabbed down the jealousy that threatned to shatter her again, this time with success.

 

"I suppose if we must wait, then we must. I'll have dinner brought up to the private room so we can dine in peace." She said. "Will you be joining us?" Aramina asked Aran's friend.

Aramina sur Dulciena

Battle Sister

 

Aran

Tower Guard

 

Rakel

Rogue

Dinner passed quietly in the room, there was little to be said, at least infront of each other. Such tenseness only heightened with a knock at the door. Rakel was the one to answer it, speaking through the person on the otherside through the small opening Rakel made so as not to allow Aramina to see what was going on. After a couple of minutes, Rakel closed the door and took her seat again. "They found her, they've got her tied up in a small house. As far as we can tell, she's still alive. Eight guards. How do you want to do this?"

 

Aramina took a deep breath as she kept from slamming the door open to see who the person on the other side was. She trusted Aran and his people had gotten her this much information. She had to trust them a little more today. If she had other Sisters close by she might have been less ready to trust to Aran's previous peers but now he was all she had. "Eight guards? Seems like more than enough for a single girl with no political power." Her facade was back and she sat cool and collected as she processed the new information. "Eight guards, or either that they want us to know about?" She asked finally.

 

Nodding, Aran leaned back in his seat as Rakel spoke. "Maybe, but we can't find anything else waiting nearby. Maybe they hoped to use their numbers to overwhelm you. Certainly, there has been no demand yet, then again they could be playing games, waiting first."

 

"They?"

 

"Mallien. They didn't get the message the first time. That is being taken care of, in the meantime this is ours to deal with. I don't think they will know you have me and others available. We use that to our advantage, you two can move about the city quite clearly. Me and others can sneak into the house and take up positions. We kill them all and take the girl."

 

"Mallien?" Aramina spoke the name quietly, almost in disbelief. Except that she knew that House well enough to know they would do this sort of thing to try to hurt her. "So I'm supppsed to sit around while my niece is rescued by a bunch of strangers?" she asked Aran. He had to understand how hard this was for her. She had barely been able to trust him at this point, let alone a bunch of people she hadn't ever met.

 

"No, you're going to take your time getting there though. Give us time to find our places. They're expecting the pair of you, keep their eyes on you. When they spring their trap on you, we spring ours on them and catch them in the middle." Rakel leaned back in her seat, pushing against the table with her feet. "What do you think Aran?"

 

"Done it before, it works. Going to make sure we make it there?"

 

"That can be done. If Aramina here agrees."

 

"So my options are to go in alone and do this myself, or to go in with a bunch of strangers that could turn on me, or could be in on the whole thing to begin with?" She asked Aran with a perfectly polite smile.

 

Aran began to say something but Rakel overrode him. "I don't have time for this. If I wanted you dead or captured, I could have while the pair of you were smooching in the tub. I don't have to offer this help, but its here anyway. Either take it or go yourself and more than likely end up with a bolt in your back for your trouble."

 

Aran frowned. "That wasn't necessary."

 

"No, I think it was. Your services might be taken lightly up in that ivory tower, but I'm not going to have the protection I've provided so far thrown in my face like that. Not even he would be so casual."

 

Staring at Rakel, Aran found himself conceding the point. Even if he knew that Aramina's ignorance was the reason she was so cautious. Turning to her, Aran shrugged. "I agree with her, they will anticipate us going by ourselves, which means they are ready for it. Either we take the help offered or we don't go at all."

 

"What will they do to her if I walk away?" Aramina asked. It wasn't the first time she'd considered it though it was the first time she'd vocalized it in front of Aran's companion.

 

Aran was the one to answer. "Depends. They might just kill her outright, or they might sell her just to try and wound you even more deeply. Put her in a place like a Hell, they'd find all sorts of uses for her there." There was an uncharacteristically bleak tone to his voice as he described it.

 

"If I go they think they've found a weakness and I will spend the rest of my life protecting that girl." Aramina said in a disgusted voice. "If I don't it looks badly on the Tower that I would abandon one that the world would consider my own." She shook her head, trying to put everything in perspective. She'd been sitting around waiting for word of the girl and in all that time she hadn't been able to make this decision. "The fool girl deserves to die for this..." she said quietly.

 

Sharing a glance between them, whatever Aran was thinking he didn't voice it, but Rakel wasn't nearly so concerned. "She deserves to die? It seems I ommitted something. The Mallien were the ones who organised the invitation of Raina and her fiance. What does that suggest to you?" Snorting, she got to her feet. "I'll be outside Aran, I've had enough of this."

 

Watching her leave, Aran watched her close the door behind her before turning to Aramina slowly. For a moment he didn't say anything, his face unreadable. "I will wait outside with her, let us know your decision when you are ready." Leaning forward, he got to his feet and put the chair in.

 

"Aran..." she stopped what she had been about to say because of the pure sound of pain in her own voice. She wasn't used to showing emotion let alone hearing it from herself. She closed her eyes for a second to get herself under better control. "She asked me to introduce her to the Houses. I should never have done it but her mother begged as well. They would have been better off if they had never known me."

 

She opened her eyes then and looked at him. "This is what happens to family of Aes Sedai. This is why I have no family other than my Sisters. I can't afford to play these games, but I can't walk away from this one, can I? I can't walk away from her death knowing that the Mallien did this because of me..."

 

Pausing as she finished, Aran considered his words carefully before uttering them. "Clearly you do have more family than your sisters. I would ask something though. You see a man drowning, you could swim in and save him, or you could walk by and let him drown. You didn't put him in the water but you could still save him. Are you any less responsible if you abandon him than if you'd put him in the water yourself? Thats a decision you have to make for yourself."

 

A soft chuckle escaped her before she could stop it. "I have been Aes Sedai too long." She said with a weary sigh. "You give up so much for the Tower that you sometimes forget you don't have to. You're right. I would act on this if they had taken another innocent." She let out a deep breath and nodded to him. "Let's go get her, if your friend is still willing."

 

Smiling, he nodded. "I thought you might make the right decision, eventually. Grab what you need." Walking to the door, he opened it and gave Rakel a nod. It would be seen to.

