Treading Another's Territory [Repost] [Jaydena]

[Lwena]

She glided through the darkness and grime, somehow a part of each and above both. The small squeals and tiny red eyes peering at her from shadows did not distress her. On the contrary, she smiled benevolently, a motherly urge swelling in her breast. Even here the Dark Lord’s eyes were coming forth, being born and dying to serve him. A sharp rodent scream rent the silence....and even here the cream of those “eyes†rose to the top while the rest provided fodder for those that proved stronger.

 

What an interesting analogy, she thought idly, pushing a door open and brushing her hands in distaste at the dust. Perhaps she would share the thought with another of the Chosen...given the proper time and place, though she knew the subtle humor of it would be lost on most. Rahvin might appreciate the irony.

 

Another corridor, cleaner than the last and she’d left her little friends behind. They were not able to penetrate this deeply....yet. But a time would come. She would help make certain of it. She could feel someone wielding Saidar, nearby...so very near. She crossed to the next door quickly, white skirts swirling in her haste. Pausing she mentally shook herself. Haste here could mean death...or worse...failure.

 

If Mesaana is nearby...., she let the thought dissipate. She was more than a match for Mesaana, but not for the female Chosen and any underlings she may have recruited, linked together. Caution...patience.

 

Neither had ever been her forte, but she disciplined herself to both now. Too close to let this chance slip through her fingers as so many others had. She stroked the wood of the next door, such a flimsy barrier to put between her and her plans, her dreams.

 

It slid forward with a well oiled nick, and the next corridor led her into another world. Here the floors gleamed, even in the forgotten cellars of the White Tower. Here the brass chasings were well polished, tapestries hung to keep out the chill and torches banished the darkness. Without trepidation she walked, following the light until she heard voices which gave her a slight pause. Bickering.....how delightful. A moment later as the two girls rounded the corner she was ready. Her smile was sharper, now, more alert, more cruel.

 

“Children,†she chided gently and they swept into curtsies with bated breath, “do tell what is so contentious you feel the need to bellow so at one another.â€

 

Lanfear

Daughter of the Night

I aim to misbehave.

 

Jaydena sat with her head between her knees, gasping for breath as though each breath would be her last. She had run and run as hard as she could, pushing to the limits of her endurance and still she couldn't do anything to push away the pain, guilt, and anger that surged within her. The pain seemed to have no end and even the tricks she had learned as a young Accepted to push aside emotion were doing nothing. She had lost everything, her lover who had held her close on dark nights hated her. Wanted nothing to do with her and had demanded the marriage dagger back. She had split her own hand with the dagger, letting her blood stain the ground crimson and taint the dagger forever with her blood. She had lost Sirayn, the woman she had loved so deeply as well, a woman who now hated her and refused to even acknowledge her presence unless they were in some sort of formal green function. Sirayn had become the Captain General of the Greens and once again she had been looked over in the search for a new leader. It was just another nail in her coffin and at this point her dark thoughts were starting to look better and better. Maybe if she went to the Dark One she could have everything she had ever wanted, everything she had dreamed about on cold nights, everything she had held in her hand for precious moments and let slip away like grains of sand in an hourglass. Just maybe she could have Seia and Sirayn both and they would love her and love each other and all this anger and hurt would just go away. She could have the position that she had wanted for so very long, hold the position of authority that she had begged and prayed to the Creator for. She took a deep ragged breath and raised her head from her knees.

 

Looking around her she saw that she had ended up out of breath in the very glade where just a short time ago she had finally realized that she had lost Seia forever. She took another breath and gazed at the trees around her, the time had come for her to get on with her life. The pain wouldn't go away but it was possible that if she got busy and started really getting into her duties as Banner General that she could forget the pain. On top of all the things she had left piled on her desk she also wanted to go down to the storeroom and study that angreal that one of the Sisters from the Red Ajah had brought back from her travels. Groaning softly at her tight muscles she stood up and began walking back to the Tower. As she walked she saw the glances and the smirks. Her ragging emotions were showing and after rumor had spread through the Tower of her yelling at an Accepted who came to her room with a note, she was looked at with pity. Raising her chin she walked at the same pace she had been, her hips swaying seductively as was the way she had walked since she had come to the Tower. She didn't do it on purpose but it worked to her advantage, making the other Aes Sedai think that she had nothing in her head. They all thought that she was some stupid woman who had more beauty that brains. These days they might be right but someday she would prove to all of these Sedai exactly what kind of power she held over them.

 

Jade reached the Green Quarters and walked quickly to her room, releasing the wards on her room which had become more and more intricate since she had started to suspect that the Blacks were loose within the Tower. She had never shared her suspicions because she could lose her position as Sitter, there was some reason they were covering up events that clearly were the work of Dark forces. Opening her door she picked up the messages that had been left on her end table and warded so that only she could touch them and walked into the room. Tightness pushed at her head and her shoulders, she could feel one of the headaches she had been suffering from coming on and she walked over to brew herself some tea. Pulling out a box of chocolates from her sideboard she sat down and began working on all the reports and Eyes and Ears issues that she had ignored. When she had finished, several hours had passed and she had left her cold to grow cold. However she was done and the reports could be handed to Kaylan Sedai who was the Head of their Eyes and Ears and to their Ajah Head Sirayn. Closing all her boxes up she set wards around the papers within them, if anyone but her touched them they would turn into ash. She stood and strode from the room, leaving the reports at Kaylan's room and at the office of the Captain General. She returned to her room and then called down for dinner, these days she didn't go to the Ajah Dining room. She stayed far away from the whispers and superior expressions. They wouldn't take her from her seat because they knew she did a excellent job as their Sitter but they could and would laugh at her and make snide comments so she could hear them. Time passed and when she had finally finished dinner she decided it was time to go to bed.

 

The next morning she decided that it was time to study that angreal that she had been putting off. Dressing quickly in warm clothing she ate her breakfast and then set her Quarters to rights. Raisa was off somewhere sparring and she could feel that calm control in her Gaidin's mind. She slide a cloak over her shoulders as it was often cold within the storerooms and picked up her scrip. With a toss of her auburn hair she set the wards on her room and began walking down to the bottom of the Tower. It took quite some time for her to reach the hallway leading to the storerooms and to the particular storeroom where she would find the angreal she needed. She looked at the lite torches in the hallway and saw that some of them were close to burning out. That was quiet strange for the Accepted were supposed to change them during their shirt to the rooms. It was then as she glanced at the torches that she heard the screams of horror coming from ahead of her. Breaking into a run she embraced the source and wondered what she would find ahead of her, she tugged at the bond to Raisa letting her know there was danger and run forward to see the Accepted....

_________________

Jaydena Sedai

Sitter of the Green

 

It was more difficult than she’d thought, this feigning of interest and patience. Though it was mildly amusing to watch these two (what did they call them these days? Accepted?), these two Accepted snipe back in forth at one another. Was this what these Aes Sedai called discipline? Before what they believed to be a Sister of the White Tower they tossed blame back and forth like children playing with a toy. And so bitterly! Idly she considered removing both their tongues as a lesson but no…it would be best if no trace of her presence was left behind. For anyone to detect. And she must move swiftly as well as silently.

