Unbreakable [attn. Aramina]

[silhouette]

“Have you ever seen such a mess?” A simple question to cover a lot of ground on a complicated matter. Rosheen glanced at the woman she had asked the question. No doubt Aramina Sedai had seen messes like the one they were looking at now, despite the fact that she was a self-confessed politician, instead of a warrior. The smell of smoke and ashes was heavy in the air, after a night of keeping the fires high. There was nothing like a few piles of burning trollocs to keep the fear alive in those who lived to stalk their innocent prey another day. She very much doubted any Fade would be able to spur a trolloc closer to the village.

 

Of course that didn’t actually mean that their night had been peaceful. She couldn’t remember having a single peaceful night since she came to Kandor. But there was hope now. While Sirayn Sedai had been reluctant to send troops to Kandor, it seemed that Sirayn the Amyrlin Seat held enough power over the Hall to sway the White Tower into sending a company or two after all. It could still be months before they arrived, but even so the knowledge that the White Tower had not forgotten it’s allies lifted Rosheen’s spirits.

 

That news wasn’t the only thing though. After a few tense days, it seemed as though she and Aramina had finally gotten used to each others presence. They had dropped the family off in one village, and then travelled on and on, getting closer to Kandor with each passing day. Trolloc activity got more severe, but fortunately there was very little guidance behind it. Perhaps it was proof that the Forsaken had abandoned Kandor, but that was a risk Rosheen wasn’t willing to take. They had advances slowly yet steadily, until they reached the village they were in now.

 

That was where they stopped advancing. They had had plenty of opportunities to move forward, but there had been something about the way the villagers greeted them… like a man dying of thirst would greet the rain. Rosheen hadn’t had the heart to suggest that they moved on, and it seemed as though Aramina was content with staying put for a while as well. “Such a mess…” she muttered again, looking at the burning piles, but thinking of the village defences. Too few warriors, too few archers, too few of just about anything. They were borderlanders though. No matter who Rosheen talked to, their faces would always be grim yet satisfied, and their answers would always be the same. “We’re not moving, Ma’am. If they want our homes they’ll have to step over our lifeless bodies to get there.” And who was Rosheen to tell them that that was the most likely course of events?

 

She turned to look at Aramina, finding that the Aes Sedai was observing her surroundings as intently as Rosheen had done mere moments before. Perhaps that was why they had an easy way of interacting, now that most of the wrinkles had been smoothed out between them. Aramina was a battle sister, whether she loved the blade or not, and Rosheen was a warrior. There would always be a certain kinship between two people who had the same goal, even if that goal was the only thing they had in common. “Where do you think this will lead us?” she asked, waving in the general direction of the fires. She didn’t mean just the fires, but their entire situation. Kandor. The election of a new Amyrlin. For the first time since Lyanna’s death, she found that she was looking forward to finding out where her path would take her.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

[TaeaDawn]

There was a small amount of comfort in the time alone to survey their surroundings with just the two of them, the comfort of familiarity and being with someone as focused as you were. The fight to survive in the ravaged lands made everything else fall aside. Some days she was torn, wishing Sirayn had sent someone else in her stead, while knowing that Sirayn had trusted no other with this mission for a reason. Her nights filled her with longing, wishing for strong arms to hold her and she wished that her lover was at her side some nights, but the thought was almost always pushed aside as soon as it came. He would be better off where he was. If she died alone in the wilderness that had once been civilization he might mourn her, but he would move on quick enough. She didn't think she could stand by and witness his death though and it would have complicated things here.

 

She looked at the woman beside her, the words coming with a wave of her hand indicating so much more than just her simple words. She was comfortable with Rosheen now, though she wasn't sure she knew the woman any better than she had on their first day meeting. No that wasn't true. She knew this woman as well as she knew anyone, outside Sirayn and Aran. She might not know the details of her life, but she knew the sort of woman she was and whereas she had doubted when they met, she now sat confidently by her side, aware that her life was in safe hands.

 

She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. "Tarmon Gaidan." She said, giving Rosheen a small smile. "When I was young, I was afraid I wouldn't live to see it. Now, I see the world changing before my eyes and I have hope that we will make it, that even if I fall in the great battle, I will not die in vain." She looked around them, suddenly reminded of the day so long ago when she had been told of her friend, dead in the Borderlands, alone. "My sister will not have died in vain."

