Unexpected

[Wayfarer]

"No, you're doing it wrong, look."

 

Pointing to Marie who was a few score feet away, Aran took a step backwards before leveling a kick into the ball. Sailing through the air, it curved through the air away then back to Marie where it landed just short of her. Turning back to Fenwin, Aran pointed to the inside of his foot. "Use this part to kick the ball, if you use your toe it can go anywhere. Didn't you play any games as a child?"

 

"We didn't have any pigs where I lived, what were we meant to make a ball out of?"

 

"Excuses Fenwin, excuses, now get over there."

 

Finally, they could get underway. It had been Fenwin's idea oddly enough to play this, as he'd never had a chance before. Aran himself had liked the idea of doing something which involved the running he needed to do without it being mind numbing laps, and the others who had been similarly unmotivated had quickly taken up the opportunity.

 

The aim of the game was simple, each team had a hole in the ground that was slightly larger than the ball to guard, and to score points they had to get the ball in the opposing team's hole. The ball was a little heavier than normal, the pig bladder was wrapped in leather to make sure it lasted longer. Teams were divided into shirts and skins, of which Aran was of the latter. On a hot day like today, it was the team to be on.

 

As they played, the game didn't quite turn brutal. It was certainly rough though, and while you weren't meant to hit those around you, shoving a person off the ball was perfectly fine. The rough manner of play led to a certain amount of carelessness, and it was due to this that a headclash occured with Jakob. It was at that point that Aran had to quit the field, for at least a few minutes. Wandering clear of the game, Aran laid down next to his shirt with his hands on his head.

 

It was the sound of grass crunching underfoot that warned Aran he wasn't alone. Taking his hands away, Aran looked up and grinned, it had been sometime since they had last met. "Sirayn Sedai, you're looking well. How can I help you?"

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

[Sirayn]

Heat hazed the streets; sunlight slid in among the dust churned up by passers-by. Slate and metal and bright glass glittered blindingly. Traders crying their wares at the local market, bells, chatter and the distant clang of iron on iron at a smithy formed a tapestry of differing sounds. It eased even her restless nerves a little. She knew Tar Valon in her bones, like a complicated and not always trustworthy second skin, and though it had sometimes betrayed her she felt at home here as nowhere else. Aside from the not insignificant part where it was the stronghold of Aes Sedai power, it also provided a convenient staging post for her to pick up Eyes and Ears reports, half the reason why Sirayn had ventured from her ivory tower this particular afternoon.

 

The stifling round of paperwork, politics and pressure normally had her in a vice-like grip until late at night, sometimes she imagined she was living in a bubble where only information stripped of any personal impact passed through, but for once she’d picked a more sociable hour to make a break for it. She rather liked the warmth compared to the bitter winters she had seen out in the Borderlands; and how distant those memories seemed now, banished by the tint of golden sun. Of course she would never be anonymous in summer again. Even the most modest style of dress named her for all to see as the survivor of that Darkfriend incident, not that the truth of it had ever entered the realm of public knowledge, thank the Light. Only the heavy, muffling fashions of winter covered up the marks. But time healed all wounds, or so she had heard tell, and she no longer felt so ashamed.

 

Her oblique approach took her though a lesser-used corner of the yards; a leather-clad ball rolled in front of her immediately and she restrained the un-Aes Sedai impulse to kick it back. Anyone who had played games a lot as a child had that instinct wired into their bones. Yes, the Tower’s highly skilled guardians were maintaining their usual strict discipline … A crunching tackle at high speed made her wince. This particular game was not being played with the protective rules she and her brothers had used when they were but scraps of children in the forests of southern Andor. Avoiding the game, she homed in on her target.

 

Aran the drinker, womaniser and rogue. Aran with no second name and a suspicious lack of history. It was this that worried her most; most people couldn’t exercise discretion for love nor money, so what was he hiding? Aran, who greeted her with a smile and a compliment, something she found unreasonably flattering. She did not entirely smile in response, not in public, but she recognised a straight line when she heard one: “Master Aran. You’re looking short.†Now if she could just get everyone to lie on the ground when she dealt with them, she would always be the tallest. She entertained this image with brief satisfaction. “Are you busy? I had something to discuss with you, but I could come back later … after this important question of Tar Valon security ends.†She indicated the ongoing game with a dry look.