 

“Enough,†Lanfear’s voice was whisper soft but the underlying hard edge silenced both girls. Perhaps these so called Aes Sedai did manage to instill some small level of obedience in their students. “You will both serve a penance of silence for the next seven days. You are to speak to no one, not even one another. Report back to your rooms immediately.â€

 

One of the Accepted, small and blonde with fierce eyes, had the temerity to open her mouth as if to argue. Lanfear merely raised a brow and her mouth snapped shut, both girls dipped curtsies and scurried down the hall out of sight.

 

With two of her obstructions neatly out of the way the Chosen briskly turned her attention to the next two. As she approached she opened herself to the Source and considered once more Compelling them both, perhaps even using these two in the future. But she quickly dismissed it again as too rash. The residues might be recognized, particularly by Messana. Better to stay the course with her original plan and mimic Moghedian, the Spider. Perhaps Messana might even lay the blame at the other’s Chosen’s feet if she ever discovered it.

 

The two Accepted who now stood watch over the chamber were more timid than the other two and only blinked at her as she came towards them, the light of Saidar bright around her. They fell to the floor without ever uttering a word, limp. One struck her head on the stone wall as she fell but as Lanfear stepped over her she could sense her still breathing. Irritably she dealt with the ward and lock on the door. Now she’d have to heal the fool girl before she departed, and she had never had an aptitude for it.

 

The door swung open on well oiled hinges and she stepped inside, absently summoning a globe of light to hover at her shoulder. Her brow creased as she surveyed the size of the chamber, so much smaller than she’d hoped, but orderly and full to bursting. But as she moved amongst the shelves and tables her frown darkened. Trash, useless and not even worth half the effort she’d put into finding it. She paused for a moment over a glass case with several terangreal laid reverently within. The carved emerald, depicting a woman holding a rose was no more than a toy, casting an image into the air when channeled into. The rest was minimally better but it was the necklace that caught her eye, silver of course and set with moonstones. Idly she lifted the glass aside and picked it up. It was no sangreal or angreal, merely a receptacle to hold Saidar, but it was pretty. And in her colors as well.

 

The screams caught her by surprise, so much so that she stood frozen for a moment before she spun towards the hallway. That little blonde cow knelt on the floor, clutching one of the sleeping girls to her chest and rocking, screaming her stupid little head off.

 

“The Dark Lord take you, I shall have your tongue after all it seems,†Lanfear hissed and the screaming cut off abruptly, the girl shuddered, eyes bulging as she shook. But in the silence Lanfear could hear footsteps. Footsteps approaching rather quickly. She hadn’t even had a chance to properly search the cache yet! The blonde was turning an alarming shade of red but the Chosen barely noticed, so caught up in fury. All this effort! All this sneaking about and posing as one of these pitiful Aes Sedai for nothing! The girls body bucked and rose into midair, the other Accepted sliding to the floor facedown, her face pressed into the puddle of blood from the wound to her head. Clenching her hands in fury Lanfear realized she still held the necklace and that the blonde chit was dead, her neck twisted. So much for being the Spider. The footsteps were much closer now, she’d be seen any moment. I’ll have something from this, she decided in an instant.

 

The blonde fell to the floor with a thud as Lanfear looked down at the necklace, weaving Spirit and Fire. I’ll be back for it soon, she promised herself and dropped it to the floor before weaving a Gateway and stepping through. Very soon.

 

Lanfear

~Daughter of the Night~

 

She turned the corner before the storerooms and looked at the scene in front of her, asessing it as quickly as she could. Giving an even harder tug at the bond she ran forward and knelt next to the girls. Her talent was not in healing but she could heal them long enough and well enough to get them to someone who could. Laying her fingers on the neck of one of the Accepted she shook her head and gained her feet. The girl had no pulse and sadly death couldn't be healed. She moved to the other girl but she could already tell by the pool of blood around her head and the incorrect angle of her neck that she was gone. Looking around she began to weave several defensive weaves and lowered her head long enough to close the girls eyes and step over their bodies. Jade barely noticed that she lifted her skirts out of the blood as she walked into the storeroom. Her thoughts were dark as she stepped into the room. She could almost wish that it had been her laying on the ground dead outside. No one would care that she was dead anyway, the tower would go on without her and the lover she had once had would most likely laugh at her demise. Shaking her head she began to mourn the girls outside. The loss of those Accepted would echo through the Tower, she would be blamed for not getting there soon enough and also for not seeing their attacker or attackers. The fact that one of them had been taken under the wing of the Green Ajah was just a final nail in her coffin. Looking into the corners she could only hope that someone arrived soon. If the killer was still in the storeroom she would know it and she didn't know if she was strong enough to fight her off. Her?

 

Now where in the Light had she gotten the idea that it was a her into her head. It was then that she began to pay attention to the scene in front of her. Very clear residues from something echoed in the air. She studied the weave in front of her and wondered what it was. Someone had used some weave to escape from this room and it had to have been a powerful woman who could channel. Jade walked forward and kicked something with the tip of her slipper. Her eyes darted to the floor and opened in shock as she saw one of their angreal laying out on the floor instead of in the display case where it belonged. Jaydena stared down at the angreal and wondered who had dropped it and why they had been after it. It wasn't as though it was a horribly powerful angreal. After all she had studied it herself as a young Aes Sedai and it did nothing more that hold the power within it. The thoughts swirled within her head as she knelt down beside the necklace and reached for it. As her hand closed over the silver she began to scream in pain. There had been a weave laid around the angreal and somehow concealed and she hadn't been able to see it until it activated. Screams echoed through the chamber as the burning started, her face felt like it was melting and she couldn't seem to release the necklace. Jade knew her life was about to end and that her Raisa, her gaidin was only a few steps away and was going to have to live with the guilt of losing another bonded. Her Raisa would always think that she had let Jaydena down and Jaydena wouldn't be there to help her. Just as suddenly as the screaming has started the necklace dropped to the floor and the Jade hit the floor with a thud. Somehow she was still awake and the burning hadn't stopped. She could feel the blood rushing down her face and saw the blood hitting her bodice. The footsteps she had been able to hear came closer and the screams of her name finally penetrated her brain. She looked up in time to see the look of horror on her gaidins face and the gasp of shock...

 

Jaydena Sedai

"The burns we endure can make us stronger or can strip away the layers of our soul."

 

Her days had taken on a rather dull routine of late, and she wasn't sure if she liked it.

 

Every morning Raisa rose before dawn and ran with her weights, sometimes with another Warder or Tower Guard but more often than not alone. She didn't mind that, having grown used to it in all her years; she was no longer so outgoing or attached to other people as she had been when she'd been a Trainee. Most of her friends from those years were gone now, either dead or simply gone. Jonathan, Zak, and Dylan - her old room mates - hadn't been seen for years now, though she wasn't sure really where any of them had gone. Jonathan she'd last seen when she'd found out that his Promised had committed suicide, shortly after she'd bonded Nydi. Zak hadn't even become a Tower Guard. Dylan she'd last seen training Alriand, who had by far surpassed her in the grand scheme of things. She admired the man, but wasn't sure if she'd consider herself his friend any longer; since Nydi's death she'd grown apart from most of her friends. She hadn't seen either of her old mentors recently, though she knew that Andular was still around. Occasionally she saw Daemon, though never spoke to him. Nuitari had problems of his own, or had the last time she'd spoken with him. Really, she had no desire to seek out any of her old friends, or at least not a strong desire.

