She wet her dry lips with her tongue and looked up at the blue-eyed boy.  “Think of the Aiel, the way their society is set up into Septs and such, and you have something like my people’s clans.  We were the People of the Horse, or the Dyelra.  Being firstborn meant I was heir to the seat of power once my father died, my mother having passed on shortly after my fifth birthday.  I showed signs of being able to use a strange power from birth, a power which often let me do many things not seen as normal.  I had a natural affinity for animals, being able to somehow communicate with them mentally, and could take the forms of other creatures when I so desired.  I could heal and kill with this power, and was known to do so upon reaching my clan's age for maturity.

“My father married a woman named Atanya when I had just passed my 16th nameday, a time which also saw the Dyelra clan make contact with visitors from beyond the stars.   I dreamed secretly of traveling with the visitors, but from all appearances my wish would never come true.  Until, that is, my new mother, desiring a child of her own to be the heir, attempted to kill the visitors and make it seem like I had done the deed.  I fled my clan grounds, wounded and frightened and confused, and reached the ships of the strangers.  Hurriedly babbling to them, in what I knew of their language, all that had gone on, the men and women took me in and tended to my wounds.  That night, as if in answer to the Dyelra's treatment of an innocent of royal blood, a great flood came down from the mountains without warning, destroying my clan, who had made their home on the banks of a great river. I, who not only sensed the disaster would happen but also inadvertently caused it, tried my hardest to warn my guardians so they could help my people.  Unfortunately my cries of, "Lastyra, lastyra!" or “Flood, flood!” went unheeded.  By the time the visitors understood what I meant, I was again the heir and sole surviving member of my clan.  I WAS the Dyelra.  To mark the dark day, I inserted the "Shade" in between my name and my clan’s, and kept it.
 
“I also received my secret wish to go with the visitors that fateful night.  They taught me their ways and schooled me in their history and background to help me fit in.  I absorbed it all raptly, learning all they had to tell within a year.  I was a bright girl, and a good pupil.  I also retained my strange powers, which ultimately was the reason I left the visitors to make my own way in the universe.  They gave me a small ship of my own, and I investigated many careers over the next five years, some quite unwillingly.  I made weapons and sold them, traded goods, smuggled, hunted bounties, and finally became an assassin.  My ability with weapons became instinctual for me since I'd spent my life using them.
 
“All the while I did these things, I also became more and more adept with my powers, going so far as to be able to open portals through distances with ease, though the deed would exhaust me if the distance were too great.  However, though my new life never really ruined my physical beauty, it slowly jaded me and turned me into a ruthless, bitter killer with little pity and no fear of dying.
 
“It was during one of my return trips from assassinating someone that I found myself waylaid by pirates.  Their ship easily disabled my own, but I attempted to escape anyway through a gateway.  As I fumbled to form the opening and exit, a blast rocked my ship and I hit my head, losing concentration on what I was doing.  Dazed by the blow, my ship crossed into the gateway without me consciously noticing an anomaly in the configuration of it.
 
“My head throbbing a bit, my ship exited and, try as I might to stop it, crashed into a very uninhabited part of the countryside.  I staggered from the wreckage only half-conscious, having received an even greater head wound, and collapsed nearby as my ship became an unrecognizable mass of metal and flames.  When I awakened, I was without my memory.”

Rio went silent, then, and gazed at the child near her.  He was asleep, however, and looked to have been for a while.  She sighed and curled up near the head of the bed to doze a while, so as not to kick him, but couldn’t sleep.  The utter silence of the room and in the space in her head where Cheyhrad’s comforting presence used to be found left her cold inside, and she shut her eyes tightly.  Within moments, she’d begun the violent, noiseless sobbing that she usually did when she didn’t want to be overheard.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dalin looked up and sighed. He knew Mical would ask him to go get the boy. "When I get my hands on that child..." The words died into another sigh as he gathered his things. He would not be able to channel around the boy or else he would be known, he was sure of that. Grabbing up his pack he made his way out to the courtyard. Sending a servant boy scurrying to get his horse ready he trailed a thin tendril of Air out to where Mical was sitting.

"Yes?" A disembodied voice called out.

"I leave now to get the boy Nae'blis. I will notify you as soon as I have him in hand." He replied.

"Good. Now you may leave me."

With a slight bit of irritation he snapped off the weave and turned with the soft click of metal clad hooves on stones. He placed his pack and saddle on Ghost, his Tearan Stallion, and dismissed the boy who had brought him. Smiling devilishly, he raised a hand and a Gateway into the Waste sprang into being. He clicked his tongue and took himself and his mount through.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tevin sighed for the eighth time in as many minutes. He was lying on top of his roof watching the stars as the moon made it path across the sky. Rising once more to walk along the edge of the garden he noticed a light coming his way. Once it got close enough to encompass him and the woman holding it, her voice came softly but firmly. "I see you Tevin."

Grinning he replied, "I see you Caran. How are you and Revan doing?" He asked softly. He had done his best to see that Caries stay at home on that run and even after failing in that to see that she stayed safe. Her death still warred in his heart with the intrigue of the Wise One.