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

Sitter of the Green Ajah

 

Rakel

Rogue

It wasn't a leisurely pace they set, but they had given Rakel the time she needed. Stopping in different places as they went, as if they were gathering information, if anyone were observing they would have dozens of false leads to chase after today's events were done. Aramina was flawless in her pose, but Aran was certain of the anxiousness and worry that would be chewing her on the inside. She had put her own niece in harm's way through a generous act, and was now no doubt berating herself inwardly for it. He just hoped that it didn't end badly, or he was sure that she wouldn't forgive herself for it.

 

The house seemed little different to the others around it. One of many two storey homes squashed together, its door was as nondescript as its walls. Above was a single window that was shuttered. If there were any other hidden hands, Aran trusted Rakel to have dealt with them. Certainly, there was no one on the street to watch them or the event that was about to unfold.

 

Nearing the door, the sound of a familiar woman's laughter amongst the men's told Aran that Rakel was already in there. Looking to Aramina, his blades barely whispered from their sheathes as he spoke. "I want you to stay here, if its a trap they want you in there. Rakel will have cleared this street here, but in there is another matter."

 

Aramina was impatient. As much as they'd had to wait since news of her grand neice's abduction, she was beyond impatient. Knowing that Aran's people were working on this as she sat back in her room hadn't helped any. And now, Aran was telling her to stay back? "What was the point in me coming if you thought I'd stay out of this Aran? This is my fight."

 

"I can't protect you from everything, if even one of them has a crossbow you're finished, you know that?" The look Aran got at that remark made him realise that short of tying her up, she was going to go in regardless. "Fine, but you come in after me alright?"

 

The man seemed to forget that Aramina was of the Green Ajah, a sister tested in battle and blood. As if she wasn't aware of the methods an enemy would use to bring her down before she could use the One Power on them. It was times like these that she remembered how often her Sister's complained about a Warder deciding for himself when and where he should protect her, not allowing the Aes Sedai to decide for herself. But, she would allow Aran the small concession. Walking in after him would better allow her to assess the situation.

 

She nodded to him in agreement, then reached for the door, embracing Saidar as she did so. She took a calming breath, then pulled the door open.

 

The door opening, Aran darted in and opened a nearby man's throat with a vicious slash even as the man was turning. The men had been gathered about Rakel, her face painted and clad in a dress with the skirts slashed to reveal her legs. Even as they turned to him, she had taken a dagger from the nearest man and stabbed him in the kidneys and knocked another man away with a kick. Even as Aran ripped his blade through another man's leg, he noticed one man was making a run for the stairs at the back. Slashing wildly about himself, Aran ran by those who jumped clear as he went after the lone man.

 

The room was chaotic as they entered. Aran's blade flashed quickly and Rakel's turn in their midst threw them further into disarray. She wove quickly, a razor of air with spirit woven in to sharpen the blade. One man to the side went down quickly in a splatter of blood as he was preparing to throw a dagger at her. She saw Aran's frantic motions and with her Saidar-enhanced hearing heard a man running up stairs in the back. She couldn't see him to stop him, but she could make sure that Aran got there in time.

 

She turned her attention to the men in Aran's way. She couldn't kill them unless they attacked her directly, but she worked a wall of air that went up between Aran and their attackers, making their weapons useless against him as he ran for the stairs. He would have to make his way up there on his own but she trusted he would see the girl safe.

 

Throwing himself up the stairs three at a time, Aran bounced off the wall as he got halfway and began vaulting the second part of the staircase. Reaching the top, he came to a halt. There was the girl, blindfolded and tied to a chair amongst several cots where the men must've been resting. And right at her feet, the man he'd been chasing was on his back with a dagger protruding out of his head and the window open. Crossing over to the corpse, Aran knelt down and examined the dagger. He smiled.

 

Two men tried to follow Aran up the stairs and another wall of air kept them from being able to do so. With that blocked they turned on the two women. Rakel proved to be equal to the task before her and as the men began to attack Aramina was able to use the One Power to defend herself. In the end, she and Rakel were the only two left standing. She nodded her head slightly to the other woman, an expression of gratitude she hoped Rakel understood, then ran up the back stairs to find Aran and her grand neice.

 

Turning about as he heard noise, Aran's face went from blank to a smile of relief as he saw it was Aramina. Walking behind the secured niece, he dropped one of his blades and used his free hand to untie her blindfold even as he sliced her bonds free. All the while as she began struggling again, not knowing what was going on.

 

As the blindfold came off, Raina's eyes fell on Aran. She continued to struggle at first, not recognizing him, but Aramina's movement into the room caught her eye and she stopped moving as she saw the Aes Sedai. When she was untied she she didn't wait for questions and showed no sign of care for her dginity by throwing herself out of the chair and into Aramina's arms.

 

It wasn't a place Aramina was used to being, the person someone turned to when in need of comfort. She had done it of course, when politics demanded it, but this child was flesh and blood and she had no idea what to do with that. She looked at Aran a little wide eyed, but made the appropriately comforting sounds and she patted her niece's back.

 

"We should leave this place." She said to Arana when Raina's sobs had settled down a bit. Her eyes went to the man on the floor, a dagger in his back. A dagger she didn't recognize as Aran's. She looked questioningly at him, wondering if the girl was up for this conversation or if she would have to put it off until later. She hoped the girl would calm down soon so they could get to the bottom of it all.

 

Nodding, Aran walked over to the corpse and putting one foot on the head, ripped the dagger embedded in it with considerable difficulty. Wiping his blades clean before sheathing them, the spare dagger found its way into his belt before he helped Aramina with Raina. It would be a fair walk back to the inn.

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

Sitter of the Green Ajah

The walk back to the Golden Blossom was slower than she had anticipated. Raina slowed them considerably with her snivelling and her need to remain in close physical contact. Finally Aramina took the girl by the hand and practically dragged her along. She could understand distress, but where was the girl's backbone. Except for a scare, the men had done nothing to her.

 

The Innkeeper gave them a private room as soon as she requested it and tea was sent up immediately. Aramina settled Raina on a bench near the window, tea in hand with a strong dash of brandy in it. Nothing would settle her nerves, Aramina thought, but the brandy along with the stress might knock her out. So far, she simply stared at the cup except when Aramina made her drink.