 

After her run, she would head in for a light breakfast, and then perhaps work with one of her mentees, assuming they needed her attention that morning. Then a break for lunch, perhaps a little more training, and then some instruction on her own. If she didn't have anyone to train that particular morning, she found something else for herself to do - it was a rare occurance, but it happened. That morning was a prime example, which was why she was standing in the middle of a sparring ring and facing her opponent, a man whom she'd only just met. They had both been looking for a partner to spar with, and were about the same level so neither would be at an advantage or disadvantage, and both would find the spar benificial. Unfortuantely, Raisa hadn't sparred recently, or at least not as recently as she would have liked. As a result, she wasn't beating the man like she had originally intended to do, but rather was fending him off to the best of her ability while she tried to find a weakness in his style. She wasn't much for the thinking-while-sparring thing, at least not as much as some she knew, so it was rather slow going in comparison to some. Twisting her arm slightly, she parried his blow and swept her left practice sword down in a sharp overhand movement, hoping to perhaps hit him in the shoulder. Before she could finish the moment, however, there was a sharp tug from the back of her mind. Her opponent saw his chance, and landed a rather solid blow on her side.

 

"Blood and bloody ashes!" She swore, dropping her lathes down to let him know that she was done for the moment. "I'll be right back, hopefully - we'll finish this sometime. My apologies!" The last was hardly out of her mouth before she was bolting towards the Tower, her swordbelt in one hand. Normally she left her swords in her room when she wasn't going to be needing it, but she'd brought it out with her that morning in case she ended up sparring with live steel. That had been a fortunate move on her part, it seemed, because as she ran up the steps of the Tower Jaydena tugged even harder at the bond, so many emotions flashing through the bond that Raisa couldn't even begin to make sense of everything. She'd been worried about Jade lately, with all that had been going on in the Green Ajah, but wasn't sure what to do about any of it. Really, there wasn't anything she could do about any of it.

 

Did this perhaps have something to do with what had been bothering Jaydena?

 

Skidding around a corner, Raisa grabbed at the wall to keep her balance as she nearly knocked over an Accepted. The girl gave her a dirty look, unsurprisingly, but Raisa didn't stop or even apologize. She was getting closer, and suddenly a sharp pain screamed through the bond. She ran even faster, throwing herself into the room and nearly tripping over a body. The two Accepted lying on the ground made her feel a little sick to her stomach - not because they were dead, but because Jade might have been there when they died, and was now in danger because of it. She didn't stop, though, her attention all on her Aes Sedai. She stepped further into the room, slowing down enough that she wouldn't end up tripping and breaking her own neck. She could hear Jaydena's scream as surely as she could feel the pain ripping through her, but as suddenly as it has started - both the scream and the pain - it had stopped. She staggered to a halt as Jade came into sight, shuddering at the sight of the blood and doing her best not to panic. She'd already lost one Aes Sedai in her lifetime and, emotionally, knew that she wouldn't ever be able to lose one again and survive. Dropping to her knees beside the Green Sitter, she lifted her hands helplessly for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Clearly Jaydena was in need of a Yellow, but was she even safe to move?

 

"Jaydena!" She called - more like screamed, but either way her bonded's name came out. "Jade?" Jaydena's gaze focused on her face, and that decided Raisa. She was bleeding everywhere, and it looked as though she'd been burned on half of her face - how, Raisa didn't know. Scooping up the Green, Raisa turned awkwardly and began to hurry towards the Infirmary, doing her best to keep calm and rational...

 

Raisa

Panicked Warder

 

The pain was so intense, not the burning pain that she had felt earlier when the angreal has still been glowing but then after effects made her head spin. She heard the screaming of her gaidin and saw the woman kneel in front of her. "Jaydena!" The voice came again and she heard the fear in her gaidin's voice as it sounded again. "Jade?" She worked to focus through the pain and raised her eyes to meet Raisa though she suddenly realized that one of her eyes was swollen shut and she was only seeing out of one eye. Raisa picked her up and Jaydena wondered how the woman was even capable of holding her. Focusing on the bond she could feel the rush of emotions coming through it. Her gaidin was worried and afraid, determined that she would not die, overlying all of that was the love that Raisa felt for her. Jade tried to smile but it hurt to much. They reached the top of the Tower quickly and she heards gasps and screams. Aes Sedai of different ajahs followed in their wake and Raisa ran with her, the demanded answers but Raisa remained silent through it all. Jaydena could barely move her mouth and could barely breath so answering any of them was not an option for her. She heard a Tower Guard demanding if the Tower had been attacked and Raisa didn't even spar him a glance. Jade breathed out, "Angreal storeroom." She didn't know if anyone heard her until several of the Aes Sedai around her embraced the source, and went running with their gaidin around them. They reached the Infirmary and Raisa ran into the room shouting that she needed a Yellow Sister right now. Jade almost chuckled but realized that the thought of doing that hurt. Only her gaidin would run into a room full of Yellows and their trainees and demand someone heal her Aes Sedai.

 

One of Yellows ran up to her and began barking out orders to all of the Accepted in the room. Jaydena faded in and out and grabbed at the threads of conciousness that slipped through her fingers. The Sister tutted to herself and embraced the source, she began to weave and set the weave over Jade. She felt it sink in but the pain didn't go away. The Yellow gasped and called another Sister over, they began to work and Jaydena spoke to Raisa softly, "Go get Sirayn Sedai Raisa, I will not die on you and she needs to know what has happened." She saw Raisa hesitant and she pushed at her through the bond. Before Raisa could leave the first Aes Sedai reached out and grabbed her arm. "Did you see what caused this to happen to her face gaidin, any idea what it was?" Raisa shook her head and ran from the room as quickly as she could. Jade knew she would run as though she had wings on her feet to get Sirayn and be back at her side. Again she tried to smile at the dedication that her gaidin felt for her but couldn't move her face. She lay there for several moments and saw another Yellow come into the room. Recognizing Lwena Sedai she eyed her and saw the horror in the woman's eyes. Lwena embraced the source and set a weave over her. The pain stopped right away and Jaydena wondered if she had been healed. A look of grim determination flitted across the Yellows face and she began weaving even quicker in a lace that left Jade dizzy. She heard another Yellow speak, 'It's amazing, even single weave we have tried and nothing works to remove the burn. I want to know what person did this to her so I can study the weave." Jade snorted and spoke, "It dosen't hurt anymore Lwena, at least that much is done."

 

ooc: I hope you don't mind me using Lwena in this, you don't have to reply with her at all if you don't feel the need. It seemed like a good time for them to reunite. I can remove all of it if you need me too hun. *G*

_________________

Jaydena Sedai

Sitter of the Green

[Lwena]

ooc: Thought I'd repost this so we could finish it off. :) And that's fine.

