"Are you serious?"

All Analie could do was look at Sierra. It was a mark of how bad a temper she'd been left in that she actually let her irritation touch her face.

"And what are they going to do with her?"

The red-haired Child shook her head.

"I don't know."

None of them looked happy. As well they wouldn't - it was really a simple matter, and Analie could only curse that they hadn't been able to catch the girl before the Cairhienin authorities had arrested her.

"I intend to get answers tomorrow."

Of course, she had been trying to get answers for days, and hadn't been able to yet, but there were other ways of asking the questions. She simply hadn't wanted to go that way yet.

"In the meantime, perhaps we should start investigating the Cairhienin government - the clerks that I am speaking to keep saying that their hands are tied. Perhaps there is someone above them..."

She still didn't want to say it out loud. Analie was not a hardliner, she was not the kind of Child that would accuse anyone that was less than respectful of being a Darkfriend. However, things were beginning to seem suspicious, here. If she didn't know better, she'd have thought that the Witches were involved somehow.

Analie was Andoran and, though she had given up and claim to it, of noble blood. She knew well that the Cairhienin may have invented the Great Game, but the Witches had perfected it.

Hmmm. Y'know, I suppose it might be. But we like to ignore timelines anyway, so I had been assuming that it was afterwards. *laughs*

Alrighty, since it's been a while since the divisions have done a whole lot, I've decided that it's time for us to get something pretty big happening. Now, this plotline has been in the works for a long time, negotiated with past DLs, and it's time to start setting things in motion.

So, the Seanchan are going to be pulling off an invasion of Amadicia, concentrating on Amador and the forces of the Children of the Light. It's time for the the Corenne to continue, and an Imperial Alliance to be made between the two groups, to smite the evil doers and reclaim Hawkwing's empire.

Of course, there is the slight issue at the moment that both divisions are quite small in terms of numbers, so we'll probably have trouble pulling it off with a force of NPCs and trainees. So, the deal is this.

Anyone who has submitted a bio within the next two weeks will be allowed, if they choose (and this is optional, not required), to automatically progress beyond the usual training. So, up until November 4, anyone that submits a bio for the Children of the Light or the Seanchan will be allowed to gain rank (and the accompanying minimum WS) automatically.

For the Children of the Light, the maximum rank that you may progress to is Hundredman. For the Seanchan, you will be considered 'fully trained'. Basically, what this means is you still have to do the work to become a higher officer (if applicable within your group) - if you'd like to start working on that straight away please contact me. But for the next two weeks only, you can skip past all of your basic training.

Please check the guidelines on the bio board for submitting a bio, and email or PM me if you have any further questions.

Thank you,

Kaylan

DRPSW Seanchan/CoL Division Leader

Alright kids, it's time for us to get something pretty big happening. Now, this plotline has been in the works for a long time, negotiated with past DLs, and it's time to start setting things in motion.

So, basically, the Seanchan are going to be pulling off an invasion of Amadicia, concentrating on Amador and the forces of the Children of the Light.

Of course, the issue at the moment is that both divisions are quite small in terms of numbers, and none of our members are leadership types, so we'll have trouble pulling it off with a force of NPCs and trainees. So, the deal is this.

Any member who has responded to the roster or submitted a bio within the next two weeks will be allowed, if they choose (and this is optional, not required), to automatically progress beyond the usual training. So, up until November 4, anyone that submits a bio for the Children of the Light or the Seanchan will be allowed to gain rank (and the accompanying minimum WS) automatically.

For the Children of the Light, the maximum rank that you may progress to is Hundredman. For the Seanchan, you will be considered 'fully trained'. Basically, what this means is you still have to do the work to become a higher officer, and if you'd like to start working on that straight away please contact me. But for the next two weeks only, you can skip past all of your basic training.

Please check the guidelines on the bio board for submitting a bio, and email or PM me if you have any further questions.

For those members already at the rank of Hundredman, we can negotiate a promotion depending on your current rank and level of activity. Please contact me for details.

Thank you,

Kaylan

DRPSW Seanchan/CoL Division Leader

OMG that's awesome! We can totally visit each other... Oooh, and you can get Krisy Kremes.

Mmmmmm.

When you're ready to plod back into RP, you hit me up. It'll come back one day, and when you do start writing again it'll rock my socks, but until then I wait with bated breath. *sniffles* I miss the old days too. You ever hear from Tannie anymore?

Fantastic to see you back, Corik!

*hands you the welcome back gift basket, which includes Sunburst candies and a special new poker*

"Sir," Analie spoke quietly but forcefully, her training from her father finally coming in handy for something, "The girl Brianna Pryan is wanted by the Children of the Light for the murder of one of our officers. We also have reason to believe that she has broken the laws of Amadicia by using the One Power, and we are simply asking to speak to the King so that we might take custody of her and return to our country for trial."