"She died with honor, Tevin. What more could a Mother ask for? But it is you I came to talk about, not her. You seem restless. Its been almost three weeks since your party returned to my Sept and you are the only one not yet married." She smiled softly and sat down, obliging himself to sit down as well. He knew there was no getting out of this one. To try and avoid Caran was to try and avoid death. Both would get you in the end.

"I know, Roofmistress, and there is one that dances through my mind as well as my heart." He tossed a rock across the ground.

"And who is this woman?" she asked. He heard more than a little curiosity in her voice. Shrugging uncomfortably he related about fighting along side the Wise One and how she was the one dancing in his mind.

"So why not seek her out?" she asked as if it was the most normal thing in the world. With her sudden laughter came the realization that his emotions of incredulity were not hidden from his face. He swallowed the comment of how ludicrous that was when he saw the stern look coming from Caran.

Taking a deep breath he swung his feet a little. "Maybe I should." He squawked indignantly as Caran began to go over how he should act when he met her again, and what he should wear, and what he should say as if she was in the next room. And the worst of all was that she said it in the tone that she used when telling that the sun would rise in the morning. It WOULD be done if she had to drag him to the Wetlands by the ear. Having no avenue but to agree with her, he rose and made his things ready, as he had the feeling he would not returning anytime soon. Closing the door on his home he set out at a brisk jog into the early twilight hours for the wetlands.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tevin grinned as he approached the walls of the place the Wetlander’s called Fal Moran. So far nobody had seen him, as the alarm hadn’t be raised. With a grin he walked up to the door a knocked. The look of shock and surprise from the guard was worth all the hassle of sneaking up on this disaster waiting to happen. “I seek the Wise One, Rio’lan Shade Dyelra.” He called out, quickly followed by “I see you Shienaran!” Grinning from ear to ear he waited for the gates to be drawn. Once he gained access, he was told she was sleeping and he would have to wait till morning to see her. Undeterred he lifted his voice in the same battle dirge he had sang over her mount.

Rio’s eyes flew open abruptly at the familiar song she heard.  She sprang from bed and stalked to the window, channeling Fire to light the nearby torch on the wall.  To Tevin’s gaze, a single light lit in one of the rooms higher up and a female form stood in the window.  Rio’s eyes narrowed as she recognized the Aiel below her, and she drummed her long nails on the stone sill.  This man had better have a good reason for interrupting my sleep, she groused darkly.  “I see you, Rio’lan Shade Dyelra!” he called out to her.

“I see you as well Tevin.” Her voice betrayed extreme irritation, which had the Shienaran guards shifting uncomfortably.  “Send him on up, Carnen,” came the stiff order finally, after a long pause.  Smiling to himself amidst the perturbed chatter coming from the guards, Tevin was shown to her room.

Rio, on the other hand, moved to her sword as soon as she saw the guards and the Aiel vanish from her sight.  She buckled it back on and almost put her long hair back in its braid, but then shrugged a tiny bit and let it stay draped around her shoulders and flowing down her back to her waist.  No time, she reasoned, and even if you did have time it would show that you actually cared enough to do it before he got to the door.

A bit later there was a knock on her door, which she answered accordingly.  She flicked her gaze to the still-slumbering Talarus and frowned a little.  If this man awakens the boy... She left the thought unfinished, but her scowl was fierce as she opened her door and looked at Tevin.

“I have returned Rio’lan. May you find water and shade this night. May I find shade and water under your Roof?” he asked from the door way. With a sigh and a quick jerk of her hand, she motioned for him to come in. Casting his eyes about the room in wonder, he noticed the sleeping form of the boy he had carried here. “He looks better than last time I saw him.”

“What do you mean?” she asked with a tinge of coldness in her voice at being awakened so late in the night.

“We found him a day’s run from the other side of the Three Fold Land. He was beaten and starved.  He can call lightnings like you, so I ran him here for you to look after. Is he safe now?” he asked as he circled the bed, watching him like one watches a rabid wolf.

“If you’re asking if he can still channel, the answer is yes,” Rio answered dryly.  “I want to give him some sort of chance at this world, even though it would probably be best he depart it now in peace.”  She frowned gently as she realized she meant what she said.  Nodding softly, Tevin settled down on the floor, much to her displeasure. “You have yet to tell me why you have returned Tevin,” she stated bluntly.  She stood waiting patiently, her hand never straying far from the dagger at her belt, even though there were several more hiding on her person.

“I am here because I want to be your husband,” he stated simply.

Rio froze, her already large eyes going even larger in shock, before finally spluttering out, “You WHAT?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dalin looked upon the walls of Fal Moran with great contempt. He remembered a time when walls five hundred times as big graced the very spot. But they weren’t walls of fear and shelter. They were walls of grandeur and beauty. They pleased the eye and the heart. And the Chora trees did wonders for his patients. Sighing inside he wove the true source into a Gateway directly to where the child lie sleeping. It would be a simple thing to just walk in, take him and walk back out. And Talarus trusted him, so they would be no need for violence.

Rio snapped her mouth shut as a gateway came into being nearby, slicing in half one of the chairs at the table.  She had her sword drawn instantly and Saidar in her grasp as she backed for the bed and Talarus, the boy’s words of “I wish I knew how to invert my weave so they couldn't follow me” echoing hollowly in her head.  “Tevin, take the boy and leave NOW,” she snarled sharply, ready to fight to the death if need be.