 

ic:

 

Frowning to herself, Lwena bent of the last sheet of paper she had to read through, her pen poised over the bottom and held at an angle so that it wouldn't drip. She had managed to get herself desk-duty in the Infirmary, and she wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse. While she had no issues with paperwork in general (she did enough of it, after all) she wasn't fond of signing off the reports of all of the patients they discharged. They required two signatures, and since she knew she'd only be going through them later anyway, she had decided to do them that morning. It had at least given her something to do, because most of the time 'desk duty' involved sitting behind the desk and waiting for an emergency to happen, or keeping an eye on the Novices and Accepted they had working in the infirmary that morning. The Accepted weren't normally an issue, as they were all doing their best to appear like Aes Sedai in front of a member of their potential Ajah - because most Accepted who worked in the Infirmary were going to become Yellow sisters - but the Novices were always a challenge. They didn't seem to understand that by getting in the way, they could cost someone their life. Sometimes, Lwena couldn't help but wonder why they let Novies help in the Infirmary at all...

 

Of course, if they didn't let the Novices work in the Infirmary, the Accepted would be charged with the gritty tasks such as emptying bedpans, and somehow Lwena did not think they would appreciate that. Of course, appreciate it or not they had to do it, but really. It wasn't right when they could have groups of perfectly capable Novices doing the same thing.

 

She signed her name at the bottom of the report with a hint of a sigh, finishing the word with a flourish - just as the door burst open and a warder carrying her Aes Sedai rushed in, shouting that she needed a Yellow Sister, right now. Lwena half stood before another Sister beat her there, and escorted the agitated gaidin and her Aes Sedai into a room. Lwena craned her head slightly, trying to see who it was, and then followed at a slower pace. What had happened? She ducked to one side as the Gaidin came running out of the room, and frowned when she recognized the Warder; Raisa, bonded to Jaydena. Pushing into the room, she ordered the single remaining Accepted out of the room and came up beside Alaine, one of the Yellows there already.

 

Horror flashed across her face before she could regain her composure at the sight that greeted her eyes when she leaned over the table. It was difficult to tell, but a good half of Jaydena's face was burned and bloody. Instantly she delved the woman, frowning and setting a Healing weave as she located the issue. Nothing. Light, She thought in surprise, and tried again with a more complex weave - it was stronger, and not one that was generally used. It probably was not even known to many sisters outside of the Yellow Ajah. Again, very little happened, and nothing visible to the naked eye.

 

"It's amazing, even single weave we have tried and nothing works to remove the burn. I want to know what person did this to her so I can study the weave." Lwena nodded her agreement, frowning as she tried again. Studying the weave would have given her some idea of how to repair the damage, as she was groping in the dark at this point. If none of the regular healing weaves worked, they would have to improvise a bit, and hope that they were right in trying to fix things; a mistake could result in greater damage. Healing was dangerous business.

 

"It dosen't hurt anymore Lwena, at least that much is done."

 

"That doesn't seem like enough," Lwena said firmly, attempting another weave. "Do you remember what happened?" Maybe that information would help.

 

-Lwena Sedai

[Jaydena]

ooc-Lovely sweetie! Waiting for Sira to post bursting into the room! *G*

[Sirayn]

Like the whisper of a thousand tiny leaves papers slid across one another and cascaded onto her desk. Polished dark wood vanished beneath a scatter of parchment bleached into ivory and cream. A hundred different hands had written out their words in black ink, blues and browns bright against the paper, columns of cramped figures, codes so impenetrable it would take her an hour and a code book to decipher them; the plain wicker basket into which she had shuffled all her reports in a moment’s hurry should have been spacious enough, but these were harsh years, and the rate of reports had doubled of late. Messages flitted in and out of her offices with dizzying speed. It took organisation to manage them all, a sharp memory to remember the key points, and excellent analytical skills to sort the truth from the lies and alter plans accordingly … unfortunately, what it got was her.

 

Crippled and a coward, plain, awkward and too cold for her own good: those were the shadows passing across her thoughts while Sirayn lazed in a comfortable chair, boots propped carelessly on the desk in a manner most unbecoming of an Ajah Head, and scanned through the latest reports. Through some conspiracy she never had half the time she needed to run this Ajah. She suspected somebody was lurking somewhere, stealing an hour here and an hour there, like a particularly skilled thief. As soon as she got settled in with pen, ink and parchment to start directing her agents, a distant general controlling troops across a vast field, time seemed to slip its grasp and race onward at a mad speed. Only minutes later she would raise her head to find that all had gone dark and still around her and it was already late at night.

 

Sometimes she figured that no amount of hard work would make this work, that all the nights spent burning candles down had gone for nothing, that all the early mornings seen through a haze of tiredness had equally no effect. If one pictured time and the course of fate as one colossal river, poking it with a stick did no good … but that was defeat talking. Too long she had let fears and doubts limit her. Now she called her own tune. It was a demanding job, fraught with danger and difficulty, and a part of her still feared most bitterly that the failure she was so well acquainted with would strike again, but having had her taste of command she would never let that cup pass on. If there was any life she had been made for it had to be this.

 

Nevertheless, for reasons best not examined too closely she felt half the woman she was supposed to be in comparison to the object of her current scrutiny. Discounting for a moment the other great influences on her life, the beautiful and brilliant Jaydena McKanthur had undoubtedly been a star around which her duller life revolved: once her rival, later some shining image to aspire toward, the long time Sitter had flaunted that perfection and that success for year upon year. Stunningly gorgeous and favoured with intelligence, skill and charm, Jaydena had enjoyed her rank as Sitter for many years, not to mention the company of her devoted lover, who incidentally happened to be bonded to an Aes Sedai she had rather less loyalty toward … but that was quite beside the point. Now the other woman was merely a tool to be directed where her plainer, smaller, less beloved rival chose.

 

Did it sting these days to know that despite her fabled beauty, her charm, her political skills and all the other innumerable unfair advantages she possessed, it was one Sirayn Damodred and not her privileged self who stood as Ajah Head? No way of knowing; but vindictively Sirayn hoped that it did. She had spent too long in her glorious rival’s shadow. It was time for somebody else to feel lessened. Better contented than she had been for some time, she leafed through the reports coming from her old friend’s quarters, sorting the information gained into its proper place, and as she did so a part of her remembered. Since you have already broken tradition I am older than you by four years, your superior in rank, and stronger in the Power, that means you listen to me … I came here to find out why you became a coward in the face of danger …

 

Coward. Danger. Two words about which that painted, perfect diplomat knew nothing. Oh yes, she did not regret for an instant what she had done to bring Jaydena Sedai under control. No amount of mortification arising from her rival’s present situation, at her mercy, would make up for everything the other woman had done in the past. By all rights the Sitter should have been exiled from the city; undoubtedly she would have done the same to Sirayn if she had prevailed in their clash of wills; they had all risked that price by entering into the Ajah Head succession. If the woman cast even one dazzling look in her direction which could be construed as dangerous Sirayn would make good on her promises, strip her of her Sitter position and exile her from the city … and that harshest threat would keep anyone in line. In the mean time perhaps Jaydena might contemplate what happened to women who stole other people’s Gaidin and thought themselves so fine because they happened to be through no effort of their own tall, strong and beautiful. Triumph was sweet indeed.