 

Turning her back to the girl, Aramina crossed over to Aran. "Do you believe they will try something more drastic when word of their failure reaches the right ears?" She had her own opinions on this, but she wanted to know Aran's. His people might have heard something he had yet to divulge to her.

 

The way back had been slowed by the girl, but that was little wonder. Kidnapped and tied down, no way to defend herself or know what was going to happen. Aramina's choice of giving the girl a bit of brandy in her tea was a good choice at least, when in doubt, alcohol. She had to be directed to drink, but drink she did at least. She was calming down a little when Aramina chose to address him.

 

"Not really." Taking the dagger from his belt, he handed it over to Aramina pommel first so she could see the ankh on it. "I have a distinct feeling that they won't be doing anything for awhile, its being taken care of as we speak. Unless he's changed since I last saw him anyway."

 

Aramina took he dagger and examined it for a moment. "No, I don't suppose we'll see any trouble then." She might not be able to point a finger to find the people responsible, but Aramina knew the sign well enough to trust that much. "Now, we just have to figure out what to do with her." She said, indicating her grand niece. "And I would like to find a way to thank your friends for their help." She added with a small smile.

 

The girl didn't seem to aware of what was around her, so Aran decided to use the opportunity to speak freely, if quietly. "You might want to sit with her for awhile for one. What happened back there may be part and parcel for you, but I doubt she's ever endured anything like it before. Just because you have is no reason to ignore her. When she's settled, we can send a messenger to her fiancee to collect her. Or perhaps she may wish to return to the country, something that might put her out of harm's way." Along with that was the hint that maybe Aramina should talk to her about that possibility.

 

Aramina looked back at the girl. Her tears seem to have stopped, that at least was a blessing. She did seem to be stiffening up a bit, a little of her posture returning. Perhaps the tea was beginning to work it's magic. Light, but she was thankful for mint tea at times like this. "There is no need to remind me of my duty to blood Aran." She reprimanded him. "You have already done your duty there, and I will do mine by her, no matter how I feel about it." She said with a heavy sigh.

 

Looking at Aramina sadly, Aran shrugged as he returned the dagger to his belt. "If you allowed yourself to feel about it, perhaps it would not be so much duty. But, I'm going to go and see if I can find anymore news, I'll leave you with her for now. My being here won't do her any good." Getting to his feet, Aran let himself out quietly even as he wondered about Aramina. She had a long way to go.

 

Aramina watched Aran go with a sense of loss. She wouldn't tell him how inept she felt in dealing with the girl, that his presence was calming to her and helped sooth her. Still, watching him leave made her wonder for the millionth time how she had managed to get so entangle in the man.

 

She had other things that needed tending to though, so she turned her attention back on her niece. She channeled lightly into the girls cup to heat it up a bit and did the same with her own cup that sat on the table still untouched. She took it in hand and saw beside the girl on the comfortable bench under the window. A light breeze blew through and the Innkeeper had a windowbox of flowers to give the room a light fragrance when it was open.

 

"How are you feeling dear?" She asked, hoping it wouldn't set her off again.

 

Rain's hands couldn't stop shaking. They weren't nearly as bad as they had been when she had taken away from those awful cutthroats by her aunt, well, grand-aunt, but it was still there. It was in that struggle to calm herself that she was interrupted by Aramina Sedai. Putting her hands on her lap so it wasn't so obvious, she tried to summon what scraps of dignity she still had, but failed.

 

"I still feel like their hands are on me. I was riding a carriage home, then for some reason the carriage stopped and men were all over me, pulling me out, covering my mouth as they dragged me through the streets until someone put something to my face and then I was there. Someone was sitting there with me all the time, until a bit before you came. Taunting... Hands..." It was only thanks to the brandy that more tears didn't flow.

 

Aramina set her cup aside and took Raina's as well, setting it on the table. She took the girl's hands in hers, rubbing them lightly. "You do not need to fear them now Raina." She said in a calm confident voice. "They will not hurt you again."

 

Taking Aramina's hands in her own, she had to force herself with just about everything she had not to take them in a death grip. Lowering her head, her voice was barely audible as she spoke. "Its all my fault. The way I approached you, they took me because of that didn't they? I shouldn't have done it, stupid, so stupid. I saw you, knew it had to be you, you had done so mu..." Trailing off, Raina blinked furiously even though there were no tears.

 

Aramina took the girls chin in her hand and made her look up. "This is no fault of yours Raina, though you left them an opening. This was to do with me. I have more than a few enemies in these lands and some would do much to see me harmed. They thought it would be done by hurting you. I am truley sorry that they caught you up in this. I have always tried to keep you and your family safe." She said with a small sigh.

 

Shaking her head, all Raina could feel now with her grand-aunt's eyes upon her was shame. She had wanted to come to Cairhien, to become part of the court life instead of tucked away in some small manorhouse away from everything. The first moment she had to impress the person who had made it possible she had bungled. When she'd gone to find a gift of some sort to give to her grand-aunt for the dinner where she had planned to apologise, she'd been caught and her grand-aunt had to come and save her. A fine way to greet the woman she owed so much to. "And I blew it, I did it wrong and then you had to come and save me. You wouldn't have made my mistakes."

 

Aramina sighed, this time because the truth was far less than the girl would make of it. "We all make mistakes child." She said lightly. "I made more than my fair share and have been rescued more than once when the consequences of my actions hadn't been forseen." She thought of Aran having rescued her not that long ago now pushed it's way forward.

 

"In fact, not long before I decided to journey here I had to be rescused. I would have been dead had Aran not come for me. We all make mistakes. The question isn't will you make another, but will you learn from them when you do? If not, it is time for you to pack your bags for the country. If you can learn though, then perhaps you have a place to make for yourself."

 

Finally managing to look up at her grand-aunt, there was a good measure of fear at the thought of staying but... "If I stay, will it always be like this? Always wary of being attacked in the street, that someone might knife my fiance, that there is never any safety? What happens if I have children, will they be safe? I... But if I leave that is it isn't it? I'm done."

 

Aramina nodded. "If you leave now the Houses will never take you seriously. They will believe you will run as soon as something else happens. In doing so you would always be in peril of it. By staying now though, you show that you have the strength and resolve that is needed to play the Great Game. It is your choice to make. The Great Game will always beckon, it will always be demanding of you, but it is sometimes worth the cost."