 

Sirayn

Aes Sedai

[Wayfarer]

Laughing at Sirayn's comment, Aran restrained the urge to stand. As he remembered, he had at least a couple of inches on her from the day they had met at Deneira's acceptance into the Tower Guard. He had heard after the party that followed that Sirayn had been present, though he couldn't remember seeing her at all. He certainly hadn't expected to see her again, not unless he was required by her. Which, of course, turned out to be the case as she continued on. What could it be that she needed to talk to him about? Aramina couldn't communicate to her sisters what she knew, maybe Sirayn knew about their dalliances? Or perhaps it was something else altogether.

 

His easy smile turning to a grin at her final comment, he stretched lazily on the ground as he spoke. "You misunderstand Sirayn Sedai, what you see is a complex training exercise. Good fitness from the running, co-ordination and footwork, teamwork, even a bit of rough and tumble to keep us on our toes. After all, we love training... Or thats what we planned to tell one of the officers if they came by. But fear not, I always have time for the sisters of the White Tower, especially fellow Cairhienin as lovely as yourself."

 

Getting to his feet, Aran picked up his tunic and shimmied it on as he spoke. "But, I suppose you wish to speak in private? Perhaps if we take a walk, you may speak of how this most humble of the Tower Guard could hope to assist you." Flashing a grin at her as he emerged from his tunic, he swept a hand before them. "After you my lady."

 

"Hey! Are you coming back?!"

 

Turning about to Marie who had called to him, he shrugged at her. "I don't know, but look you'll be fine without me won't you?! I can come over and hold your hand if you want!"

 

As Marie glared at him, he laughed as she held her right hand up with the back of the hand towards him. It meant she was most likely going to hit him later on when Sirayn wasn't around, but that was normal. Despite being even smaller than him, Marie had a rather violent streak... Mainly directed at him, but he was fairly sure it wasn't his fault every now and then. Now that he thought of it, she was about the same height as Sirayn.

 

Turning back to Sirayn, he walked alongside her as they put themselves out of hearing distance of everyone else. Perhaps now he would learn why Sirayn had seen fit to speak with him. "So, what would we speak of my lady?"

 

 

Aran

Tower Guard

[Sirayn]

Fellow Cairhienin as lovely … she managed to stamp out both a defensive what do you mean by that and a wry your standards are low before continuing. “Yes, I hear all about you and lovely Cairhienin Aes Sedai. Brave man.†No names; she was not here to discipline anyone. “I had half a mind to speak to you of just one such. I believe we are both … acquainted … with a sister of mine? Aramina sur Dulciena.â€

 

Well, thats where this is going then. Still, the conversation hadn't taken a turn for the worse yet, so there was no need to invite trouble. Grinning, Aran shrugged. "Oh I've met with her on a few occasions, she's a rather remarkable person, bladework isn't too bad either."

 

Two could play at that game. “One of the Tower’s finest.†She smiled a benevolent smile, just an older Aes Sedai checking up on a student of sorts, nothing suspicious here. “Fortunately my work excuses me from sparring with all these bright young things,†that and the memory of the very public reminder that she was all but useless without her left hand, “so I have not yet collected any bruises from her. Still, I fear that even a well-swung sword is not tantamount to invincibility, even paired with good Green Ajah training.†She left that hanging to see if he would bite.

 

Smiling, Aran wondered why Sirayn did not broach the issue she had come to speak with him of. It certainly wasn't to inquire about Aramina's skill with a Katana, then again she was Cairhienin like himself, except unlike him she still observed the forms. But, Aran rarely observed the forms unless he had to, or if the whim struck him. "You should take the time, all work and no play is unhealthy. Not that my officers would agree, but we rarely do."