 

A thump on her door snatched her thoughts back from lazy satisfaction. Rising leisurely to her feet she had scarcely laid her pen aside when that thump sounded again: rapid, demanding response. Half of her frowned that anyone should summon her so crudely. The other half, remembering … dark hair and silence, a woman kneeling at her feet, bloody hands stamping a red print on white walls … found her pulse pick up a bit and a left hand she no longer possessed stray to a dagger she no longer carried. In ten quick steps she crossed the floor and flung open the door. The sight that greeted her eyes showed her again most vividly other times and other threats: a young Gaidin bloody and panicked at her door: a stammered story …

 

By the time logic had caught up with her instant and overwhelming fear she had crossed half the Ajah Halls with Raisa Gaidin at her side. Her pulse raced; dread had her in its cold grip. Light burn her but she would not let this happen again! The Green Ajah had lost too many good women already to the outrage of assault under their own roof and she would not be the latest Captain General to fail her sisters in such a manner. If she let her thoughts stray from their rigid control she could see red blood still covering her hands and it was not injured Jaydena she was heading to see but someone altogether colder … icy, flawless Jehanine, too glacial edged perfect for this world, snatched away from her before their centuries-long feud could ever be resolved. Memories weighed too heavy on her. She took a tighter grip on herself, pushed away nameless terror, ordered her thoughts.

 

The infirmary proved to be full of red and panic and chaos. Its indisputable ruler Lwena Sedai was being cool and capable somewhere in the midst of all this hurry; frowning, she bent over a table crowded about with sisters, and her ageless features had set into determination. Little pieces of remembrance splintered away. No trace of that she permitted to show on her face. She was ice and iron, and if somebody most beloved had perished at her feet in a similar way, nobody would know that from her composure now. “I’m here,†two cool words, exerting control over the gathering. Moving forward she scattered the gathered sisters with a sharp gesture and looked down remotely at the woman lying there.

 

Some intense heat had ripped away half of that perfect beauty and replaced it with something burned and black and dreadful. Half a stunning face, half a ruin: one green eye, one unsightly pit, if anything still lived among the blackened flesh it was hiding well. Blood slicked bone and char. It was fascinating in a terrible sort of way. Beneath her colossal calm Sirayn clutched for some kind of sense; she had no time to be shaken, no time to be horrified and repulsed, she had seen more hideous injuries in the past although she had never imagined that even in the heart of this white city her friends might be in danger … her surviving hand tightened on the table where Jaydena lay in pieces and she took a slow breath striving for control. No, she would not be tired and shocked and frightened. She was an Ajah Head now and she had to be in command.

 

“Lwena Sedai.†Nearly without her intervention she lifted a hand to seek out the other woman laying it lightly on her shoulder; once she had known Lwena Sedai when they were both young, certainly they had shared the ordeal of the Black Ajah hunt; now she could only trust. “What under the Light has happened?†something harsh in her voice, so nearly showing everything she hated to expose, and she got herself in hand again and continued in smoother tones, “Some kind of accident?â€

[Jaydena]

As she spoke Lwena shook her said and said in a no nosense voice, "That doesn't seem like enough, Do you remember what happened?"She hesitated for there was still enough sense through the lingering after effects to remember what a Sitter would say. Someone had placed that weave over the angreal and she had a good idea it hadn't been a person secure in the Light. Trying to decide on what to do she closed her eyes as though asleep, for she couldn't lie and say that she didn't know what happened, the words couldn't leave her mouth. She prayed to the Light that Sirayn would get there as fast as possible. Moments passed and she was about to give up and say something, anything, for she knew that Lwena and the rest of the Sisters were waiting for an explination. She racked her mind for a way to work around what had happened and suddenly she saw the Sisters parting as a wave parted before a boat. Jade heard the voice she had prayed to hear and at the same time didn't want to hear. Her fabled beauty was gone and she had nothing left. Sirayn had lost her hand and it hadn't made her any less of a woman, she had still been picked as ajah head. “I’m here,†was all her ajah head said to the women. Sirayn looked down at her and Jaydena saw the horror flash across her face before it was quickly concealed behind that serene mask.

 

Jade closed her eyes or rather eye as she couldn't see anything out of the left one. She didn't want to think about what this all meant but she couldn't stop her brain from playing everything back. Her only hope of gaining Seia or Sirayn back had been her beauty and the memory of the love they used to share. Now she knew that nothing would work, they would find solace in each others arms and she would lay a broken mess. Jade would be lucky not to lose her Sitter position, for her who would stand to look at her. She groaned softly as she tried to move her face and pain screamed through it. Opening her eye once more she heard Sira speak, “Lwena Sedai.â€Jade saw Sirayn lay her hand on Lwena's shoulder and she remembered when they had once shared that kind of friendship. Before she had done everything in her power to ruin their love. She had stolen Sirayn's gaidin and that was forbidden within the Tower. Lust and love had controled her world and she had allowed it to do things against her better judgement, in turn she had lost not only her lover but her best friends. Sirayn spoke again and Jaydena looked up at her, knowing the questions would start now. “What under the Light has happened? Some kind of accident?†Jade winced as she tried to sit up and spoke in quiet tones, "Sirayn, I think we need to speak privately of this matter." Her eye wandered to the women standing around and saw that her ajah head understood right away. "I'm afraid I can't weave a breeze to stir away this fly that keeps landing on my face let alone a weave against eavesdropping."

 

When Sirayn had completed the weave Jaydena took the tea that one of the Yellows had given her before the weave closed over them. She sipped it and let the warmth sink into her freezing hands. Cold enfused her body and she couldn't seem to stop shaking. If she had known more about healing she would have known that all the heat in her body had been sucked to the core of her body to fight off the infection that the Yellows hadn't been able to heal. Her teeth clattered against the Sea Folk cup and she saw Lwena watching her before the Yellow Sister laid a blanket around her shoulders and tucked another around her legs. Setting the cup on the table next to her she raised her eye to Sirayn and spoke, "I went down to the storeroom where the angreal were stored. Free time isn't often in our line of work, but I decided that I would study an angreal we found at Namandar since I had a few free hours." Her breathing increased though she didn't notice it as she began to recount the events that had occurred. "I heard a scream as I passed one of the storage rooms just before the storerooms. I took the required precautions before I rounded the corner and saw two Accepted lying dead on the floor before the store room. I had already alerted Raisa through the bond and checked both the girls to see if they were alive. One of them was a aspiring green." She coughed and then cleared her throat, "I had several weaves ready as I walked into the room, I looked in the corners and around the room. I could feel a weave that had been used but I didn't recognize the weave. My foot brushed against the necklace on the floor, it was one of the treasures we had found at Namandar and it belonged in the display case above it." She cleared her eyes and cleared her throat, trying to regain composure as she got ready for the next part. Jade didn't even know that tears had started to leak out of the one eye. "I picked up the angreal to put it back in it's case and as soon as a touched it I knew I had made a mistake. A weave that I couldn't see had been laid over the angreal and it began to burn me. The next thing I remember I saw Raisa and heard her voice." She looked up at Sirayn again and spoke, "Someone needs to go remove those Accepted and do damage control Sirayn. I think the Amyrlin needs to be alerted as well." Jade knew that Sirayn was wise enough to know those things herself and spoke again, " Forgive me Sirayn, I know you know to do those things, my mind is quite fuzzy right now." She waited for Sirayn to speak and knew that she couldn't hold on much longer, the exhaustion was making her vision cloudy at the edges...