 

It was a hard decision, but it was in Raina's blood, she couldn't walk away. If for no other reason that she would then spend the rest of her life running. "I'll need to return to my fiance then." It was almost said as an aside, a slight smile creeping on her face. Surging forward suddenly, she wrapped her arms around her grand-aunt much the way a child would a mother. "Thank you."

 

Aramina felt an unaccustomed surge of pride as the girl mentioned going back to her fiancee. If the girl could use her energy to study a bit more, to learn what she could, she could be a good ally. And she could maybe even manage to keep herself safe for a while. She wasn't ready for Raina to throw her arms around her or for it to feel right to return the gesture. It was haunting, to feel that closeness to another, and though she feared she would be the one to pay the price of it, she gave the girl a warm embrace and smiled at her. "I think you will do very well Niece." She said. "And if you need help, know that you can always find it with me."

 

Eventually breaking the embrace, the smile was still there for Raina. To know that her grand-aunt would be there for her helped, more than her grand-aunt would ever know. But, to her fiance... Thats when Raina realised she had a problem. "I can't go out looking like this." Raising her hands to her hair, the look she gave Aramina was hopeful. "Could you help?"

 

And in some ways blood did run true in the girl. Aramina herself would have been as upset about the state of her appearance. It had been trained into her at an early age to always be dressed appropriately. Even when working swords, sweaty and grimy from practice, she had always been dress well. It made her smile to hear a similiar sentiment from the girl. "I could hardly keep my word if I turned you down now when I have just told you I would always be here." The girls warm smile astonished Aramina. To be able to feel that much and show it so openly was something she regretted being unable to do and something she hoped Raina never lost. "Now, lets get you to my room and see what we can do with your hair..." She said, leading the girl back into the world that she had almost walked away from.

 

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

Green Sister

 

Aran

Tower Guard

 

Raina Delcei

Aramina's Great Niece

Aran's gait was even more jaunty than usual as he made his way up the stairs to Aramina's quarters. Good news was always welcome and as far as he was concerned, the news he had to give Aramina was beyond good. Perhaps in the realm of excellent. As he helped himself into her room, he smiled as he saw her pacing about, and that Raina was gone. He had faith in her. "How did it go?" He sat at the bed and began freeing his shoes as he waited for her response.

 

Aramina watched as Aran entered the room, her eyes taking in the sight of him. Since Raina had left she had been pacing. She didn't know what to do about the girl, but she would keep her word. She needed guidance still and she would give it. Light, but part of her wanted Aran to return so she could share it with him, knowing that he would be pleased with her for what she had done. It was the true reason she paced. Her growing need to have Aran happy with her. What was she going to do about that man? That was the real question.

 

As he sat at the edge of the bed, she decided to sit down as well, pulling her knees up to the side as she relaxed a little. "I believe you would say it went well. I'm not so certain I should become so heavily involved with the child, but against my better judgement I am anyway." She watched him a second longer. "And what news do you have? Anything for my ears?"

 

Smiling warmly at what she said, Aran guessed that was as much detail as he was going to get out of her about it. Which was fine, it was something personal for Aramina and her grand-niece. Better yet, he got to talk about his news, which he proceeded to do as he pulled his second boot off and chucked it aside. "Terrible tragedy. Two Mallien found on a fence after having fallen from a great height, oddly enough exactly where their last High Seat fell. I'd say they are done for now, and jokes are already circulating at their fatal tendency for sleepwalking."

 

Aramina looked at him in surprise. "Another fence? Really, these people must learn to keep the windows closed." She said with a shake of her head. "I suppose that does away with Mallien though. It will take them some time to come back from such... loss. Was that your handwork or your friends?" She asked, suddenly wondering about Aran's past and what it would take to make him go back to it again. The thought of him leaving chilled her and she shivered lightly at it.

 

"The power to weave a pair of sleepwalker's paths was not mine tonight. My brother was displeased with the thought that they didn't understand him initially, so he took steps to make sure there weren't any future mistaken perceptions." Dropping his swordbelt on the floor, Aran leaned back while he looked up at Aramina with a grin. "Your niece will be safe for awhile, people will think it happened due to her and that will make everyone wary. Mallien will become very quiet, and you shouldn't have to worry about anymore contracts on your name from them. Overall I think we did rather well."

 

"Two men dead." She leaned down, streatching out on her side next to him, propping herself up on her elbow. "When did it become a good day when two people die for our causes?" She asked in an idle manner. It was retorical though. Both knew the deaths were not only necessary, but welcome. And Aramina had never been one to curse necessity. "It sounds like I owe your brother a gift then. Perhaps an Aes Sedai's kiss will work on him as well as it works on you." She said with a smile, trying to ignore her earlier concern that he might want to remain a part of this life.

 

Slipping an arm around her, he pulled her over him with a grin. "I think I might have to collect that one for him." Something he proceeded to do with a smile. Breaking away gently, a bit of curiosity prodded at Aran to speak. "So how long do we have in Cairhien now? Does what happened change things?"

 

She smiled at the irreverant way he handled her. She had always been treated with a respectful reserve by others, but Aran never seemed to put much faith in formality except when he had to. "I still have people to see in Cairhein. My niece's blunder hasn't changed that. A couple more days should see it done. A week if I see a need to extend my visit."

 

"Really? Up to a week?" While Aran didn't like exposing Aramina to danger, after the way things had panned out there was very little danger now, not with the Mallien humbled as they were. Letting a hand drift up to her face, he ran a thumb over her cheek as he spoke. "I think we might need to stay longer, just to make sure things are settled. It certainly couldn't hurt."

 

Aramina laughed. "It is noble of you to make sure sacrifices for my duty to the Tower."

 

"I live to serve." Rolling ontop, Aran went for another kiss and any further ideas of talk from either of them were dismissed.

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

Sitter of the Green Ajah

Six days was the blink of an eye to an Aes Sedai, to a sister of any respectable age and stature it was nothing. To Aramina Sedai, it was an eternity. She had spent the week after her grand niece's abduction tutoring the girl in good behavior and teaching her the finer arts her mother hadn't known. Her nights had been spent gathering information in the Common Room. There was little information to gain there, but each night she waited for Aran to come and each night he failed to appear. She had gone to a number of Inns besides the Golden Blossom to visit her eyes and ears and to recruit more but in that time Aran hadn't joined her. It seemed he was far more interested in meeting up with his old friends than spending time with an Aes Sedai. Or perhaps it was just the certain Aes Sedai that he no longer found interesting.