 

[silhouette]

“I don’t think anyone ever dies in vain.” Rosheen said, glancing sideways at Aramina once more. “The Creator must have a plan for all of us. If not, then you wouldn’t have found me here in Kandor. Perhaps I wouldn’t have been here in the first place. We must believe that there is a bigger picture, in which everything makes sense.” She sighed, staring into the flames that still burned in the distance. “As for Tarmon Gaidon… I believe we will all have our piece of it, whether it is in the actual last battle, or the road towards it.”

 

“Have you ever wondered what it will be like?” Rosheen had, and though she had seen many battles, she couldn’t picture what the last battle would be like. Would it just be a confrontation between the Dragon Reborn and the Dark One? Or would there be armies as far as the eye could see, clashing into each other on the slopes of Dragonmount? She had seen battle, but this was something beyond what she could imagine. At least she wouldn’t be there alone. Aran would be there, and Cairma, and probably Sirayn.

 

“But not Lyanna.” She whispered, closing her eyes for a moment. Aramina confessed to being more of a political creature than a warrior. In that she was the exact opposite of Lyanna, who had always preferred physical battles over spars with words. It mattered little though. They both had the same ideals, ideals that Rosheen shared. The light would prevail in the end, as long as they had people like Aramina fighting on their side. She had to believe that.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

Grandmaster

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina found herself watching Rosheen with a comfortable eye. She could share in the woman's grief in a small way. She mourned for the Keeper as all Aes Sedai had, but she had the memory of Natalie firmly in mind and that familiar ache made her realize that it was not only their battle that the women had in common.

 

It had been hard travel and the emotional strain of their days managed to drain them of energy most days to do more than they had to. And yet she found herself often, standing at Rosheen's side, watching and waiting for whatever would come. It was an odd sensation for her. She had dreamed with Natalie of days to come, learning and working towards goals that they both believed in. WIth Michael, though she had cared a great deal for him, he had left her before there could be much though of future. She had been a young sister and too full of her own immortality. And with Aran there was never talk of anything else. She would never admit her feelings to him and he would never be the type to make plans for their future. They were fun and what they had was caring and warmth and things that Aramina hadn't felt in a long time.

 

It was only with Rosheen that she sat and waited with someone. Each new day they survived, everytime the sun made it's way through the darkened sky, she sat with Rosheen and made plans for the days adventure, for their trip and their goals in the Borderland. Somedays they talked of their hopes for the troops and others they simply agreed to stay where they were before moving among the people they had come to help. She reached a hand out then, lightly touching Rosheen's shoulder in comfort.

 

Aramina sur Dulciena, Sitter of the Green Ajah

[silhouette]

Rosheen half-turned and half-smiled at Aramina when she felt the gentle touch of the other woman on her shoulder. Small comforts, meaningless to some, but Rosheen had learned long ago to accept them from what they were. “We’ll be alright.” She said, her half smile turning into a full one. Here they were, in the middle of shadow-occupied Kandor, and she was telling an Aes Sedai that they would be alright. Had she ever imagined standing with Lyanna this way?

 

With Lyanna things had been different. Lyanna was always distant, even when they were together. Rosheen understood Aramina’s sense of duty and obligation to the White Tower, but it didn’t stand between them the way it sometimes had with the former Keeper of the White Tower. Perhaps things would be the same if Aramina and Rosheen ever had the chance to interact back in Tar Valon. First they had to survive this though, and then they could think of other things.

 

It occurred to Rosheen that she had never asked the other woman why she hadn’t bonded. Green sisters were notorious for it, after all, and Rosheen knew that Aramina was close to Aran. Not that she expected Aran to be tied down any time soon, but she hadn’t even heard of any rumours of the two leaning towards a bond. In the spirit of honesty, she decided to ask instead of trying to figure it out on her own. “Why aren’t you bonded?”

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

[TaeaDawn]

"Why aren’t you bonded?”

 

 

The question came out of the blue and blindsided Aramina so hard she took a step back from the woman before she realized she had been hit.