Stepping through the Gateway brought a most shocking site to his emerald eyes. Before him stood an Aes Sedai and an Aiel Warrior by the looks of it. And the Aiel was moving towards a sleeping Talarus. "Oh please pardon my intrusion. I'm just here to collect the boy and be on my way."

Tevin moved from the first word. Raising his veil he grabbed the child under one arm and hauled him up. Talarus looked up bleary eyed and asked groggily what was happening. Tevin, noticing his protectee conscious covered his mouth quickly and moved to the far corner. "Keep quiet and act like your asleep." Talarus nodded softly as he felt more than saw who was in the room. Dalin had been kind to him but he would not let him take him back to Mical. Tevin took up his spears and buckler, starting to twirl the spears in a slow hum.

Dalin sighed and groaned as he saw the Aiel start the Dance. "Now now dear chap. We can do without violence, just give me back the boy."

"Anything precious to Mical," Rio stated quietly, insidiously, every assassin memory she ever had suddenly alert and darkly conscious, "I prefer him not to have.  He's used to it with me, though."  She flashed a predatory smile at the man, her hold on saidar never weakening once as she instinctively threw open a gateway. "Go!" she thundered to Tevin without taking her gaze from the other man.

Sighing to himself Dalin weaved a fine weave of Spirit from the True Source, the Saa billowing across his vision as it sliced away at the fabric of the Gateway. Lashing out with a thick bolt of Air he hurtled it in between the Aiel and the Gateway. "You would have to force me to do this."

Rio's next words were chilling.  "Take my channeling, and you will kill us all."  At his look, she continued.  “I mean, dear boy, that I haven't finished the weaving completely.  Unless you want to blow us all to the Pit of Doom, which though you might be reborn into another body would still be quite uncomfortable for you, I would leave my hold on saidar right where it is.”

Dalin laughed softly. "Is that all that troubles you? Let me finish it for you then." Dalin shoved the razor thin weave of Spirit in between her and the Source as he caught the trails of her weave. Placing the finishing touches on it touch a little more than he expected though. He was sweating by the time it was done and the destination had changed as well. "Go on then dear boy. It will lead you straight to the Nae'blis."

"Tevin," Rio said almost inaudibly, "come here.  Bring Talarus."
 
Tevin lifted the child again after a moments hesitation, edging over to Rio as he kept his eye on the man.

"Was I speaking to you, nictuga?" she spat venomously to Dalin, drawing herself up to her full height.  "You will know when to respond to anything I say, because I will be addressing you."  She wheeled and fastened her gaze on Tevin and Talarus, then looked at the child.

Talarus peeked out of one eye with terror, not daring to touch the source. He shook softly in Tevin's arms. "Rio" he whispered. "Let me go so he doesn't hurt you. Please?!?"

Her voice lowered, sounding almost gentle.  "Do you really want to go back, child?"

Biting his lip he shook his head furiously, wondering if he could make a move before Dalin noticed.

She shrugged slightly, folding her hands in front of her and out of Dalin's line of sight.  "Then tell him so, child."  The fingers of one hand brushed the hilt of the dagger at her belt as she felt her lips twitch in a smile, then looked up to meet Tevin's gaze with lifted brows.

Tevin nodded almost imperceptibly as he positioned himself to move with the child towards the door. ~ Obviously her first thought is to save the boy ~ he thought to himself. ~ Once I get him out I will come back for her. ~

Without warning Talarus grabbed Saidin tighter than he ever though possible and weaved Spirit, pushing back the shield he saw held upon Rio, holding onto sanity and consciousness just as strong.

Dalin's eye widened as he saw the light and then felt his weave thrown back on him. Quick thinking and reflexes were the only thing keeping him from the backlash.
 

Rio snatched saidar and flung Fire at Dalin as she whirled around, but it was followed with not one, but three daggers as the one from her belt and the ones in her sleeves flew out from their hiding places.

Dalin saw the daggers and Fire just barely seconds before he could get the Air up. His cloak singed and smoking he fell back towards his Gateway. "I see how you wish to play this hand. I will return you know. And I will be Trollocs and Dreadlords this time." With that he jumped through the Gateway and slammed it shut as he saw soldiers start to poor in the room from noise of the commotion.

Rio watched him go, then spat on the floor.  "Bring them, boy," she said to his absent figure.  "You won't find an easy target, where I'm headed."

She then padded over to where her daggers had fallen thanks to Dalin's shield of Air, seemingly oblivious to the questions of the soldiers who had come in.

Talarus dropped to sitting position, shaking all over and on the verge of tears. Tevin kneeled beside him looking up at Rio with a questioning element in his eyes. Gently he patted the boys back.  Rio returned the look as if to ask what he was questioning, although she said nothing.

"Who was that Rio'lan? And why do you think he wanted the boy?" Tevin asked softly. Talarus's crying had simmered down to a few sniffles.

"He was Master Dalin. Master Mical sent him to take me back so he could beat me for running away. I don't know where I can go, but I have to leave here so he doesn't hurt you."