 

She passed through the Common Room again, her last night in Cairhein and alone still. She smiled politely at the serving girl as she took a seat in the corner. A glass of wine was brought to her and she took a sip, wondering if she would be travelling back to Tar Valon as alone as she had made the journey her very first time.

 

The week had been a blessing for Aran. After so long, he had now had a chance to reunite with many people he had left behind. To share a drink with them, to swap stories, to talk about how things were. The people weren't just acquaintances or friends, they were family, and as much as he had forged a new family in Tar Valon, there were things they would never understand about him, could never understand about him. To be about those that had known him before... before everything, he had needed it more than he had realised.

 

Entering the Golden Blossom, he was certainly tipsy as he made his way into the commonroom and found Aramina with a glass in hand. Smiling as he made his way over to her, he took a seat next to her with a grin on his face. "How has Raina been? And you?"

 

There were days that Aramina counted her Cairheinin raising a curse. Now, it was a blessing as he facade came up quickly without need of thought. She looked at Aran as he sat beside her, smelling of drink and smiling happily. She had the urge to smack him. "Raina is well. She's a quick learner and will do herself proud in time." She said. "But thank you for your concern. I'll be sure to pass it along to her." With those words sid she stood and walked out, heading to her room to shut him out.

 

Frowning, Aran got to his feet and followed her. Something was wrong, she only never smiled around him when something was wrong or it was a formal occasion, and it certainly wasn't the latter. Finding her door closed, an attempt to open it found it locked. Rather than bother with the argument that would result from asking her to open the door, he simply got his picks out and helped himself in. Closing the door behind him, he looked over to Aramina. "What have I done now?"

 

Aramina looked up from her bed as she heard the door open. She stared at him for a moment in disbelief. He ignored her for a week, then shows up and picks the lock to get into her room. "What have you done? Nothing." She said with a shake of her head. "Absolutely nothing." Her built up anger got the best of her as she looked up at the confusion in his eyes. "For a week you have done absolutely nothing that I know about! You haven't been around. I suppose it is a bit much to ask that you show some interest in a mere Aes Sedai when you have something much more interesting... like old girlfriends." She said with her arms crossed over her chest.

 

Aran repressed the urge to groan, or to give his rising irritation voice, it would do little good here. "There is nothing mere about you, though yes for a week I have spent that time with people I left behind, people that were dear to me. I only have this time with them, once it is done it is gone until the next time I am required to come to Cairhien. And it gave you time to spend with Raina, without me about and interfering."

 

Aramina smirked. "In anyone else's company I have never been a 'mere' but it seems with you there is always something more interesting. Those dear to you? I'm so sorry I don't have anything of interest to offer you these days. Perhaps you'd rather stay here among you 'dearest'." Her voice raised in anger and in fear of her words being true, but she had already warded the room so those outside couldn't hear her.

 

Narrowing his eyes at Aramina, his usual care that he gave Aramina was somewhat lacking as he responded. Maybe it was the way she smirked at him as if there was something amusing about the way she tried to twist things. "My 'dearest' as you call them wouldn't be drama queens. I know how you struggle to trust but so help me you're a real piece of work sometimes, you don't even have a clue what you're talking about."

 

"DOn't know what I'm talking about? I'm talking about being left behind while you go off to play with your friends! I didn't ask you to come along Aran so don't feel the need to come back! Stay with your friends that you miss so much. The Tower won't miss a single guard. They don't need you. I- !"

 

But the lie wouldn't come from her lips. The truth of that moment struck her like a physical blow and she put her hands to her stomach as if to stop another. She did need him in her life, she needed the balance that he gave her, the balance that she had been so long without. The next words came on as a bare whisper. "Just leave me alone Aran. Let me go back to my life."

 

There had been other times where he had quelled his anger, where he had reigned his irritation in rather than let it run free. Perhaps it was because they were in his home, perhaps it was because he was somewhat drunk, perhaps it was because he was tired of her constantly doubting him, maybe it was all of these things. Because of this he wasn't going to leave it alone, and he was going to do something he otherwise would most likely never have done.

 

"Oh how easy it is for you, to throw things you know nothing about in my face as if they are some sort of betrayal. Up in your ivory tower, I suppose it has always been easy to do so in the past but not with me. Not this time. I'm the only person you reach out to, but I reach out to alot of people, and these people here... They are my family, they are people I cannot, will not, let go of."

 

Stepping closer, there was a steel in Aran's voice he wasn't sure he'd ever used with Aramina before. "You talk of your sisters as if they are family, but it won't stop you from digging into their lives, trying to find leverage, because they do the same to you. You want to know what real family is? What real trials are? Then come with me, and I'll show you where a real family is forged. If you really want to know, come with me right now."

 

Aramina listened in shocked silence. No one had taked to her like than since she had touched the Oath Rod. More so, Aran had never raised his voice, no matter how angry she had gotten with him in the past, and had never spoken to her like that. Anger still fueled her mind, but in the back of her mind she heard the simple question her Grand niece had asked. 'If I leave now, I can never come back...' This had the same feel of finality to it. If she said no now, she was walking away from Aran, away from what he had come to mean to her. No matter that she wasn't willing to admit exactly what she felt for him, she didn't lie to herself, not even with omissions and half truths. If she walked away now this was done. And as much as she didn't want to have to back down, to admit that perhaps she was overreacting again, she wasn't ready to walk away.

 

She swallowed against the lump in her throat. "I don't know what it is you think you can show me tonight Aran," She began, her voice cool and neutral and she found the strength to move forward. "but I will follow you to see this place of family that you talk about."

 

 

"Then grab a cloak and meet me outside. Be sure to put a weave on your face as well, where we're going, you won't want to be seen." Turning, Aran turned back as he added. "And you don't use the power, you don't interfere with what is about you." Turning away, Aran left Aramina to ready herself.