 

She should have realized that someone would ask soon enough. In the middle of a war torn country, what was a Green Sister doing without her warder? Except that Aramina had never bonded. Tears sprung to her eyes as she thought about her long dead friend. She closed her eyes against the pain. How had she managed to block it for so long, she wondered as she tried to push it away. For over 100 years she had refused to even think his name, but since she had allowed it back into her heart she felt the pain as sharply now as she had then.

 

She wanted to tell the other woman it was none of her business, that her pain was her own, but another part of her recognized the companionship they had after their travels and she wanted very much to continue it. Not only that, but after everything, it seemed fitting to talk to her.

 

"When I was very young, there was a Tower Guard that I became very close to." She took a deep breath to steady her voice. "We would have bonded, we would have done a lot of things, but he died before we could." Her voice was bitter but she couldn't help it. Better bitter than to show the depth of her pain anymore than she already had. "After that, I didn't let anyone close enough to even think about bonding."

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

[silhouette]

Aramina’s reaction hadn’t quite been what Rosheen had expected from the woman. Close as they had become over the past few weeks, there were lines that a Tower Guard was not meant to cross. While she had crossed quite a few already, she had been so sure that this time Aramina would cut her off and tell her it was none of her business. Asking a Green Sister why she wasn’t bonded was like asking Ginae Auvriani why her hair was blue after she’d been pranked by Aran. A sensitive and delicate subject, not to be addressed by common Tower Guards.

 

Emotions were clearly visible on Aramina’s face, rising and falling in rapid succession. Grief, anger, annoyance, acceptance. Then she told her story. Rosheen was sure that there were thousands of stories similar to the one Aramina glossed over, and while she realised that the other woman wasn’t even telling her half of what had really happened, and wasn’t even showing a quarter of her pain, Rosheen felt it as deeply as if it were her own. “I’m sorry to hear that.” she muttered, her voice a little rough as she tried to push down the emotions.

 

“I was almost snatched up by a blue sister, when I was barely worthy of wearing the red cloak.” She said, talking through the pain. Thinking back on Nastasia brought a little smile on her face. “She followed me around everywhere, trying to convince me that I should bond her. She’d turn me into a proper warder, she said, worthy of a Blue sister.” She winked at Aramina. “Of course that would have involved changing every little inch of me, and accepting whatever weave she put on me to keep me docile.” She shivered slightly. “Lyanna scared her off eventually. Just imagine, I could have been a Blue warder. Or a Blue lapdog, depending on your point of view.”

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

[TaeaDawn]

"A docile warder?" Aramina asked with a small laugh. She still felt the pain acutely, but it had been something, to share it, to tell the story to someone else. But the idea of a docile warder... "What would be the point of a docile Warder?" She asked. "It would be like having a submissive Aes Sedai. There is a place for all things in this world I suppose, but I can't imagine it." She shook her head. "A warder guards an Aes Sedai. How could they guard if they had no bite? I see the world in observation, I see politics and planning. The weapons I see most are words and plots. What go would a warder be if they saw only the same? If they 'hushed' when I said, or 'rolled over' when I said." She asked Rosheen with a smile.

 

"No, I can't see you with a Sister who would dull you as a weapon." She said. "Lyanna was right to steal you away. You are a fine blade in the army of the forces of Light. Your passion for life should not be forced down by another's forced ideas."

 

Aramina took a deep breath as she looked around. "And I have had too much time to think on such things." She said. "But after 100 years I still wonder what it would have been like, if I had bonded him. If he had lived, would it have changed who we were?"

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

[silhouette]

“People are always changed by those they interact with. You were changed by him even in the short time you spent together. I was changed by Lyanna in the years I was promised to her.” Every day, people were being altered by the people they shared their lives with. “If he had survived, you probably wouldn’t be here with me now. Maybe he would have changed you enough for you to come to enjoy battles more than politics.” That was a little hard to imagine, but it was possible.

 

She knew that even in the short time she had spent with Aramina, she had been changed. How bitter she had been, when she first arrived in the borderlands. How broken… her purpose had been lost to her, but slowly, over the months she had been there, things had improved. Yet it wasn’t until Aramina had found her in that small town near the border that she remembered who she was, and realised that she would be that person with or without Lyanna.