[Lwena]

The silence stretched on after Lwena's question, as the Yellow sisters gathered around waited for some sort of answer, any sort of explanation. It wasn't just worry for their patient, Lwena knew, though that was most likely most of it - after all, they wouldn't be Yellow sisters worth their shawl if they cared for things other than the welfare of their patient while their patient was in such poor condition. However, even Lwena found herself wondering what, exactly, had happened, and if it would happen again; to have a Sitter seemingly attacked, within the walls of the White Tower no less... It was a horrifying thought, to think that someone could get in and do such damage relatively undetected. Lwena, deep down, felt herself leaping to the conclusion of the Black Ajah, but forced herself to wait to hear Jaydena's story before deciding anything. Jumping to inappropriate conclusions wouldn't help the Green.

 

The relative silence in the room was shattered as Sirayn entered, parting the sisters and sending them frowning to the edge of the room. Shaking her head, Lwena bent over Jaydena again, delving slowly and more carefully, probing the edges to see if the damage had lessened any. She hadn't done enough, obviously, but if she had done anything, it was worth knowing. She would stay up all night, and heal the Green Sitter millimeter by millimeter if she had to.

 

"Lwena Sedai." Lwena glanced up, a hint of a smile brushing her lips. She had known Sirayn for years. The Green had changed, though, especially of late. Less like the Sirayn Lwena remembered, even from the Black Ajah hunt, and more cold, hard. She was the type of Aes Sedai that the Novices and Accepted feared, and even some grown Sisters avoided her. "What under the Light has happened? Some kind of accident?"

 

"I'm not sure," Lwena glanced to Jaydena, who was trying to sit up. Shaking her head, she held out a hand to prevent the Sitter from doing so - she was trying to do too much too quickly, especially since she wasn't even healed yet.

 

"Sirayn, I think we need to speak privately of this matter. I'm afraid I can't weave a breeze to stir away this fly that keeps landing on my face let alone a weave against eavesdropping."

 

Frowning, Lwena shrugged at the Sisters at the edge of the room, most of whom looked rather irritated. She could understand why, of course, since they wanted to know what had caused Jaydena's injuries just as much as Lwena did. However, she was not going to put her foot in, not right now. She could tell them what they needed to know after, and because she was First Weaver, they weren't going to question what she said, at least not in public. In her quarters, possibly, but they could not do anything right at that moment. It was simply fortunate that most of them were young sisters, as well.

 

Turning her head back to the Greens, she listened as Jaydena began to explain what had happened, her teeth clattering against the rim of the cup. She was obviously very disturbed by what had happened, but that was only to be expected. So was her Warder, who was hovering over the Green and giving Lwena a look that told her, 'you had better Heal her, or else'.

 

"My foot brushed against the necklace on the floor, it was one of the treasures we had found at Namandar and it belonged in the display case above it. I picked up the angreal to put it back in it's case and as soon as a touched it I knew I had made a mistake. A weave that I couldn't see had been laid over the angreal and it began to burn me. The next thing I remember I saw Raisa and heard her voice."

 

Lwena nodded slightly, glancing toward the door as though she was thinking of leaving. She was, in all honesty, to find that angreal and study it. She was assuming, of course, that the weave - and the angreal - still remained intact, and that no one else had been down there since Jaydena. And then there were those Accepted to deal with, as well as the explanation of what had happened. Fortunately the latter would fall to the Green Ajah, not to Lwena; she didn't envy the other Green Sitters for that, not in the least.

 

 

"Someone needs to go remove those Accepted and do damage control Sirayn. I think the Amyrlin needs to be alerted as well."

 

"I would like to see that angreal," Lwena put in, her gaze drifting between the two sisters and then settling on Jaydena. She was still injured, and had very little energy - unsurprising and unavoidable, but also unacceptable in Lwena's eyes. Shaking her head slightly, she took the cup of tea from the Green, setting it off to one side. She needed rest, and Lwena would physically remove every person - even the Gaidin - from the room if that was what was necessary to give Jaydena the quiet she would need.

 

"Forgive me Sirayn, I know you know to do those things, my mind is quite fuzzy right now."

 

"Lie down," Lwena ordered. "And sleep, or at least get some rest." Turning to Sirayn, she added, "I was going to head to the storeroom, and leave a Sister here to watch over Jaydena - that angreal might help in Healing Jaydena, and she really does need her rest." She was assuming, of course, that the Green would either want to come, or would go to the Amyrlin and tell her what had happened.

 

ooc: Hah, go me... *rolls eyes* Edited :)

[Jaydena]

ooc- *laughs* Actually you are inside the ward, that's why you are able to put a blanket on Jade! *G*

[Sirayn]

ooc: I had such good intentions, but turns out this is the only post I got done on holiday. :D It's a long one!

 

Over the years and through all the harsh storms they had weathered together Sirayn had come to see her old rival in a number of different lights. At first she had resented the older woman for her fabulous beauty and charm, two skills granted seemingly at random which made life immeasurably easier, and coveted those qualities for herself; later she had held Dena in high regard, though as always secretive over her feelings, she kept most of that to herself; still later she had learnt her current bitter resentment that Jaydena had taken so effortlessly everything she wanted for herself. In the midst of her ever more intense jealousy and her determination to get the upper hand … complicated further by their messy Ajah Head contest which by luck and hard judgement she herself had won … she had lost sight of those strengths which had made Jaydena Mckanthur such a formidable friend many years ago.

 

Now watching the other woman pick up the pieces of her shattered looks amid shock and terrible grief, Sirayn glimpsed something which had long been hidden beneath paint and precision and delicate court ways … a layer of true Battle Ajah steel. It took a genuine soldier to pull herself together after a blow on such a scale; anyone could speak soft words and learn to nod one’s head at the right moment; only courage somewhere on the edge of madness could do this. It was this that she had initially come to like in her opponent, the cut-throat edge, not easy tricks like good looks and glamour. For a while she had come to think that Jaydena had lost that hard character somewhere along the way, lost her Green Ajah self amid luxuries like wine and pretty women, confused being a diplomat with extravagance and lack of restraint. This morning once again Sirayn recognised something better in her old opponent: and renewed her respect along the way.

 

Even through her injuries and suffering Jaydena had already figured that this matter needed to be held under tight silence. It smoothed her own path immensely and shaming though it was she had to admit to relief that she would not have to exert herself over much to bring this situation under control; if she had not gained that total and unquestioning co-operation from the battered Sitter … this scene might have turned messy. It was not unknown for her to have to argue the case of ruthless control in a crisis situation, always a difficult job, and she remembered a certain conversation with a certain Gaidin as an excellent example of how her iron strong sense of duty had led her into conflict before. She cared little for how cruel people thought her; that battle had long since been lost; but she would rather not be having that conversation all over again with the burnt and beaten woman who had once comforted her on the night of a friend’s death.

 

Swiftly she put up the requested ward, watched as Lwena Sedai drew warm blankets around her injured sister. If she had been easier with these people she might have done so herself, her instincts toward comfort were not yet so dead, but she would rather burn than be seen awkward where the Green Ajah needed nothing less than total authority. Instead she simply listened while Jaydena recounted her disturbing tale. Such innocuous beginnings to bring them to such a harsh pass; she herself had gone looking into that store room a thousand times, all of them had, none of them expected to wind up burnt black in an infirmary. Hopelessly as always when she knew children had been hurt she pictured Lyssa in their place and kept her composure only by an effort. One had been an aspirant. That should not touch her at all if she had any strength of her own. Burn her for thinking that maybe every child who came to the Green Ajah might be their future saviour.