 

Aramina watching him go, as uncertain of herself as she had ever been. Why was she going this? What did she have to gain? But the thought of doing anything else was beyond her. The weave was easy enough to complete and it was merely her youthful face that she wore tonight, the face of a young girl that had once worked the Taverns of Tar Valon. He hadn't mentioned her clothing so she assumed she was dressed well enough for whereever he wanted to take her. It wasn't her best silk or anything of the sort, but a sturdy dress that was well cut and embroidered with green and red roses. She took a moment to fix her hair, the routine of it settling her anger and nerves more than anything else could. Grabbing her cloak she made her way out of her room and into the unknown.

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

Sitter of the Green Ajah

It was a long walk, not so much because of how long it took to reach Foregate, but because Aran was wondering whether he was doing the right thing. He'd decided to show Aramina things out of anger, things that he usually kept hidden, and the fact that he had sobered up slightly hadn't helped. But if he didn't follow through now, then what would his word be worth to her? What would his word be worth to himself?

 

Foregate at night was always alive, some raced horses through the streets or on the tracks just outside. On some nights there were fireworks though this was not one of them. Whores and dreamsellers could be found here and there, all of them plying their trade for those from in the city who came out at Foregate at night to play before slinking back to their reserved and honourable lives by morning. All of this only encouraged thieves and muggers, though they were given the wide berth thusfar.

 

It was still there, a different name and sign hung above the door than he remembered, but it was still there. Walking up to the door, he opened it and led Aramina in without a word. A short corridor opened into a well lit room of divans and silks, completely at odds with the almost dilapidated streets outside. Different women lounged about, some with customers while others positioned themselves to best make themselves available for potential customers.

 

An older woman, one who garbed herself in silks and jewelry to try and offset her age approached them with a greedy smile. "Good evening, perhaps you are here for another companion?"

 

Offering a coin to the woman he had taken from his purse earlier, Aran handed it over as he spoke. "No, just a room. The one at the end of the corridor on the right above. That looks towards the walls."

 

"Of course, follow me."

 

Following the woman, Aran didn't look to see Aramina's expression. Walking up the staircase to the second floor, there was a long corridor to which there were doors on either side, from some of which the sounds revealed that the whorehouse had no shortage of business. The door to their room was opened for them, and closing it behind them Aran turned about.

 

While the name of the place and the madame had changed, the rooms hadn't. A large bed in the middle of the room, a single bedstand next to it with a lamp that burned something that gave off a sweet odour and a slitted closet that had more memories than he wished to remember sometimes. Gesturing to the room Aran's voice was flat as he spoke.

 

"This was my mother's room, and this was the room I was born in. Its where I lived, I knew little else. I lived in that closet over there." Pointing to it, Aran gestured for her to go over to it. "When I had to sleep, that was where I would go, and my mother would still be working her keep because she knew nothing else, and no one else would have her. Go on, step inside that closet and close the door. I want you to sit down there, and imagine you're six."

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

Aramina had been prepared for something unusual. She had not been prepared for something as personal and as terrifying as this. Being in a whorehouse had surprised her, though it didn't offend or both her. She felt a strange pity for the woman in these places. If her mother's friend hadn't come along and taken her to Tar Valon, would she have ended up in a place like this? As determined as she had been to play the Great Game, mostly likely she would have ended up in just a place like this, paying for mistakes she would have made.

 

It was Aran's nightmare of a life, brought into full reality for her. Light, what had it been like as a child for him to live in this small place, to watch his mother used and tossed aside time and time again for a little coin. The horror of that struck her and his words compelled her. Though she would have thought nothing in the world could make her enter the small closet, she did so at Aran's words. Not a request but an order she had no power to refuse. She moved over to the doors he had indicated, touched them gingerly as she looked back at Aran. Stepping inside, she wondered how he had been able to sleep with his mother working right there. She said nothing to Aran though, a strange combination of residual anger and newfound horror keeping her mute.

 

Reaching forward and closing the door so she could only see through the slats, Aran continued. "Now look at that bed, imagine seeing your mother upon it with a different man everytime. Imagine that you get so used to it and its so natural that you can normally sleep right through it. Now imagine one night you wake up to a different sort of screaming, and instead of a man simply having his way, he's beating her with open hands, hands like these but much larger." Aran held up his hands as he spoke. "Imagine that you're so scared that all you do is you sit there and you watch, frightened, long after the screaming has stopped and the man has gone. After the madame and others have come and found her dead and left her there. Imagine that."

 

Reaching over, Aran ripped the closet open again. "Imagine you got out and you had a look at her, and you couldn't recognise her. That you stayed there until the morning when the madame found you and instead of giving you hugs and kisses and assurances that everything would be alright, she threw you out because you were another mouth to feed she didn't need or want. Imagine it because thats where we're going next."

 

Aramina listened without sound at the story. Her perfectly schooled exterior never faltered and she managed to push back the pain she felt for him. She didn't know where this was going and she wasn't about to stop him. Something told her much from her and what Aran was sharing would stop. As horrifying as it was for her to listen to what he had to say, she needed to see this through with him, wherever it led. He led her back out through the Whorehouse and into the streets. She took s a deep breath of fresh air, trying to ground herself in the here and now and not allow herself to get too close to the 6 years old child Aran had been.

 

It was a couple of minutes worth of walking before Aran began talking again. "You're six years old and you don't have any food, no coin, you don't know what you're meant to do. So you walk, and I walked and walked, and then I walked more. I walked until I found a group of kids like me, some older, some younger all of us as ragged as one another. They were led by Jonas, he was seven. He got them through day to day, and even though he had no reason to, he took me in amongst the others."

 

"We weren't the only kids, in Foregate after the Aiel war there were hundreds of orphans along with kids whose parents had little care for them. We were but one group an- here we are." A small sidestreet, one that stayed in Aran's memory for good reason. "Imagine that food is so scarce that its more precious than anything. Imagine that you're six and you're held up by a couple of older kids who want your food. That they fight you for it, and not some little punching match like other kids have. They're going to kill you for it, so the only thing you can do is kill them. You take up a loose cobblestone in your tiny fists and while others tackle a larger kid down, you hit him again and again in the face until he bleeds, and then until he stops moving. You have to do it because if you didn't, he'd have done the same to you."