 

“Then again, I don’t think our inner selves really get changed. I’m still Rosheen, you’re still Aramina. Maybe our purposes and intentions change, but not who we are deep down inside.” Rosheen frowned for a moment, trying to reconcile one idea with the other. Then she grinned. “We’re sounding like a couple of White sisters now.” Not that she had ever really met a White sister, aside from Aleanda Antori, who had told her off because she had been in a part of the White Tower where she wasn’t supposed to be. She sniggered at the thought.

 

“It’s odd, actually. I don’t think I’ve ever really gotten along with any Aes Sedai outside the Green Ajah. It just seems like they’re all talk sometimes. Maybe people like me just don’t belong in that world of politics and plots.” She shrugged at that. She had been a part of that world for a while, with Lyanna, but she was always on the outside. That was where she felt comfortable. She could deal with the negative results of politics, she just didn’t have the patience for it.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

[TaeaDawn]

Aramina listened to Rosheen's words. It was odd how the woman's words came so often to show true wisdom. Her straight forward way of seeing things often often shot straight to the heart of matters. Her own view of the world tended to complicate things to the point where she had problems seeing things like that. Rosheen's voice was an interesting counter balance to Aramina's own life.

 

She smiled at Rosheen's words about the other Ajahs. "I used to doubt I was in the right place, after all a Green Sister is all battle and glory isn't she? What place did a politician like me have among them?" She sighed. "In the end though, I've bloodied as many men and women with political scheming as any sister in a battle. The Last Battle will sweep us all away and I think every place we find footing will become a battlefield before too long."

 

She shook her head and gave a small laugh. "That was truely a Green thought though so I must be in the right place. But what about you? You are no longer promised. Will you go back to the White Tower and continue to Guard? Or will you find someone worthy of your bond?" She asked. It was a personal question and one she wouldn't have asked before, but beyond curiosity, Aramina felt it would be a loss if this woman was left to spend her life standing watch on a wall. Indeed, Lyanna had been smart to gain Rosheen's trust and help for that time. And though it was perhaps selfish, she was glad that Lyanna hadn't bonded the other woman. If she had, she was certain Rosheen would have died with her Aes Sedai that shattering day.

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

[silhouette]

It was a simple enough question, and one that had been asked many times before, in many forms. Up until now though, Rosheen had always answered that question with a shrug. ‘I don’t know’ was a good enough answer to quiet people. Generally their interest was merely polite, or worried. There was never any genuine interest in what Rosheen would do now that she was no longer promised. Until now. She shivered slightly, feeling Aramina’s glance as if it were a physical touch. She shook her head, preparing to say that she didn’t know, but found herself hesitating.

 

“Sometimes it just feels like there’s too much there.” She said, facing the east for a moment. Somewhere in the distance Tar Valon loomed. “I spent so much time there… so many dreams. When Lyanna died it felt as though all of that was wasted, and torn away from me.” With a small sigh she turned back to Aramina. “I was quite ready to leave it all behind. To die here, the way I would have died there if I had been bonded by Lyanna. It just seems like a bit of a waste now.”

 

She looked at the Aes Sedai again, observing her while she was being observed herself. “I know that I can still be useful. The sword does not lose it’s function just because the hand that used to wield it is no longer there. So yes, I will return to Tar Valon, to assist Brand and Bryon in commanding the armies of the Light, or perhaps I will bond, and aid another Aes Sedai the way I always intended to do for Lyanna.”

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

[silhouette]

She didn't know what overcame here, but at the same time it was the right thing to do. She knew it. On some level she had felt this coming, but it was a surprising revelation to her as she heard the words fall from her lips, though her entire being believed it to be true. So the words spilled forth and Aramina, who was never one to speak without thinking, was forced to wait with no clue what the outcome would be. No forethought to guide her on what would happen once an answer was received. No plans to salvage their companioship should the answer be no. No thoughts of what it would truely mean if the answer was yes. But it was right. As right as following Sirayn Sedai or being in love with Aran. Only in this, she did not keep her thoughts and feelings quiet. In this, she would speak before she convince herself that it was safer to stay alone and behind her walls with no one to breech them.

 

"Then aid me. We are in a fight for our lives and every day that passes we are more likely to die than the last. If we die in Kandor, let us do so as Aes Sedai and Warder. If we survive, then let us face the Last Battle together. I could not ask for a better person by my side on that day. What do you say?" She asked with the same quiet, intense voice she had begun with. "Will you be my Warder?"