Rio motioned for the soldiers to leave the room with a wave of her hand, then answered the boy dryly, “You’ll find that I’m not easy prey, Talarus.  I can hold my own.”  She glanced at Tevin dismissively.  “But I am not stupid.  We are leaving.  Tonight.”

Tevin raised quietly and started to gather his things up and asked quickly what she wished him to pack for her.   “The saddlebags I took from....yes, the saddlebags and things.  They should still be in a pile there.”  She pointed to the corner they sat in and watched as the Aielman headed in that direction.

Talarus raised himself up and wiped his nose and eyes. He grabbed a small bag from its hiding spot and quickly stuffed it in his pocket along with some left over food. "Where are we going Rio? He can go ANYWHERE..."

She tsked at him.  “I’m going home, child.”

"Back to that other place?!" He looked at her in wonder and shock. Tevin glanced up at them but wisely kept his mouth shut.

Rio chuckled.  “No, Talarus.  I’m returning to the White Tower.”

Talarus went white as a sheet at the mention of the Tower. Tevin sighed as the hope of staying close to the three fold land went to the wind. ~Oh well, ~ he thought. ~At least I get to be with her.~ Finished packing her belongings he hefted them over his shoulder and then lifted his own. "Are we ready?"

Rio noted the pallor on the child’s face and frowned briefly.  “It is preferable to being where he can roam in and out as he chooses, is it not...”

Talarus shook his head and pulled out his pouch. Dropping a few rings and a necklace he finally came out with a seven striped Stole made of silk. "He took me there to test my abilities one time. I took this from the Amyrlin's chambers.  He said to keep this as a reminder of what Aes Sedai would do to me if I was caught."

Rio’s gaze went colder than an iceflow.  “Child, he will not come in again.  You can trust in that.”  She nodded to the items he held.  “You will go before the Amyrlin Seat herself and return her objects to her personally, and explain to her how you came to have them.  Understood?”

Talarus nodded softly. "Only this is hers." he motioned with the Stole. "I'll go with you Rio. I trust you." Tevin stood by the door patiently waiting for the other two to follow.

Rio bent down and held the child’s gaze.  “Not all Aes Sedai are bad.”  She silently padded past him to the door where Tevin stood, but paused as she came to him.  “You and I will talk, Aielman,” she growled dangerously, then moved on.

Tevin grinned to himself and followed behind Talarus as he followed her. The Captain of the Guard came running up to her, flowing with apologies and asking if she was on her way to speak with Lord Agelmar.  She brushed him away, however, stating simply that she was on her way back to the Tower and had no time for foolish men.  She walked to the outer gates on foot and asked to be let out, her and her two companions.  She was allowed with much haste, and she walked only a little ways farther out before turning to the others.  “We’ll be using the gateway,” she commented quietly, then turned and began to weave it.

Talarus scratched idly at the sudden itch on his skin as Tevin brought up the rear, his veil still lifted so if any killing needed to be done he was ready.  The Aiel watched with a content smile though as she began to open the gateway, wondering why she was not happy that he had returned. Maybe her current husband didn't want her to marry another, he reasoned.

Rio stepped through her gateway and waited for the others to pass through before closing it and turning to look at the distant city of Tar Valon.  “We will be staying at an inn for this night,” she said matter-of-factly as she set off.  “Now, Tevin...”  She motioned for him to walk forward, even though she never once looked at him.  “What was your purpose for returning?”

Tevin was still grinning by the time he made it to the front. "As I said Rio'lan, I am here to offer my wedding wreath to you. I wish to be your husband." He stated matter of factly.

She snorted violently.  “I will never marry.”

"Am I not handsome or strong enough?" He asked. "I will go back to the three fold land and bring you back rare flowers to prove I can be strong."

She wheeled on him, eyes aflame.  “Never will I marry.  Do what you wish, or what you like.  I am returning to the White Tower, so unless you choose to come with me to become a Warder, leave.”

Talarus screamed just seconds before the Gateway opened. Trollocs started filing one by one out onto the grass, followed by a Myrddraal and a woman and a man. The first was in a low cut dress of Domani style, dark brown hair cascading down the front to hide the expanse of her breasts. Her ruby red lips smirked as she saw the boy and the other two. The man was shorter and dressed in a Tairen cut shirt and pants, with careless blondish hair cut a little long. He held a sword aloft in one hand as he stepped out of the Gateway.

Rio jerked her head around at the boy's scream. There was at least one of her Gaidin still at the Tower, she knew, and he could channel.  The other male channelers at the Tower, and even the female ones, would feel the gateway that just opened even as they felt the presence of the Shadowspawn so near to them.  I just have to hold them off, she reasoned in a lightning flash of thought before she darted for Talarus and scooped him up into her arms. Her brown eyes locked onto his vivid blue ones.  "I can't hold them off on my own, child.  Help me."

Nodding he wiggled to be put down, and she did. Calming his mind he reached into his pouch and pulled out two ring. Placing one on his own fingers he pressed the other one into her palm. Suddenly his small frame was rocked with the sudden flood of filth and sweetness of Saidin. As his mind reviewed his views, so they became. One by one the hearts of three Myrddraal suddenly burst from their chests, catching flame in mid air. Sequentially a couple rows of Trollocs fell, clutching their chests.  More Trollocs filled in where their comrades had fallen.