 

Blissfully ignored! A fellow Cairhienin did not need to be beaten over the head with a point; it was like trying to dance when her partner refused to move his feet. She supposed she ought to be blunt, though it felt like rudeness to her political senses; she couldn’t exactly ask him if he was being deliberately obtuse. “I’m short a hand. I can’t play any more.†A cool comment, hopefully not too insulting. Nothing if not persistent, Sirayn tried again to draw her opponent out. “I hear Aramina Sedai may be considering a visit to our native land. Has she mentioned it to you by any chance?â€

 

"She has not. No doubt she has important business of some sort there." Looking to Sirayn with an eyebrow raised in reproof, Aran continued. "And being a hand short doesn't mean you can't play anymore, it simply means you must change how you play. If you practiced as much with the blade now as you did when you had both hands, you could rediscover the skill you once had. One handed does not mean helpless."

 

Now that had to be deliberate. She was done and twice done with being mocked by Tower Guards! After they let their people do whatever they liked under the protection of the red cloak, as if they had no duty to attend to, nothing to keep them even on the right side of the law -- blood and ashes. Count to ten. She calmed herself down inch by inch, did her best to remember that this was not and never would be Corin Danveer or anyone else, that she could not make anyone else pay on their behalf. “Thank you, Master Aran.†It was entirely toneless. Enough with being Cairhienin then. She cut straight to the point. “I am concerned for my sister’s safety. Cairhien is a dangerous place for the likes of us. I want someone to observe and protect her on her travels. Interested?â€

 

Aramina hadn't organised an escort again? He was going to have to have a word with her about that. He didn't like the change in Sirayn either, touchy subject or not he'd given it in good faith. "She has no escort then. Why approach me? One does not usually handpick Tower Guards. Why come to me with this instead of Captain Paranov or Commander Vedrig?" Pausing, Aran thought to himself why not? "And don't be so cranky, I told you you're capable and I meant it."

 

Inwardly she sought composure. Aes Sedai should not respond to public needling; no matter how close to the nerve it came. He was a little shorter than Corin, a little darker, and certainly he lacked the right manners, and different. Even if he had inadvertently -- she assumed inadvertently -- hit on the exact same tack clever, clever Corin Danveer had used to trick her. No more of it. He was lying as much as the boy had ever been. “I appreciate your … endorsement.†She gave it the same lack of inflection. If she kept stonewalling this he would have to drop it eventually. “I required someone with a knowledge of Cairhien and of Aramina sur Dulciena. Someone who knew how to swing a sword and, preferably, how and when not to. I already knew you. Problem solved. Should you accept, that is.â€

 

What is her problem? It might have been easy to brush it off as her simply being self conscious about her lack of a hand, but she no longer covered it up with lace like she did when they first met so that couldn't be it. "Clearly you don't... And someone will have to do it, may as well be me." Pausing, he strayed over to the side of the conversation Sirayn clearly didn't want to go yet again. "So tell me, what is the problem? If you can't accept my words at face value, are you sure you can trust me with this?"

 

Trust the defence and safety of Aramina, her bright prospect for the future, to an insolent Cairhienin who didn’t dare use his second name even this far from the Topless Towers? Truth to tell she trusted nobody that much. If this one made himself useful even in the smallest way to a Green Sister far from home, in the murderous intrigues of Cairhien, she considered it an investment paid off. Not that she could say as much. Having tried the same trick earlier, she recognised the sound of a conversation being steered onto a narrow track of the other person’s making: “Aramina Sedai thinks you trustworthy.†The latter would not be the first to have her head turned by a Tower Guard. She stamped out the disloyal thought. “If you turn out to be a raving madman or a Cairhienin agent of some sort, well, all of life is a learning experience. I dare say Aramina Sedai will deal with it satisfactorily.†Let him put that in his pipe and smoke it.

 

Raising an eyebrow at her, Aran grinned. "Thats a blatant evasion and you know it. She may trust me, but she's not the one asking me to do this. You're the one asking, which means your trust is an issue. Don't get me wrong, I will do this because Aramina Sedai will need protection and I can keep her safe in Cairhien, but like I said before, if you won't put any trust in what I say, are you sure I am the one to be asking?"