 

Aramina Sedai  :P

 

[silhouette]

Aramina’s words were like thunder in a clear sky. Rosheen certainly felt shaken as if the lightning coming with the thunder had hit her right in the head. The question had been unexpected, and yet not. Had they not been steady companions for the past weeks? Had she not already fulfilled the duty of the warder, without actually being one? And had she not come to care for the Green sister standing beside her, the way she had cared for Lyanna? The bond of friendship between them was not yet as strong as the bond between Rosheen and her former promised, but she could feel it there already, in her heart.

 

The same heart that had felt as if it was torn from her when Lyanna died, only to beat strongly now, pounding with the emotions that were overwhelming. The image of Aramina before her blurred slightly as tears welled up in her eyes. “Aye.” She uttered softly, her clenched throat preventing a more audible sound. She looked away for a moment, only to turn her gaze back on the Aes Sedai, smiling this time. “If I am to be a sword, I would like to be your sword. If I am to die, here or in the Last Battle or many years later, I would like to do so by your side. I will use all my strength, my skill and my courage to save you from the harms of the world, and occasionally from yourself.” She grinned at that last part.

 

Slowly she kneeled before Aramina. “By the light, and my hope for salvation and rebirth, I swear that I will serve you the best I can, for the rest of my life or at least as long as you’ll have me.”

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr, Grandmaster

[silhouette]

Fear welled up in Aramina at the words, so fast and furious that she had to force herself not to move or react. She was going to bond this woman. She was going to have a Warder and death would take her when it took her bondmate. But death had taken her soul long ago, when it had taken Natalie. It had taken her when Michael had been ripped from her as well. Aramina had learned to live without pieces of herself. She would do so again. Aran had taught her to love though he might not ever understand the true depths of his teachings, or how he would one day haunt her as well. She would add another name to her list of ghosts. Natalie and Michael already rest on her mantle. Someday Aran and Rosheen would as well, unless she found a way to die before them. They way their mission had been going in Kandor it was a possibility. One she would much rather accept than the other.

 

Still, along with the fear there was more. Hope, anxiety, delight that the other woman found her worthy, all mingled with anticipation. She thought back on her conversation so long ago now with Jaydena Sedai on the night she had truly become a Green Sister. Talks about her Gaidin and if you could ever truly keep them as a weapon to use, or if they became friends and trusted companions not to be loosed unless necessary. She would learn first hand now. She wasn't the only sister in the Tower to not have a Warder, but she was fairly certain she held the record for oldest 1st bonding among the Green Ajah. She'd have to look it up later.

 

She took a deep breath and stepped forward, putting a hand to Rosheen's temple as she did so. The weave came to mind easily, though she had been shown it only once when she had been made a Sister. She smiled at Rosheen as the weave began to settle into place. “By the light, and my hope for salvation and rebirth, I swear to work with you towards the Last Battle, to use you when Battle calls and to stand by your side when all others fail."

 

The weave was set and Aramina stepped back, trying to get control of her own swirling emotions before the onslaughter of another person filled her mind.

 

Aramina Sedai.... BONDED! YEAH!

[silhouette]

For the first time since meeting Aramina Sedai, Rosheen could read the emotions on the other woman’s face. Many Aes Sedai guarded their emotions well, and Aramina was no different. It had been hard at first, to read the woman by the tone of her voice, or the little mannerisms that indicated whether she was pleased or unhappy with the way things were going. Rosheen had spent enough time reading her opponents in battle to be good at it though. She saw fear, relief, and joy in Aramina’s demeanour now. A reflection of her own emotions.

 

She held her breath for a moment when Aramina placed a hand on her brow. When she was younger she had often peeked in on the bonding ceremonies that were public. Especially the sisters of the Green Ajah had the tendency to want to show the world that they claimed a warrior as their own. There was always a slight shiver in the warder when the weave settled in, and Rosheen had always been curious about what caused that little shiver in the most fearless of warriors. She would feel it for herself soon enough.