Rio didn't stop to ask what it was she held.  She could sense its response to her use of saidar quite well enough to know it was an angreal.  She hadn't used too many in her life, and really hadn't desired to do so after having had one of it's breed used upon her by Mical, but in this she knew she had no choice.  She channeled through it, barely hiding the grimace of distaste on her face as she did.

Meanwhile, Tevin danced with a fervor unfelt before. His spears sang with all their deadly glory as he rounded again to find a trolloc blade in his face. Ducking he brought his fingers up ridged into the eyes as he took its feet out and stabbed down into its heart.

Celeste smirked at the Green sister. She had seen her a couple times throughout the Tower. She wrapped Spirit deftly and sliced at her weaves calmly. One by one they faltered and failed. Kovus stood by her side and worked on the Aiel. Grabbing the man in a thick stream of Air he lifted him and threw him into the Aes Sedai.

Suddenly he gasped and his eyes bulged as he looked down at his body. Rags of skin and cloth hung in the air briefly before they exploded in flames. He faltered with Saidin as the pain wracked him. He fell screaming in agony of the purest kind as dirt rubbed into his exposed flesh and blood vessels. His intestines spilled out as well as the rest of his guts, making a puddle of mud beside the woman.

Rio drew in on the Source more, an irritated look on her face for the woman slicing her weaves, but never got to complete it.  A body crashed into her and knocked her to the ground, her sword flying from her hand and landing a little distance from her. Whoever it was knocked the wind from her with their knee on the way down. She lay stunned for a long moment, her blood pounding through her ears and obliterating sound as she fought to breathe again.

Talarus grinned coldly at Celest. He knew Rio would want a peace of her so he decided to give her a gift. The ring that served as an angreal Mical had used to help draw out his ability also had a nicety to it. It allowed males to see female weaves. He didn't know how it was done nor did he care. His grin unnerved her a bit but she started to work again. This time on shielding Talarus. Her shock registered in full when her weaves suddenly bent up and around a thick shield of Spirit. He saw exactly what was happening. He pummeled her with Air just long enough to Sever her from the True Source forever. For this woman, he knew, it was the worst fate ever. Not just because she couldn't touch Saidar, but she had failed the great Lord.

He went over and lifted Tevin with air and set him aright, quickly healing Rio and revitalizing her before he had to drop the source himself, being maxed out even with the angreal. Rio blinked and got to her feet immediately, throwing one of her daggers into the throat of a Trolloc that ventured too near her.  Tevin raised again and resumed keeping the Trollocs from her and the boy so she could work. He was tiring though and that might just cost him. Immediately after that thought he took a slice to the ribs. It cost the Trolloc more than what he gave but it was still a wound.

Rio looked at the woman on the ground, sobbing hysterically, and drew her sword.  She silently threw herself into the thick of the Shadowspawn near Tevin, the blade rapidly becoming coated with their blood and gore.

The moment Celeste was severed from the source the Gateway slammed shut, leaving a count of thirty Trollocs on very hostile ground. Suddenly lightning broke the ground away from the group fighting. Another sword started to cut down Trollocs as a shadowed figure danced in and out of the fray. Within minutes it was over. Rio's face was hard and cold as her blade and body wove in and out of fighting forms to cut down one Shadowspawn after another, sometimes at the price of her own blood.  She saved her channeling on the off-chance that another Darkfriend who channeled found their way into the fray.

When the lightning flashed somewhere behind her, Rio almost thought another woman like Celeste had indeed appeared.  She finished off the Fade before her and wheeled to channel at whoever it was, but found herself facing a fellow Tower member and her Gaidin.  She sighed and wiped her blade on the body of a downed Trolloc before sheathing her sword and finding her dagger, then looked at the hysterical Stilled woman with a faint smile.

Talarus dragged himself over to the gathering defenders. Tevin was already there with Rio Sedai and the two other people. Keeping himself closely guarded he clung to her clothing, more from exhaustion than to hide. Tevin looked down and noticed the boy. He gathered him up in his arms urged the child gently back into sleep. Talarus was fast asleep. "I noticed a fair amount of Channeling out here and decided to come and investigate. It looked like you could use some help." Tevin nodded to the Gaidin who stood stone faced behind the other Wise One.

"I will explain more as we return to the Tower," Rio replied smoothly.  "There may be more attempts."  She looked at Talarus, wondering how the boy could sleep during a pitched battle and realizing it was more than likely unconsciousness than normal sleep.  "Tevin, bring him."  She padded away by the side of the other Aes Sedai and the Gaidin who shadowed her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She motioned for Tevin to bring the young man inside her study, then closed the door behind him.  “This is my room in the White Tower,” she said smoothly.  “Touch nothing and you may leave in one piece.  There are wards, and some of them happen to be quite nasty.”  She stalked into the next room, raising her voice loud enough for him to hear.  “Bring Talarus in here and set him on my bed.  I will not be sleeping tonight, so he may use it until tomorrow when I decide what it is I will do with him.”