Aramina let the words fall around her as Aran described the incidents. She couldn't iamge what he was telling her, couldn't imagine anything so horrifying to happen to anyone, let along a small child. His words seemed so bleak and unlike the man she knew, yet she had always know that there was something harder underneath his exterior that he seldom showed. She didn't know what to say as she looked at the small street. She could well imagine it the whordes of children in those days. It took little imagination, just a stretch of memories from days long past. "You did what you had to, to survive." She said, finally finding her voice. It wasn't the detached voice she had been trying for, but something full of pain that someone she cared so much for had once been in such a position.

 

"Imagine in another street similar to this, a girl a couple of years older than you ran from a man after picking his pocket. Arris was ten, she had blond curls which were soon soaked red when the man got his hands on her. As we watched around a corner, he threw her to the ground, kicked her till she lay still then took his money and walked off without a care."

 

"But there are worse sorts of men. There are uses for children, and they fetch a good price if you can catch one or two. Imagine when you're eight you and your closest friend Jonas who you owe your life to are snatched by such men. They get a good price for you, and you end up going to a Hell, which is where we're going next." At that, Aran began walking again.

 

As much as she wanted to tell him to stop, Aramina couldn't do it. He walked on with a purpose that she could scarce understand. She had always known his past had been bloody, but this was beyond what she had expected. Nothing could have prepared her for this. She had seen the dark underbelly of life, had crawled through it's trenches when the occassion demanded it, but she had never seen it at this kind of level. No wonder Aran took everything with so little affect. How much could happen to a person before they let nothing else touch them? And yet Aran still seemed to care about people, to genuinely care about those he surrounded himself with. So, she walked behind him, afraid of what she would find in this hell, but determined to see this through tonight.

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

Sitter of the Green Ajah

The whorehouse might have changed, but other things hadn't. Other things like the building that stood before them. Raucous laughter and the sound of cursing could be heard within the single storey building, much like any tavern. Aran knew full well that this wasn't any mere tavern, this was a hell.

 

His hell.

 

"Don't look at anyone, don't talk to anyone." Those were the only words of warning Aran gave as he pushed open the door and let them within. Passing by a pair of bouncers that were armed more like soldiers, the place was dimly lit. A place that had no name, it was a place that didn't exist. A place where half the women wore little more than small clothes and the other half wore cloaks to hide their identities. Men of silk and men of rough wool sat at tables drinking, gambling, making deals selling things that one would struggle to find elsewhere. The air was filled with an aroma that to others would have been strange, but Aran knew that it came from those who sought to dream.

 

But the bar wasn't where he intended to go, Aran knew what night it was. It had once been a night that had been his life on a knife edge night after night. Passing the bar by, at the other end of the room there was a single door where another pair of guards stood. They weren't stopped as Aran led the way to the door, one even opened it to reveal a dimly lit stairs that led deep into the earth.

 

Leading the way, Aran spoke while they were alone. "In a hell, you can find all sorts of entertainments that you couldn't find elsewhere. Gambling for high stakes, dreams that could never be found on the street, whores trained to please every desire. There's one thing in particular that is never talked about, but always seems to draw a crowd, bloodsport."

 

"Some willingly fight, they want to make a name for themselves. But there are some who are left with little choice, and some sports are open to all ages." Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they walked to the end of the corridor until they reached another door. From the other side one could hear cheering and as Aran reached for the handle, a scream.

 

Shoving the door open, Aran led her up the few stairs onto a stand where there were a number of seats, most of which were filled. Below the stand, a small arena. One man struggled weakly as his opponent looked to the crowd with a grin that turned vicious as he ripped his sword clear. Blood similar to that which pitted the walls of the arena below was bubbling onto the sand, but Aran knew all too well that the sand would easily cover it over. Maybe that was what made the Aiel so vicious, the sand hid their crimes.

 

Leading Aramina to a seat a few away from everyone else, Aran put his feet up nonchalantly. As the victor was taken away and the corpse dragged clear, Aran renewed his lesson. "They have fights here every couple of weeks. Such a thing is monstrous surely, yet people of all walks of life seem to find their way here to cast their bets. I-"

 

Aran fell silent as the next pair of fighters were brought out. Fighters like he had once been. "Street urchins are missed by no one, but some people find a way to spin a profit from them. You arm them with knives, and you tell them they have to fight or they'll die because their opponent will kill them, or they'll kill you."

 

The people gathered were already laying bets and beginning to cheer. A boy and a girl, stripped down to only smallclothes and a knife each. Both of them held them like they'd used them before, Aran recognised it the same way one recognises oneself in the mirror. "You have no choice but to fight. Life becomes very simple, the times spent here, and the rest spent in a small cell where you are fed and otherwise isolated until your next match. You know nothing but the fighting."

 

"At first you fear it." The match had begun and the pair were circling, looking for a weakness. "But soon, you begin to take a liking to it. Those that win live for another day, those that win repeatedly are treated like favoured hounds. The only bit of warmth you know, as people you don't know chant your name."

 

The girl lunged, the boy skipped away and sliced her arm. Dropping her knife, she was quick to scoop it up with the other hand even as the boy rushed in. Dropping to her belly, the boy tripped over and the girl quickly skipped away, putting her guard up again.

 

"Then one day you come to the ring when you're nine, and the boy you're fighting is Jonas. Somehow, like you he has survived all this time. You're reminded of what was, and you don't want to fight. But you know that if you don't, you'll both be killed. He knows the same thing, so you turn your knives on each other to try and force the other to kill him, so that one will survive. Or maybe you really want to kill him so you survive, you're not sure and you never will be."

 

The crowd cheered as the boy fell down, his eye slashed by the girl's deftness. Swinging wildly, the boy drove her back but she patiently danced about even as blood poured from the wound. In desperation, he charged at her and both leaning and ducking to one side, she slipped under his thrust and replied with one of her own. Almost bouncing off her, the boy fell to the ground, her blade buried in his sternum as he struggled weakly.

 

"You kill your friend, you stab him and when he looks into your eyes as he breathes his last, he accuses you even as he thanks you." The girl had taken up the boy's dagger and was parading about with it, getting cheers from those who had just increased their coin while those who had lost looked on dourly.