 

There was a look of concentration on Aramina’s face as she embraced Saidar, and worked on the weave. Rosheen couldn’t have looked away from the Aes Sedai even if she had wanted to, mesmerized as she was by the intent look on her face. Soon enough she felt the weave settle over her. She had expected it to be something like the oaths taken by Aes Sedai, as they had been described to her by Lillian. It was not. She shivered slightly as the connection settled. For a moment it felt like there was too much inside her mind to handle. Her own emotions, mirrored and amplified by Aramina’s. Then her mind seemed to calm down, like an ocean after a storm.

 

Slowly she rose, wrapping herself in the Spring as she did so. From the first memory she always used, of watching a sunset with her parents, to arriving at the warders yards, onwards to becoming a Tower Guard, and gaining and losing friends. On and on she wrapped the memories around each other, letting each accompanying emotion flow through her until she reached the latest and newest memory that completed the Spring. The feeling of Aramina’s hand on her temple was the last thing she felt, before the Spring settled, leaving her in a peaceful state of mind while she dealt with the emotions she could read from the bond. “Thank you.” She muttered, bowing her head slightly to the Aes Sedai in front of her. Her Aes Sedai.

 

Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

Bonded    :D

Grandmaster

[TaeaDawn]

Thank you would not have been the first words Aramina chose to speak at that moment. With the first touch of Rosheen's emotions Aramina had started falling further into her inner walls to keep from being overwhelmed by them. Then she began to feel the emotions tapering a bit, slowly falling into a more calm and neutral place. This she could deal with. This she could understand. Facade and focus had been the keys to her life since before the Tower had come for her. They led her again now as she focused on her facade, letting her face remain blank of the emotional torrent.

 

Rosheen would know the better of it now though, would feel the emotions Aramina was sure to throw off, but it would take time for her to learn what it all meant, just as it would take time for Aramina to learn how Rosheen felt. It would be trying, but Aramina had high hopes that they would get through it just fine. They had managed to learn the dance of blades well enough together with merciless enemies around them. Emotions should be easy enough to learn as long as they were both open with one another.

 

Not something Aramina was good at, but it was something she would try her hardest at. With Rosheen anyway. She had come to value the woman far beyond just a report to send back to the Mother, and before the trip to Kandor, she had been Aran's friend and that meant a lot to Aramina. He always seemed able to see into people, as he did with her, and his trust seemed to be well placed most of the time. She pushed down the surge of emotion that threatened to leak out towards Rosheen but had no idea how sucessful she was. Light, this could get complicated. The last thing she needed was Rosheen picking up on her feelings for Aran.

 

She smiled at Rosheen then, unable to think of what to do or say and realizing that her thoughts on openness were exactly where she needed to go. "I should be thanking you. If we were in Tar Valon I'd already have a cloak waiting for you, along with tokens of my gratitude, but it is a long way home for us I think. Until then, I hope you will accept my words and my company instead. Thank you."

 

She paused, not sure how to say what she wanted to, but she stumbled ahead anyway. "It will take some time to get used to the emotions in our heads. I just hope that you know you can ask me about anything you... feel from me."

 

She knew the perception most people had of her, knew the belief that Aramina was cold and distant with no feeling and no passion for anything. It would be startling for most to come face to face with the true depth of Aramina's passions and be able to see that it was what truly lie behind her painted face, but Rosheen would have to. At least she had opened up the way for them to communicate about it. Now she just had to work on figuring out how to keep Rosheen from reading more than she had to.

 

Aramina

[silhouette]

Through the newly formed bond, Rosheen could feel that Aramina was still uneasy with the situation. She smiled just a little. “Don’t worry too much. I understand that you as an Aes Sedai have worked for years to get your emotions under control. I’ve always admired that in all Aes Sedai. We Tower Guards are lucky that way, we can rage all we want, and when we’re angry we just spar a bit or we work it off in an exercise. You always look so composed, even when the people you’re talking to must be trying to get the blood out from under your nails.”

 

“I will try to keep my own emotions in check, so that they won’t hamper you in your work. It is time that I matured enough to do so.” Again she smiled, before stepping forward just a bit and taking Aramina’s hand in her own. Not for the first time she noted how much smaller the Aes Sedai was. Her Aes Sedai. “It will be a pleasure to serve you, even without the cloak and the gifts. I serve you not for myself, but for the Light, and the good of the White Tower.”