Tevin entered silently and did as he was bidden, then looked at Rio expectantly.  She arched a brow at him as she moved past him to go into the next room and moved her seat so that she could easily see Talarus from where she sat.  She removed her sword and placed it on its rack on the wall near the door, a wall that seemed to be nothing but weapons of many kinds, before turning to the seat and sitting slowly.  She leaned back and folded her hands one over the other in her lap as she gave him a long, cool stare.  “Now, Tevin from the Jaern Rift Sept of the Codarra Aiel, we will speak you and I...”

Tevin sat down smoothly as he looked attentive to her. Her gaze remained cool and her voice was light, if somewhat frigid, as she said, "Come, now.  You must know what I'm going to ask."

He laughed shortly and shook his head. "If a man knew what a woman was going to ask, he would be ready for her always!"

The Aes Sedai calmness remained unruffled.  "We were speaking, you and I, of your reason for returning to me."  Her brown eyes suddenly blazed.  "I do so hope that that woman finds her life to be miserable now that she is Stilled."  A smile twitched at one corner of her mouth, a pleased look on her face.

Tevin nodded and took a deep breath. "I have searched the Aiel and the Threefold land for a suitable wife and now I've found her. You." He said with all the plainness as if he had just told her the sky was blue.

Rio's chuckle was dry.  "I will not marry," she responded in exactly the same matter-of-fact tone.

"Is there something wrong with me?" He asked, searching his clothes to see if they were lacking.

"No."  She shrugged slightly, but otherwise made no movement.

"So why will you not marry me?" He asked with sincere question.

"Because I choose not to wed anyone, Tevin."  She closed her eyes, still unmoving.  "It is better for everyone that way."

"Are you alright? Should I get you some food?" He asked worriedly. Suddenly he looked like he had been revealed a great truth. "Oh. You worry that I could not handle having a Wise One as a wife right?"

"No," she said almost inaudibly, "I do not worry about such matters.  They are unimportant to me.  There are very few people who can stand to be around me for long."

Lowering his voice he spoke. "I wish to be around you."

"You are a fool."  Her voice never changed, but the edge on it was obvious.

He shrugged and grinned. "I have been called so before."

"Then believe it, for any man desiring me is a fool or worse."  She remained still, eyes closed and relaxed with her hands on her stomach as if he were not in the room with her.

He paced slightly on his knees in an awkward position before settling back down. "So now that that's settled when do we arrange the wedding feast?" He asked undaunted.

"I am not marrying you."  Her voice was a little louder, and definitely sharper.  "Accept it."

"Then I will have to change your mind." He said back with the same stubbornness she displayed.

Her grin flashed like a ghost upon her face and was gone just as quickly.  "You'll need the Dark One's own luck to achieve that impossibility."

"So I'll go to Shayol Ghul and get it."

One finger lifted to point at the door.  "There is the exit.  But know that leaving means you do not return.  Once a man comes to the Tower, he must either train to become a Warder or leave and never return."  She still seemed highly unconcerned at his presence or his words.

"Hrrmmmm...So I shall have to become your Warder, then I will go to Shayol Ghul and then we will marry."

"We will never marry."  She said it patiently, her years as an Aes Sedai and the past coming in handy for her.

"Why not?" he asked again, feeling slightly dizzy as he saw the river from out her window.

"I desire no husband."  Her face, so relaxed, almost seemed peaceful while her eyes were closed.  She breathed deeply and slowly, and except for when she spoke she seemed to almost be asleep.

"Why not?" he paced again, this time on his feet.

"I have already told you that I will not.  Such should be enough of a reason.  If it is not, ask and I shall explain."  Humor danced across her visage again.

"Ok, I ask. Why will you not take a husband? More specifically, why will you not take me as your husband?"

Her eyes opened and ruined the placid look immediately.  "Because I would rather die than have a husband.  And the second answer is because you are a man seeking to wed me, and therefore the first answer is also the second answer as well."
 
In a quiet tone he stared at her rugged beauty. "So what must I do to win your heart?"

"My heart cannot be won," she retorted softly, her gaze still steely even though the rest of her remained uncaring and relaxed.  "I live to fight.  I fight to live.  You do not factor into my life as anything other than a Gaidin candidate."

"Why not?" He asked defiantly. He wanted to be with her, to be hers, and he was not going down without a fight. That was his way.

"I will take a lover, if the man is that lucky, but my heart is my own and nobody else's.  And any other reason I may have is purely my own."

"So what do I do to become your lover?"

"That is entirely up to you," she said with a smug smile.  "They are few and far between, most especially since my raising to the shawl.  It would be far more productive to wait for the Creator to bless you Himself."  Tevin looked skyward in askance for just one miracle. Rio watched, amused, then closed her eyes again.  He is not one who could accept my darkness, as is no man, she ruminated privately.  The sooner he realizes this, the better off he will be.

Tevin closed his eyes.  I will be with her if it takes my last breath. No matter what, he promised in his mind. He walked over to the child and smoothed his hair back a little. "Leave him be, Tevin," Rio stated quietly, just loud enough for the Aielman to hear, "for if you wake him I will geld you." She still had not moved or opened her eyes.

He chuckled and nodded, moving back to sit on the floor again. "So what should we do to keep him safe?" He asked, ideas already pouring in his mind.