 

How had a study into angreal brought them to this? Two children dead and one priceless Banner Captain struck down? It seemed so surreal. She knew the dangers back to front but they struck so rarely that she had imagined them safe. Angreal carried a lurking threat in them always, doubly so where they had only just arrived in the store room and not been fully examined by a thousand years’ study before them, and on occasions trouble broke out … but never in her life had she heard of such a violent reaction affecting so many people. Three sufferers, two incidents, one weave. It held the calculated look of a scheme. Yet suspicious though she counted herself she could not jump to conclusions; it made no sense for the Black Ajah to break in where they could go openly; had the two in whites gone looking where they should not? Half a hundred precautions ought to have protected them, wards and warnings among them, but children had high spirits and one could never be entirely certain that one’s charges were protected.

 

But how had that other weave come to be there … the burning weave which had struck Jaydena down as soon as she laid a hand on the necklace angreal from Namandar, that black weave which had brought them all here like flies trapped in a greater web? No angreal she had ever heard of could achieve that. Nor could the Black Ajah to the best of her knowledge and she had become rather closely acquainted with many of their tricks in far flung Tear. Frowning she immersed herself in thought while Lwena convinced her injured Sitter to rest. Her old rival had evidently already concluded that some malice lay behind this incident, that people did not get disfigured forever … and she rather suspected that was exactly what had happened … by accident, and by the suspicion in her tones the Yellow Sister had the same feeling, but Sirayn herself was not so certain.

 

It made no sense. The Black Ajah could enter any time they liked. For what reason would they strike down Accepted and lay traps everywhere? It only brought further attention to them and heightened the likelihood of their discovery. Even rattled by the closeness of this assault Sirayn had determined that much; the possibility of the Black Ajah being involved was close to zero … unless somebody had been careless. Maybe something had been let slip and those two had been cut down to stop them talking. But why leave traps all over the place? If the incident had merely needed containment the two deaths could have been passed off as an accident. If the intent had been to get at an Aes Sedai there were far more efficient ways to do so which did not involve the spotlight being brought to bear on the Black Ajah themselves, her dark sisters had to know that that was exactly where the remnants of the Black Ajah hunt would be looking right now, and it was dangerous to assume that they were simply all stupid.

 

If the weave had been targeted at Jaydena in specific … Now there was something to consider. She couldn’t imagine why anyone would go after the Banner Captain unless Dena had made a habit of stealing people’s Warders and even then, she herself had never lifted a hand to Jaydena, much less laid vicious traps for her. And why would anyone who wanted to get at Jaydena do it so crudely? Something could have been slipped into her tea much more subtly, no suspicions there simply an unexpected illness, or a shadow in the dark … a knife, a crossbow bolt … none of which would have involved such a chaos. It could have been done a thousand other ways. Sirayn did not make a practice of stalking sisters, at least not usually, but she could still have achieved the same or much better results with a fraction of the effort and still kept the whole business neatly under wraps.

 

No, unless her opponents were all fools, this incident had been deliberately calculated to be as messy and high profile as possible. Had somebody attempted to frame the Black Ajah … no, surely not … the Three Oaths would prevent any Lightfool from arranging this, assuming that all sisters were either Black Ajah or bound by the Three Oaths. If she herself had acquired that knowledge independently and wanted to gather together anyone else who knew about the Black Ajah might she have done it like this? Might she have tracked down the Oath Rod, cut herself free of those constraints and done this like a black beacon to gather together a fresh Black Ajah hunt? She might have done, but then again she was extraordinarily ruthless … but so might others be. Scheming was hardly rare among sisters and more than just one called themselves masters of the Great Game.

 

And this got her musing on a different track. Had this strike been somehow obliquely aimed at her? It was commonly known that she and Jaydena were long time friends, though their association had been acrimoniously ended some weeks hence, and if she had wanted to get at her mistrustful and sharply defensive self might she have gone through a lesser protected target? Again … she might have done. Or, as she had initially suspected, it might have merely been an accident. Not everything carried a thousand levels of meaning. And if she could convince herself of that she might sleep a lot better tonight. “Yes, let our sister rest. She has been brave far beyond the call of duty and deserves her sleep.†She kept her intervention smooth, betraying no hint of the circuitous and maddening route of her thoughts, lest anyone guess at her hidden surmise. No hunter worth their salt would speak of the Black Ajah openly, and despite the ward against eavesdropping this was extremely open … and something rather dark had just occurred to her.

 

If she had been a sister of the Black Ajah, say … an expendable one … with a good chance of being accepted by known hunters who had famously been her friends; might she have staged a supposed Black Ajah assault against herself in order to exonerate herself from all suspicion? Might this, in fact, be all a calculated plot to involve Jaydena in the Black Ajah hunt and thus to undo them all?

 

Burn her but she wished she did not think like this sometimes. She had schemed herself into a corner and convinced herself to suspect everyone in this room and outside it; a bleak but familiar situation. “Perhaps,†and now she felt a thousand times more exposed, anyone in this room could be Black Ajah, even Lwena Sedai for all that she had been a companion on the original hunt to Tear, “we might leave a number of your fine sisters to watch over Jaydena Sedai while she sleeps? This weave is unknown to us. There may be some delayed effect.†If luck was with her this unfortunate idea might distract the other woman somewhat while she schemed; similarly, the words communicated to a Black Ajah hunter the need to get as many sisters as possible to stay in the room; lest somebody came back for a second shot. Her suspicion that Dena herself might somehow be involved was best kept for later times if conveyed at all.

 

Casually she let the eavesdropping ward stop just about cancelling all further conversation about the intricacies of this situation and the causes thereof. “This appears to have been a tragic accident.†The words remained steady and pitched for her companions alone but every fibre of instinct she possessed warned her that she was now speaking to an intensely interested audience. “Angreal are volatile of course, and mistakes happen all the time, but by its very nature this is a doubly cruel incident.†She directed a cool grey glance toward her injured comrade. “You have done your shawl a credit tonight Jaydena Sedai. Your duties as Sitter can of course wait until you are feeling somewhat better … although I fear there may be people around to ask you for your account somewhat sooner than that. Tell them exactly what you told me -- and,†the barest trace of emphasis, “I do mean exactly.†If the other woman whispered even a word about her suspicions it was going to cause a stir like a kicked hive of bees. “Rest now. Lwena Sedai and I will take care of this.â€

 

As soon as arrangements had been made Sirayn lured her Yellow Ajah counterpart out of that busy room as delicately as possible. The infirmary was not part of her own kingdom and she had no authority with which to challenge the younger woman, nor anywhere outside her Ajah Halls considering that her own rank remained secret, and besides she needed to be careful not to offend Lwena in case she turned out to have need of her fellow Black Ajah hunter in the future. Nevertheless … she suspected that while Lwena Sedai had some undoubtedly unique and outstanding qualities, she herself was better suited to bring this to a conclusion, and she intended not to be questioned on that point.

