Pieces to the Puzzle

[U4ea]

Amena was usually irritated that her rooms were right across the hall from Jaydena's. Not because she had anything against the woman, but because people visited her at odd hours of the day and night and the banging on Jade's door kept Amena from sleeping. Perhaps it was her age, or her hip, but whatever the reason, she was just plain irritable when she was shaken out of a decent sleep for something ridiculous.

 

The banging on Jade's door this morning was no different. Perhaps a bit more insistent? Amena grabbed an extra pillow and tried to muffle the noise but when it still hadn't stopped ten minutes later and the accompanying shouts were too much for her to ignore, she pushed herself out of bed. She was angry enough that she didn't even care about her appearance, merely snatched her robe from the bedpost and yanked it on as she made her way to the door. She jerked it open, her mouth open in a firey tirade for the poor fool in the hallway.

 

"Ah, Amena Sedai! I am so glad you are awake! I can't seem to get Jaydena Sedai's door to open and I have standing orders to clean it every second morning just after sunrise. She usually leaves it open, with her protections down so I can get in without getting hurt, but today..." The older servant shrugged her shoulders, her eyes clearly screaming her worry. Amena had seen the woman often enough in the Green Halls and had no doubt this woman was more than just someone sent to clean the Captain- General's quarters. The way her hands were ringing, there was more than a simple concern behind her banging this morning. She knew something and it worried her enough not to simply leave and come back another time to clean Jade's rooms.

 

"Did you check her office?" Amena asked quietly. "Or anywhere else, for that matter? It could be that Jaydena had things on her mind and forgot what day it was." She doubted it, but anything was possible. Before she started destroying things, she wanted to make sure all avenues had been taken.

 

"Yes, Aes Sedai!" The servant was in a hurry to push the words out, which made Amena a little suspicious. "Her office is locked, the same as this door. None of the other servants have seen her."

 

"Stand aside," Amena said, her voice toneless. She ran her fingers over the doorway, trying to get a hint of what Wards Jade had set on the other side. Reading Weaves had never been one of her talents, however. She took a deep breath and readied a nasty little weave of Air and Spirit to push the door in. They'd have to call someone to repair the frame, but honestly, Jade would just have to deal with that. Hopefully, any nasty little trick the Captain-General had up her sleeve would be set off by the door, which, she prayed, would get the brunt of the weave's intention.

 

She watched as a flash sliced the door in half and felt the air crackle for a few minutes, too. She waited patiently for the tingle to die down, though she noted a few other Greens had appeared in the corridor. Whether it was the servant's banging or the noise from the weaves that drew them she didn't know and truly didn't care. She turned to the servant again and raised her hand. "You will remain here until I give you leave to go about your duties. I have questions and I'm sure I won't be the only one."

 

She said it loud enough that any of the Greens presently littering the hallway would've heard it clearly enough. Amena was old enough that the order would not only keep the servant there, but would also have the other Sisters slowing the servant down, should she try to get away.

 

Inhaling deeply into her chest, she waved her hand at a nearby Warder, silently asking for him to enter with her. It wasn't like she was going to keep anyone else from flooding in behind them, though she did turn a glance on the others before she entered. Hopefully, only the Sitters would follow her through the doorway. Those were about the only ones she couldn't stop. Blast it!

 

The room didn't look much different than it had the last time Amena had walked in. It was a soldier's habit not to change their surroundings much, she supposed, for she hadn't met a Green who was much on redecorating in quite a while. It made it easier to figure out when something wasn't right. In this case, everything seemed to be in place. There wasn't even a book sitting on the table by the Captain-General's favorite chair to signal that anyone had been there. She passed through the living quarters and headed for the only door closed to the suite. It had to be the bedroom and while she hated violating that space, if the noise from the banging the door being pushed in wasn't enough to wake her, she was pretty sure Jade was not in the bedroom.

 

It didn't stop her from turning the handle and pushing the door open, however. No stone left unturned and all that nonsense. Even after being Towerbound for the last twenty years, she couldn't stop battle ground training from taking over. What met her eyes confused her.

 

Jaydena was asleep! She was right there in her bed, on her back with a hand curled under her pillow. Her face was relaxed and her lips slightly parted. Amena's brow knit together as she moved closer to the bed. The noise behind her died almost immediately, as if someone had been speaking and stopped mid-sentence at seeing Jade's sleeping form. Amena paused, watching the steady rise and fall of the woman's chest as she breathed. "Jaydena?" she asked, stepping closer hesitantly. The woman didn't flinch or show any sign of hearing her. "Jade?" She tried, this time a little louder.

 

Still no response from the woman on the bed. "Someone come closer. I need to make sure she's not got something in her ears and I don't want anyone saying I did anything to her." She heard someone move closer, but didn't look to see who it was. Her curiosity was nigh on overwhelming enough to distract her from that. She closed her eyes, trying to search for the tell-tale tingle of a weave. She felt something very faint, but it felt like it was far away, not as if it were coming from the woman before her.

 

"Jaydena, wake up or I'll break something! I swear it!" She was yelling now, wincing a bit as her voice echoed behind her. Still the woman didn't move. She laid the tips of her fingers on Jade's chin and her head one way and then the other, making sure her Sister hadn't stuffed anything in her ears that would keep her from hearing them. She shook her head and turned to look at the Sister who had come up behind her. "I don't understand," she said softly. "She looks like she's asleep!"

 

She turned to the doorway behind her. "Someone send for a Yellow, preferably someone you trust to be discreet and keep her mouth shut." She heard someone move and took that as compliance. "What in the name of the Light is going on here..." she said almost to herself.

 

~Amena Linoram