"He will be safe here.  I have...resources."  She left it at that and fell silent again.

"And do you think the whole of the Wise One's camp could keep an eye on that one?"

"I think telling the Amyrlin that the White Tower is being broken into by Darkfriends, Dreadlords, and Forsaken will be quite enough to insure this boy's safety."  The voice was dry again.

"And may well start a war right here in the middle of Tar Valon."

"Then it will be a war worth fighting, and one long in the making, for what the Amyrlin knows the M'Hael of the Black Tower knows as well.  He is her Gaidin."

"And to think of innocent lives lost is what? This boy would probably be killed in the fighting. And what of male Wise Ones?"

"The battle between the Light and the Dark makes no compromises on who lives or dies.  Such is the nature of all war.  The boy will be safe so long as there is breath in my body."  She cracked open an eye to gaze at him for a long moment.  "I am difficult to kill.  It has been tried."

"As I have noticed. And what do you plan on doing about that wound on your side by the way?" He asked, pointing to the blood crusted gash in her tunic.

"It hasn't killed me yet."  It was suddenly clear that the reason her eyes were closed was because she was hiding her pain.  "A Fade's blade is nothing new to me.  One of the Yellow Sisters will aid me in a while.  I dare not leave the boy alone just yet."

"Then I will go get one to help you. A Fade's blade will kill in a matter of hours." With that he was gone.

She sighed and opened her eyes, shaking her head.  "Typical male," she muttered to herself as she pulled the dagger from her belt and stood to carefully gather her cleaning gear. Within a few minutes he returned with a very unpleasant looking woman in a yellow fringed shawl. Rio glanced up as the Aes Sedai entered with Tevin, then nodded her greeting and returned to her cleaning without a word.

"Rio'lan, you should keep your pets tied better. This one almost made me lose a weave." She muttered and embraced the source. "May I heal You Sister?"

She snorted derisively.  "He is only one who desires to be a pet of mine.  You may Heal me, Sister."

She wove the weaves of healing quickly and then grimaced. Rio was always the one to come to her with the nastiest of wounds. Rio frowned and held the blade up to the light, squinting at it to see if she had all of the blood out of the intricate symbols on the blade.  "Fade's sword," she simply said to the Yellow.  "Only a short time ago.  My apologies for not coming to you myself."

"Not a problem. This one doesn't seem too bad for a man. Might want to keep him. But I need to make my way back to the infirmary. It seems the people in Tar Valon have taken sick by something. Oh well." She shrugged and made her way out.

"Farewell," Rio said as she scrubbed at the blade.  After the door had closed, Rio made a noise of irritation.  "She rather enjoys your company, Tevin, so why don't you wed her?"

He stared at her as if she had asked why the sun was in the sky. "Because I love you. Have I not spoken clearly?"

She made another noise.  "So you have said.  I do not want you, however."  She smiled in satisfaction at the dagger and sheathed it back in its place at her belt, then stood and walked around a little.  "Bloody Healing," she growled after a moment.  "It always leaves the person hungry." With her words he was gone again, returning with a massive tray of food a short time later. Her brow twitched a little at the alacrity with which he brought the food, then she helped herself to it.  "My thanks," she told him shortly. He nodded and sat back down to wait for her to finish. She really hated the voraciousness she felt after her Healings, but had the fortitude not to ask for another plate once the one she was eating from was cleared.  Too much of it may mean you will be too slow should an attack come, she reminded herself.

She silently paced, her moves cat-like in their grace and her steps soundless, as she brooded over how important the boy sleeping in the other room could possibly be.

Tevin wondered what life would be like from now on. Something told him trouble was on the rise. "How often do large amounts of people get sick here Rio'lan Sedai?"

"Depends on the weather, Tevin.  Large cities have their periods of disease.  Our Yellows are caring for it, I imagine."  She continued to pace, hands behind her back.

Tevin nodded and went back to look at the river. It still made him want to dig a hole and crawl in it. She glanced at Tevin and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Just the river." He replied quietly. He shrugged softly. "One time in our Sept, someone had poisoned all the water from our Hold. We knew it was no Aiel because such a thing goes against ji'e'toh. Some wetlander was found a few days afterwards, thirsting in the Three Fold Land. We gave him some of our water to drink."

Rio nodded and wondered if he were hiding something.  She stopped to look at him quizzically for a long moment, all thoughts of Talarus quite forgotten.  “That sounds as if it were feasible enough, and almost something I would do.  Almost.  I would have made certain it was really the man who had done it, and not an unfortunate.  With the Dragon around, more than one Wetlander could find his way into the Waste.  I would have made sure that ji’e’toh had been met, and not added onto.”  One of her slim brown brows twitched a bit.  “And yet, I think you hide something still.  I had never heard any of my near-sisters mention a fear of water before, but then as Aes Sedai they can be quite formidable in their own rights when it comes to showing fear.  You fear the water?”

Tevin shifted somewhat uncomfortably and looked back at Rio.  It gave him an excuse not to look at the river, and definitely took his mind off of the water.  He nodded after a long moment of contemplation, finding it difficult to admit it even to the woman he had chosen to wed.  “Indeed,” was all that he said.  “I did not know that you had near-sisters here in Tar Valon.  Perhaps I could meet them, or even know them.”