 

The corridors proved cool and quiet; few stirred among them this morning and Sirayn figured it secure enough that she could communicate oblique instructions. “I think I may come with you to the store rooms, sister. Many hands make light work.†Many hands would better protect them from any traps left in the store room, as well as the possibility that someone who had set them might return for another go. She had not ruled out what struck her as the strong chance that this was entirely an accident but Sirayn liked to be very careful about her own security. “And we will, I think, be counting the angreal. Twice.†She trusted that she need not point out why to the other woman. After all, both had begun on a dangerous quest with no more warning than that of an assault against a Tower store room, a mission so secret it had still never come to light ... and that perilous pursuit had come to be known as the Black Ajah hunt.

[Lwena]

ooc: Huge apologies for the delay!

 

ic:

 

"Of course," Lwena replied smoothly to Sirayn's suggestion, catching the unspoken suggestion in the Green's words and agreeing. If Jaydena's condition was the result of an intentional attack instead of an accident - which Lwena rather doubted - it would be safer to have her with many sisters. Even if one of the Yellow Sisters in the room was Black Ajah, something Lwena didn't want to consider but had to all the same, they could not do anything with other Sisters there as well. It was safer. If all of the sisters were under the Light, then they would be doing their best to heal the Green Sitter, which Lwena would have expected anyway. The injuries were resistant to Healing, but they hadn't tried linking yet, and Lwena was certain there were a few obscure methods that they hadn't tried yet.

 

As the ward dropped, Lwena started to move toward one of the senior Yellows, but was stopped by Sirayn's concluding words. Clearly, she was speaking for their ears, but knew that the other Sisters would over hear what was being said. Lwena knew that by the time she returned to the Yellow halls that night, rumors of what had happened would have already spread.

 

"Sister," She nodded to Adelaide, the eldest sister in the room - older even than Lwena, though a weaker Healer. In the Yellow Ajah, the ability to heal was valued over age, though elder sisters were always respected. When Lwena spoke to her, it was with respect, though her tone hinted at something more; she expected to be obeyed, after all. "Please stay with Jaydena Sedai until I return." Glancing at the others, she added, "I would like you all to stay, but Adelaide is in charge, of course." It was something that almost didn't need to be said, but she said it all the same. Some of the younger sisters - Janine, for example - liked to think that they knew more than Adelaide, even though that was far from true. Adelaide was a weak healer - for a Yellow - but she was very skilled.

 

Soon enough, Lwena found herself giving instructions, trying to quiet the room and make sure that everyone had everything that would be needed - she didn't want any of the Yellows to leave before she returned; she didn't want to the rumors to get out, and while she knew they would, she felt it would be best to delay them as long as possible. She was just finishing up when Sirayn managed to get her into the hall, and from there they proceeded to the store rooms.

 

"Certainly," She frowned a bit at the suggestion that angreal could be missing - that something larger was at work than an accident - but not because she doubted it; rather, she did not like the sound of it. She was not so eager to place herself in dangerous situations any more, now that she was secure in her place within her Ajah and the Tower. The Yellow Ajah needed a living First Weaver right now, not a dead one. Considering Jaydena's condition she supposed it wasn't an unlikely leap of logic to assume that this was a dangerous situation. Pushing open the door to the store room, Lwena entered first, not embracing Saidar; she did not want to set off any more nasty weaves that might have been laid on the angreal, and wanted to be very careful. Instead of using a light globe, she took a torch from the bracket in the wall and lit it outside of the room.

 

Once inside, she paused a moment off to one side to let her eyes adjust to the dimmer light, and examined the room. Very little looked to be touched in the first room. The bodies of two Accepted lay near the entrance to the door, clearly the ones who had been assigned to watch the angreal. Lwena frowned and stepped closer, kneeling beside the girl and examining her carefully, trying to determine the cause of her death.

 

"Her neck was twisted," She said after a moment, standing up and shaking her skirt out absently. Nodding to the other girl, she added, "She hit her head, and most likely bled into her brain." Though, from the pool of blood - and the fact that she was facedown in it - it was even possible that she had drowned in her own blood. Unlikely, but possible. Shaking her head sadly, Lwena proceeded cautiously into the next room, glancing around. Her gaze settled on the necklace on the floor, and cautiously she examined it, not touching. Frowning, she asked,

 

"What does this do?" Perhaps she was mistaken, but she didn't recall it as being especially powerful. It did not make much sense for anyone to place any sort of protective weave on it. But then, very little of this situation was making sense any more...

 

-Lwena

[Jaydena]

Jaydena could feel Raisa's irriation at all this talking and that the woman was impatient for someone to heal her Aes Sedai. She turned her head and smiled at the woman for one moment, talking in the silent language of hands that her and Sirayn had used and shared with their gaidin. She looked back at the other two Sisters as Lwena spoke, "I would like to see that angreal." Jaydena nodded though she cringed inside at the thought of someone else in the Tower ever having to go through the pain of virtually being burned alive. She gazed at Lwena and the spoke to Sirayn, apologizing to her, and then looked back the Yellow as the woman shook her head slightly and took the cup of tea out of her hand. Jade hadn't even notcied that the cup was dangling from her fingers in her exhaustion. "Lie down," the Yellow ordered "And sleep, or at least get some rest." Jaydena nodded and lay back against the pillows. "I was going to head to the storeroom, and leave a Sister here to watch over Jaydena - that angreal might help in Healing Jaydena, and she really does need her rest." Jaydena watched the play between the two of them as her eyes roamed lovingly over Sirayn's face, something she never would have done if she hadn't just almost died. She didn't know how she had loosened her grasp on that angreal but she wasn't never going to take anything for granted again. Especially the friendship she had thrown so callously away at the whim of her heart.

 

Sirayn looked back down at her and Jade managed to clear her expression and close her eyes as the Captain General spoke again, “Yes, let our sister rest. She has been brave far beyond the call of duty and deserves her sleep.†Jaydena opened her eyes again and looked back up, “Perhaps, we might leave a number of your fine sisters to watch over Jaydena Sedai while she sleeps? This weave is unknown to us. There may be some delayed effect.†She sighed deeply and let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding, a part of her worried that this attack was against her and she didn't know but she feared a follow-up. Sirayn lowered the ward and Jaydena saw the calcuating look in her eyes before the mask dropped into place and she spoke, “This appears to have been a tragic accident. Angreal are volatile of course, and mistakes happen all the time, but by its very nature this is a doubly cruel incident. You have done your shawl a credit tonight Jaydena Sedai. Your duties as Sitter can of course wait until you are feeling somewhat better … although I fear there may be people around to ask you for your account somewhat sooner than that. Tell them exactly what you told me -- and, I do mean exactly.†Jaydena nodded her head slightly and moved her hand so that Sirayn could see that she understood totally. They hadn't used their secret language with each other in months but Jade was turning over a new leaf starting today. “Rest now. Lwena Sedai and I will take care of this.†Jaydena let her eyes rake over Sirayn's face one more time and then closed her eyes. She heard the quiet footsteps and turgged gently on the bond. Raisa came to her side in an instant and she knelt down at her side. "Raisa, I thank you for your bravery in the face of uncertain danger. I hate to ask this but I need some items such a sleeping garments from my quarters and I don't trust an Accepted alone in my quarters. You can go through the ward on the room without disturbing it so if you get go get my some things. The Yellows are sure to keep me here at least over night." She sighed and closed her eyes as her gaidin nodded...

 

Jaydena Sedai