They had been going on like this for days, now, back and forth with the clerks who were running them around in circles. It had taken months to track her all the way to Cairhien, the der'Algai becoming involved as soon as the death of one of their officers became known. The girl was a witch, had channeled the One Power to kill a Child of the Light, and regardless of how Analie might feel personally about that particular law, there was no excuse for murder. No excuse.

"I'm afraid not, Hundredman Shehan, the King is busy today."

Frustration bubbled up, but she kept her face smooth and her voice calm.

"What about tomorrow, Clerk Ulrich? Can we not make arrangements to see him tomorrow?"

The answer was the same. Come down tomorrow, when the King's schedule was finalised. With a short bow - curtsies did not look right in breeches - Analie nodded smoothly, stalking out of the room with a black look. She had even dressed formally for this, which she had not done in months. It had not helped.

It was a quick walk back to the Inn, and she called the group of der'Algai into the private dining area for a meeting.

"We are to go back tomorrow." It pained her to admit it, especially in front of Arala. Why the throne was making trouble for the Children, she could not say. While she was not so rash as to suggest them all darkfriends, it was still frustrating to be met with opposition on what should have been a simple enough matter.

~Analie Shehan

Hundredman of the Children of the Light

der'Algai d'ma Rahien

Calya had brought interesting news from one of her eyes-and-ears, and Kaylan wanted to go somewhere private to look over the letter herself, but she found herself turning around to face Ralleigh again as he addressed her formally.

She blinked at his question, for just a moment.

"Sharing a meal?" She repeated, as though she hadn't understood.

It had been a few years since Kaylan had actually enjoyed anything beyond flirting with a man. Not since Jumael... That thought brought a pain that she buried deep down, before it could touch her face.

But Jumael was not hers anymore. Not bonded by love or the Power any longer, no matter what she might want. It was love for him that had broken their Bond, a love that she still held somewhere inside her. She had loved many, over the years, and lost them all - it was part of her life, part of her duty. She could still remember every detail of Shem's face, though she'd buried him centuries back - Kaylan's one regret was that she'd never given him the love he deserved, because of the damned shawl around her shoulders. A shawl that would one day be her burial shroud. It was part of being Aes Sedai, part of being Battle Ajah.

But a meal was, after all, only a meal.

"Of course. It would be my pleasure." She favoured him with a small smile before turning back to her Warders.

"Name the time and the day, and I will be ready." Calling over her shoulder without looking at him, Kaylan couldn't help but smile.

I haven't lost it after all.

~Kaylan Morin

Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah

Thrice Bonded

"No, no, that's alright. If you're only going to be here a few days, Fawne should spend time with you while she has the chance." Though she smiled sweetly, there was still a hint of a barb there. Matalina - no, Cari now - had given up her claim to Alex years past, and had abandoned her daughter to go haring off to Cairhien.

"Alexis can be fussy, too, I wouldn't want her disturbing your dinner." Yes, she was generally a well behaved baby, but too much noise and too many people could easily disturb her. It was difficult sometimes, keeping her from disturbing the patrons of the Siren's Call, but they seemed to be managing so far.

The tall woman smiled, though, hoping that she hadn't offended the once-Warder. Though she occasionally felt that Matalina should have been there for Fawne, and had blamed her for Alex's death for a few weeks - if the woman had not moved to Cairhien, Alex would not be buried where he was now - she was doing her best to hold no ill-will. Fawne was right, they were all family in a way. A big and rather complicated family, but family all the same, and Elia didn't want to cause any trouble for the girl. They were all three - no, four - of them connected by love for Alex, and that should have been the most important thing.

Woo hoo!

Taylie Taylie!

Miss you. *snuggles*

The persistent sound of crying cut through the dreamless sleep, dragging Elia back to conciousness even though she did not wish it. Alexis was a beautiful baby, but she had not yet slept for more than an hour at a time, and the once-Commander was having to take her own sleep in similar shifts.

Fawne must have been taking a break. It was entirely understandable - she was only a girl, after all, and couldn't be expected to raise a baby on her own.

Sometimes it made things very difficult, because all she could think about was how much she wished Alex was with them.

Wandering over into the other room, Elia picked up her daughter and rocked her gently on her shoulder, quieting the crying almost immediately.

"Time for me to get up anyway, isn't it?" She was starting to feel thirsty, and no doubt Alexis would soon too.

Padding down into the common room, still rocking Alexis on her shoulder, Elia asked for a glass of water and offered a smile over in Fawne's direction while she waited.