 

Getting to his feet, Aran pulled Aramina to her feet and began leading her out. "One day, friends who you had almost forgotten come to your cell. They've somehow managed to get down there and they open your cell. Children like yourself, and they get you out of there. Up these stairs and up into the sun which you haven't seen for a year."

 

Passing the bar on the way out, one man was foolish enough to try and step in the way but the way Aran reached for his blade had the man backing away. Stepping out into the night air, which Aran was quite certain Aramina needed at that point, Aran kept walking as he talked. "Those people come for you even after you're long gone, when anyone who was older would have known better than to true. They're fools, but they have fools luck. When they're in such trouble, you don't think about it, you go and help them not only because you owe it to them, but because you need to."

 

"This is the Cairhien your politics don't touch. This is the Cairhien everyone likes to forget. This was my life until my father claimed me, and when he claimed me he slowly took in my family as well. He didn't need to do that, but he took in all of us. As did my brother, and now we are all one. Even now you don't truly understand, and I hope you never do. But this is why I spend what time I have with them, because when no one would have any of us, we were all we had. We didn't abandon each other, can't."

 

"You never walk away from this, no matter how much coin you earn, no matter what titles you carry, no matter what soft beds and warm embraces and friendships you may find. We carry all of this within us, me and my 'dearest' as you so aptly named them. It is something that binds us together so tightly that..."

 

Aran's voice drifted off as different memories came to him. He rarely opened up like this, and unlike the times with Rosheen and Lyv, he wasn't fortified by alcohol and he wasn't in a bed. "Lets go back to the inn."

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

Aramina felt sick. She had known of the underbelly here, had certainly used it to blackmail ladies and lords alike to do her bidding over the years, but she had never thought about what it cost the people who had to live like this. It had taken everything in her not to try to stop the fight. If she thought it would have done anything, she might have stopped it, been willing to fight what might have been to the death to protect the children in that ring, but if she had saved them tonight it would have only been a momentary respite. She was smart enough to know that she could best serve the children in a place like this by getting out and trying to do things by her regular means. A fight tonight would mean a fight to the death for her and possibly Aran too and that she couldn't accept. Still, it was hard to walk away, seeing the young girl so proud of herself for stabbing another child. There was something so wrong in the image that attached itself, something wrong with the pure innocence of her joy at victory and the cheering crowds. There was no malace in this fight, no need for it, only other people's coin fueled it.

 

As the stopped outside, Aramina kept her face carefully blank, trying to get the images out of her head. So many terrifying things she had seen tonight, had learned, that she wasn't sure she'd ever sleep well again. When Aran stopped and began talking it was with the knowledge that she had no real understanding of the man before her. They were lovers and she hoped friends, but this man was outside her understanding of the world. Her own feelings of doubt and mistrust had been from her lack, not his.

 

She allowed him to start the walk back to the Inn, her mind still tripping over things that she couldn't get around. When they got there she followed him up to her room and took her cloak off, hanging it up carefully for want of something to do besides face this man that she... owed. She felt tears ready to fall, but she refused to let anything like that happen. Her walls came back up to hide her turmoil, but they didn't hid the nervousness of her movements or the way her eyes avoided his.

 

In the end, she pressed her hands against her stomach to rid herself of the movements that gave her away. When she faced him her face was still neutral but emotion showed in her eyes. "I don't know what to say to you Aran." She said in a quiet voice. "I am sorry that you went through this tonight because of my... jealousy. I'm sorry that you went through this at all."

 

 

By the time they reached her room, Aran was regretting his decision. Not that he had put his trust in Aramina, but the effect he could see it had on her. He should have known better, she hadn't been prepared for it and in a moment of anger he'd thrown it all in her face. As she gave her apology, Aran shook his head and simply walked over and hugged her. "I shouldn't have shown it to you, it was something you didn't need to see. Something no one ever should see."

 

 

Aramina shook her head. "Please don't do that. Don't regret what you did. I don't know that I can ever understand all of what I saw but it does help me understand you a little I think." She said, trying to articulate something that was impossible to say. Words had always been an aid to her, a weapon when needed, but tonight when she needed to sooth they deserted her. "I push you too hard at times, because I don't let people close easily. I can understand now why my mistrust bothers you so. I can't promise that I will never do it again, but I can promise that I will try not to let myself get carried away with it."

 

Nodding at her, he got up on his tippy toes and placed a kiss on her forehead. "What you can give." What she could give, he would have to take and be grateful with that. One couldn't force people to change, could only hope that they would in time. Light but he felt boneweary, more so than he could remember being in a very long time. "Lets get some sleep, its going to be a long day tomorrow."

 

Aramina nodded in agreement. There was nothing else to say. What she could give. She had always been a cold woman with a few exceptions. The people that seemed to get through her defences were never the type she would have thought would become a part of her life. The idea of giving someone more of herself than she already had was a terrifying thought, but at the same time, Aran had given her more than a little back. He deserved something more of her. He deserved her trust. No matter what his past had been or how different they were, he had earned that from her. She took a deep breath as she got undressed and pulled her hair down from it's coils and braids.

 

She crawled into bed, tired and wondering how Aran had handled this knowledge all his life and remained a generally happy person. She looked over at him, a small smile on her face as she did so. "Thank you, for coming after me to Cairhein. I don't understand how you do it, but you always seem to give me what I don't know I need."

 

It felt good to have Aramina at his side in the darkness. Aran realised that as irritated as he got at the way she occasionally questioned him, he also understood some of why she did it. He knew that she tried, and that had to be enough. It was enough, because to try was everything. Her words caused him to frown though, he might have understood another time but now? "What did I give you? Nightmares you were better ignorant of, things everyone is better ignorant of." Light but he felt tired.

 

She reached out a hand and touched his cheek lightly. "You gave me my family." She said, for once trying to pull him away from his grief as he normally did for her. "You saved my niece and gave her to me. And you gave me your trust, to show me what you did. We all carry our scars, but sometimes in sharing them we lighten it some. I thank you for sharing that with me."

 

Aran wasn't sure what to say to that, so he said nothing at first, he simply took her hand and held it for awhile. She was right, and he found himself wondering if things would ever be the same for it. Only the future could reveal that to him. "Thank you." That was all he could manage, and truth be told, perhaps it was all that needed to be said now.

 

Aran

Tower Guard

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

Sitter of the Green Ajah