 

Now that the bond was settling, Rosheen felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. A weight that had been there since the day she failed in her service to Lyanna Al’Ellisande. It was indeed as if her old friend was watching her now, from her place by the Creator’s side. Rosheen could almost feel her smiling. This, together with the joy she felt at finally fulfilling her purpose made her feel like picking her bondmate up and twirling her around. She stopped herself at the final moment, still acutely aware with the unease Aramina felt.

 

“If it comforts you, you should know that I can’t read your mind.” She said with a wink. “I believe I can merely tell where you are, and if you are feeling well.” She gave Aramina’s hand a soft squeeze before letting go. “And even though you say it is fine now, I will not pry. If there is something you think I should know, then you can always tell me, but unless you want to talk about things that I can feel through the bond, I will not speak of them.” She was quite sure that Aramina would also feel some of the things that she felt herself. With some luck, she would be more attuned to the happy thoughts.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

Green Gaidin :D

 

[TaeaDawn]

(Yes.. my move has finally let up a bit.. the avalanche of boxes have begun to fade.. and I am replying!  Woohhhooo!)

 

 

Aramina listened to Rosheen's words and knew that she spoke true.  She let out a small breath in relief.  They were completely different people, but the bond was good.  She was certain that it had been the right thing to do, no matter how a part of her cried out that she was opening herself to hurt. 

 

There were worse things that hurt though, and her time with Aran had proven that.  No matter how much it had hurt to be parted with him after she had learned about the blackmail, it had hurt far more to not be with him.  A lesson she had not learned from either Natalie or Michael.  Would it have mattered if Aran had died?  Would she feel the same if she could no longer see his face?  The heart clenching panic seized her again, but she was well used to its sensation and simply took a small breath, letting it have it's moment, then pushing it aside. 

 

From the look on her Warder's face, it was something felt too deep to hide, or perhaps she was simply too new to learn to hide it yet.  It might be time to rekindle an old friendship... Jaydena Sedai would certainly be far better at helping her understand the bond than she could on her own.  She smiled at Rosheen, a light smile to show that there was no lasting harm in her emotional state.  "It's of no concern." She said quietly.  "A stray thought that sometimes comes... though I hope not too often that it would disturb you."     

 

She shook her head.  "Yes, this will take some time getting used to."  She thought about it, thought about what to say next.  "Is there... anyone in your life.. that I should know about?" She asked to move the topic from her own emotions.  "Someone that you hold dear?"

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

Bonded to Rosheen

[silhouette]

The bond was going to confuse her for a while. Even though she felt sheltered within the spring, she could feel Aramina’s emotions echo inside her mind. It was unsettling. It was almost enough to bring her off balance when she felt a deep longing and an almost unbearable sadness resonate through the bond. She would have to learn what emotions were induced by memories, and what emotions were caused by immediate danger. Aramina’s dismissal of her own emotions bothered her a little, but Rosheen decided not to pry. There would be enough time to discovered the reason for the sadness and the longing.

 

Though she had the spring firmly in place, Rosheen couldn’t keep from blushing when Aramina asked her if she was involved with someone. While she realised it was a perfectly reasonable question, she also felt a little shocked that that would be something her bondmate would ask now, moments after the bond had been placed. Maybe the Aes Sedai had been thinking of a current or former lover before. Again, Rosheen blushed when she thought of what kinds of thoughts and emotions she would get to share now.

 

“Well… I suppose there is someone special.” She said, grinning at Aramina. She and Vasya had always had a bit of a peculiar relationship, which had started right after her blademaster ceremony. “I… uh… well, it’s not so much a relationship as something that’s just… Well, you see, it started right after I became a blademaster. He was the one testing me, and I suppose we just decided that having someone around who understands where we’re coming from and all that is very nice.” A broad grin appeared on her face when she thought of their first night together. Not that there was much to think about, considering the fact that they’d both been quite drunk.

 

She turned to Aramina again. “What of yourself? Anyone in particular I should know about? I wouldn’t want to give someone a beating just because they’d hurt your feelings.” She gave that a moments thought. “Then again, they might deserve it.” She remembered that Aramina had once been involved with none other than Aran, but since he seemed to move through relationships with the speed of lightning, she doubted that her brother in spirit would be the one that Aramina longed for now.