 

His lack of manners disconcerted her. It had been a long time since anyone spoke to her so; even Corin had been polite, at least up until he started speculating on how long someone would last under forkroot before they went insane. If she could not command unquestioning obedience, she probably didn’t deserve it, but someone had to set an example for the novices. She let it slide for the moment. “If you come across Aramina Sedai in difficulties, I trust you will stab her opponent rather than her. I also trust you know which knife and fork to use if you have to be presentable. That is all that matters. Master Aran.â€

 

And she had said he was short. Chuckling, he shook his head at her. "No it isn't, not even close, but I suppose it will have to do for now since you're going to be so stubborn about it. When does Aramina Sedai leave? And do you know how many days she planned to stay there for? The more information you can give me, the better prepared I will be. I am guessing she doesn't know about this arrangement, so its not as if I can ask her myself."

 

Aramina must have the patience of a statue. Perhaps her fellow Aes Sedai was a masochist; it was the only reason she could see for tolerating being called stubborn and cranky at every opportunity. Still, at least her stonewalling had been successful enough. If there was anything she hated it was having her intensely private motivations pried into by dubiously-intentioned strangers. “She leaves in three days’ time. Dawn is the usual procedure.†Cool and unperturbed, that was the effect she needed to put across. Aes Sedai were supposed to be imperturbable. “I don’t know how long she’ll stay any more than she does. The work is not regular. No more than three weeks by my reckoning. More than that I cannot say.â€

 

"Dawn? Thats obscenely early." Grinning, he'd already decided what he was going to do. Aramina could be argumentative, so the easiest thing for both of them would be if he simply trailed her. Once he was in Cairhien with her, she couldn't really do much except take him along, as opposed to her trying to send him back on the first day. "But dawn I can manage. Three days should be plenty of time to get Captain Paranov's approval and all should be well. If she asks, do you mind if I mention it was you or do you want your name ommitted, seeing as you've come to me instead of her."

 

Even this one could produce a bit of Tower Guard efficiency on occasion. Thank the Light for that. “I … would prefer not to be mentioned.†If the worst came to the worst she could handle the other Aes Sedai, in fact she was possibly the only person who could be assured of coming out on top, but Sirayn preferred not to use such tactics save in last resort. It was on the tip of her tongue to add that it was not good, when watching a puppet show, to see whose hand held the strings, but on second thoughts a puppet metaphor might find its way back to Aramina in record time. “Consider me an anonymous patron.†She surveyed her chosen instrument drily.

 

Anonymous patron indeed, she was artful enough with her words but Aran knew he'd touched a spot earlier. "Then anonymous patron you shall be, though no doubt that means I will receive an earful for my trouble. Nothing unusual there though." Grinning, he lifted a finger towards her as he spoke. "And if you think you think I've forgotten about before, think again. I'm rather curious as to why an upstanding, wholesome and entirely honourable individual like myself isn't worthy of your trust. So, if I don't find out now, I will find out when I get back. Unless you just want to tell me now?"

 

He had an unnatural obsession with convincing strange women to trust him. She found this neither upstanding, wholesome nor honourable, but what did she know? “Perhaps you could turn your attention to Aes Sedai and their trips to Cairhien,†Sirayn prompted in relatively mild tones. It was easier to be smooth now she no longer had to handle the pressing and persistent threat of some Tower Guard’s unsatisfied curiosity. She had erred badly to let him glimpse a weakness at all. A lesson she would have learnt by next time. “If you will excuse me, Master Aran? I have places to be.â€

 

Grinning, he realised this was going to be an interesting challenge. It would definitely keep him occupied once he returned. "Then it shall have to wait until I return." Sweeping his hand before them, he added. "Of course, you have my leave. But remember, when I get back I will get to the bottom of this, one way or the other." Which he would, he had no room for doubt. The question was more how long it would take, he had a suspicion it would take sometime.

 

Aran, Tower Guard &

Sirayn, Aes Sedai