Rio chuckled and resumed her pacing.  “Not bloody likely, Tevin.  They are your seniors by at least a decade, if not more.  One is even my senior by that much, I believe.”  Her smile was wry.  “You would do well to leave them be, in the long run, as they are both quite busy with their duties.”

He hesitated with a frown, then nodded silently in acquiescence.  He refused to look out of the window again, knowing he would see the river and really not finding that idea appealing at the moment.  Rio nodded at him in return and paced again restlessly, sparking a frown from the Aielman as he watched.  “What troubles you, Rio’lan Sedai?” he asked in concern.

“The morning is long in coming, and I have no ideas as to why Talarus is so important that there would be so much thrown into bringing him back.”  Her hand waved a bit.  “If you are staying in the Tower to become a Gaidin, you will need to go to the Master of Arms now, tonight, and tell him you are here and that you are staying.  You will be given a room and your training will begin.  Perhaps you will see me in the morning, and perhaps you will not.”

A rapping came on her study door and she looked at it as if it had grown fangs and were mad.  “Sweet Light,” she growled dangerously, “who would be coming to speak with me this late at night?  Especially when they had no idea I would return!  Unless...”  She was at the door in but a few large strides and had it opened not but a second later.  Tevin watched this calmly, curiously, as he sat back down on the floor.  He had come to the conclusion long ago that Wetlanders were strange, but he was beginning to wonder if they suffered from lunacy as well.

Rio blinked at the sight of a tired-looking Accepted standing outside her door holding a rolled parchment.  Rio’s quick gaze immediately noted the wax seal of the Amyrlin Seat upon the paper before it snapped back up to the younger woman’s face.  “The Mother sends you this missive,” the girl explained rather nervously, “and asks that you visit her at the third bell tomorrow so that she may speak with you more on it.  She bade me mention that she has had it waiting for you since the day you left on your sojourn and that impatience is not a good virtue for an Amyrlin to have to feel on a matter of importance such as this.”  She held out the message and Rio took it, wincing inside at the obvious chastisement from the Mother.

“I understand.  You may go now, child,” Rio responded neutrally as she moved back inside and closed the door once again.  She glanced at Tevin as she held the letter, then opted not to mention anything to him at all about it.  “I would benefit from you checking on Talarus,” she offered as she walked to her seat and sat herself in it.  “But do not awaken him.”

“As you wish,” Tevin agreed quickly, then stood and walked into the other room.  He was no fool, and knew that Rio was sending him away so that she could read the message she had just received.  It is Wise One’s business, he thought to himself, and none of mine.

Rio wasted no time in opening the rolled paper and skimming over its contents.  Her brows climbed nearly to the roof above her as she read farther into it, a look of surprise clearly etched onto her face.  You are being called before the Mother and the Hall to take the place of Sitter for the Green Ajah, as has been decided.  She read it twice more before the words finally sank into her mind.  Green Sitter? she boggled.  Have they lost their minds?  “Light!” she breathed and rolled the parchment back up again.  She set it on her desk with a sigh.  She knew that she had no choice other than to leave the Tower for a very long time if she wanted to avoid the command, but she found that she really didn’t want to avoid it at all.  She felt needed once again, for the first time in a long time, and realized without warning that it was the same feeling she had when she dealt with Talarus.  “How very...odd,” she murmured, “though not unpleasant.”

Tevin walked out of the other room meekly, or as meekly as he could get, and asked quietly, “May I do anything for you, Rio’lan Shade?  It would please me greatly if I could aid you in doing anything, even if it is putting away your things.”

Rio blinked at the parchment a last time, then glanced up at Tevin, the look of blatant shock making her face an open book for one of the few times in a long time.  Tevin noticed it and smiled, enjoying it while he could, though he hoped he would be around the Wise One to see it again.  Rio reciprocated the smile after a moment and replied, “Yes, yes you can do something for me, Tevin.  Bring up some tea from the kitchens, if you would, or perhaps even a bit of elderberry wine.  It has been a long set of days, with much that has taken place in them, and this night will be long indeed before the morn comes.”  She chuckled suddenly.  “And yet I do not need the Foretelling to know that there is much more yet to come.”  He nodded and turned toward the door, but she stopped him with a soft call.  “Tomorrow you will begin your training here to become a Gaidin.  My Gaidin, if you are lucky.”  Her brown eyes held hints of mirth in them without warning, a fact that was not lost on Tevin.

He grinned.  “I will be lucky, Rio’lan Shade,” he laughed as he headed out the door to retrieve what she had asked of him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

EPILOG

"This is Written in my own hand, to Preserve what these Aes Sedai have lost. Rio'lan Sedai was raised to Sitter of the Green Ajah. Tevin started his Gaidin training and continues to pursue Rio'lan. Talarus was returned to his family. It was found out that Twyla Sedai and Jandair had a son that was taken and this was him. And now I begin again what was Started in the War of Power. The Destruction of the Shadow.
 
Dalin Rowan Tathis, Fourth Among The Servants."

Seizing Saidin he placed the paper away in the Niche and rewove his shield over his records.