 

~Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

Bonded to Aramina sur Dulciena

A little on the clueless side :D

 

[TaeaDawn]

A smart woman would have avoided the question like a plague.  A smart woman would be well experienced in this realm and would be able to come up with something to say.  But Aramina, while a wonderfully intelligent Aes Sedai, had almost nothing to drawn upon when it came to being a woman.  Women were silly creatures with no power and no titles and nothing to propel their simple lives but men, romance, shopping, and ways to dream away their mundane lives.  Aramina was Aes Sedai.  If Aramina has been a simple woman, she would have known better than to turn the questions this way simply to pass off the feelings that had passed between them. 

 

She took a deep breath, knowing that she had been the one not only to open this particular can of worms, but who had also told herself she needed to be honest with her bondmate in order to keep them both clear headed. 

 

"I'm not so sure I would call it someone special." She said, though her voice already betrayed her fondness.  She thought of Aran and the same rush of feeling came to her.  "I'd call him more of a one night stand that never went away, except that he goes away all too often for my tastes." 

 

She sighed, trying to avoid the name if she could.  It was good to know that Rosheen had someone though.  And considering what she had come to know, she didn't need the name.  She could always ask around the yards about Rosheen and her test.  Someone was sure to know and if she even had need of the man, she would know where to find him. 

 

"Unlike your friend... I have nothing in common with mine." She said quietly.  "Everything he does is a surprise."  Her smiled returned.  "He may be a notorious womanizer, but I can't say he's done too much wrong by me."  With the exception of blackmailing Sirayn there was really nothing he had done that hadn't' been for her own good and she was well aware of it.  "You know what they say.  Take what you want and pay the price."

 

Aramina sur Dulciena

[silhouette]

Again a surge of emotions seemed to smack Rosheen in the face through the bond. I was confusing and welcome and unwelcome at the same time. How she was ever supposed to know her bondmate was in danger was beyond her. She should have a talk with one of the warders about that when and if they got back to Tar Valon. Maybe Cairma would know more. Or Thera. She almost sighed, but then she heard the last thing Aramina said. Aran. Had to be. Well, that was going to be confusing. She really hoped she wouldn’t stay as sensitive to Aramina’s emotions all through the bond, or she’d get to know Aran far better than she ever would have wanted.

 

But such were concerns of a later time. With some luck they’d get the hang of this bond well before returning to Tar Valon. If they ever returned to Tar Valon. There was much to do here in Kandor. The Shadow pushed forward every day, and Rosheen felt herself tiring every time she had to push it back out of the village. At least Aramina had stopped charging in with her Katana drawn each time. She had perfect long distance weapons, and she should continue using those. It would give Rosheen one less thing to worry about.

 

“Take what you can indeed.” She said, her thoughts drifting back to Vasya for a moment. They had never had much of a romantic affair going on, but he was there when she needed some affection, and he was there when she needed someone to fight with. He was a good, solid person. Unlike Aran, who was always out and about. Smiling fondly at the thought of her almost-brother, she wondered how Aran and Aramina had come to meet. In her mind there weren’t two people less likely to get together. Well, except for Aran and Sirayn perhaps, and that was a thought she’d rather not have. Ever.

 

“I am surprised that you’re involved with anyone though. Most Aes Sedai seem so distant.” But that too made sense. “I suppose that when you live as much longer than the average person as you do, you start to shield yourself from hurt.” Which once again brought her back on the subject of their bond. “I am honoured that you would open yourself up to me that way. I will do my very best to stay alive as long as you do.”

 

Rosheen Tahn Sakhr

Grand Master

Whipped :D

 

[TaeaDawn]

Surprised she was involved?  Aramina herself was still surprised and she'd been seeing Aran for some time now.  She took a deep breath, as uncertain how to answer the first part of her comments as she was the last. 

 

She smiled slightly at her warder.  "See that you do."  She felt a surge of pride at the thought that this woman was bonded to her now.  "As for relationships... there are few people that can understand the level of devotion an Aes Sedai must have to the Tower.  I'm sure you can understand that, with your position among the Tower Guard.  A long life and a longer memory do as much to curtail such things.  But sometimes..."  She shrugged, not even sure what she was saying. 

 

"Things happen." She said with another small smile.  "But I expect no other such trouble in the future so that shouldn't be bothering the bond too much I hope."

 

Aramina