~Elia Darnel

Tower Guard on-leave

"Oh, don't be a fool. It's very unattractive."

The old Green offered a hand to help him back up, but her thoughts were, perhaps unsurprisingly, on herself.

You're too old to be flirting.

Blasphemy.

Lost your touch.

Oh, I sincerely doubt that.

"You'd be amazed at what some choose to Bond. I've had ten over the years, not all skilled with a blade - at least at the beginning... But none of them fools. A lucky hit in from me means nothing."

Perhaps it simply meant he was distracted. Well, it wouldn't be surprising, given the topic of conversation - she'd heard the whispers, particularly after taking Jada's Bond, that she would Bond as soon as look at you. They weren't true, of course - Kaylan was picky about more than looks - but she could understand why he might be worried.

Then again, it may just have been the tight breeches and open-laced shirt she was wearing. Comfortable, but revealing, much like the rest of her wardrobe. Kaylan was far too stubborn to play to anyone's expectations.

"The sword is not, after all, my only weapon. I am well aware of the limits of my skills." Sheathing her blade, Kaylan embraced the Source and created a whip of air, smiling at him rather cheekily before letting it dissipate, a small fireball appearing in her palm to replace it.

They were all weapons. Her blade, the Power, the way she dressed and the manner in which she behaved. Underestimation was a fatal mistake.

The spar with Ralleigh was a welcome change - if she sparred with her Warders, after all, they knew what she was thinking so they could always tell her feints, and many of the Tower Guard refused to cross bare steel with an Aes Sedai. She didn't even cheat and use the Power, she was having that much fun.

"I train as often as I can, Captain, but unfortunately Aes Sedai are expected to attend to other matters before the sword." Kaylan was realistic - she knew that she would never match a Tower Guard, not even one freshly raised, but steel was not her primary weapon.

She chose to take the comment on stamina for what it was, and even chanced a mild flirtation. "Stamina? You have no idea."

Well, she had to do her part for the Green Ajah reputation, didn't she? Although all the lightskirts they seemed to have gotten over recent years were doing plenty on their own.

Kaylan did love men. More than that, she loved mankind, which was why she'd been fighting the Shadow for so many years. Every bit of her study was recorded somewhere, in case her fears came true and she died before the Last Battle came - others needed to know what she had discovered about the Shadow so that it could be applied.

She had a horrible feeling that she should have been working faster, but so many years had passed that she'd grown comfortable in her relatively eccentric studies.

Somehow, the Green Sister managed to look graceful in her sparring gear, sitting as she was without a drop of sweat on her and sipping at her water.

"You seem very skilled with your blade. I am surprised that some Sister has not snapped you up yet." Then again, some Ajahs seemed to see Warders as nothing more than a strong arm when needed, rather than a Brother - or Sister - in Battle.

Things hadn't changed at the old Dupree farm, from what she could see so far. Still, this wasn't a social visit, even if the old couple had been wonderful eyes-and-ears for some time. Most of the time it was little more than ramblings about crops, but occasionally their old minds read something into rumours that her agents within the city could not see - or would not report.

Ralleigh was looking... uncomfortable. Terse. He was a good captain, from all reports, and she wanted to make it clear to him that she was only there as a One Power backup. Unless they started fighting against Shadowspawn - more than unlikely on the streets of Cairhien - her expertise wouldn't be quite so useful, and would likely draw unwanted attention. Kaylan preferred to leave learning tactics to her Warders - she was slightly more eccentric in her interests.

"Captain Taj. If it comes to a fighting situation, we are at your disposal." She included her Warders without feeling any particular need to name them. The four of them had generally learnt to work as a cohesive unit, and all of them had experience following orders in battle. Usually she did not leave a man - not to mention a man that had no idea about channeling - in charge of her, but they needed to have a clear understanding before any situations arose where they'd need to know who to look to.

"As far as I am concerned, though, we are all simply overkill, sent to bother Phaedra Sedai. The Sitter is perfectly capable of handling herself, and I am sure that she will let us know when we are needed."

Not exactly the best way of outlining the chain of command, but Kaylan wasn't exactly subtle and she saw no need to beat around the bush. Still, it was better than saying, 'Phaedra is in command, stop fretting boy.' Men needed direction, but if you were too obvious in giving it to them they would dig in their heels.

That was why she'd only ever Bonded one man.

Her mind turned to the mission at hand, and she wondered where they were going to start. Surely Phaedra already had that in mind, but Kaylan wanted to find out some more information so that she could get in contact with some of her eyes and ears. They may not know anything useful, but it was worthwhile asking them, anyway. She seemed to recall a saying about never knowing if you never got going, but it was possible that had gone out of style centuries ago. Occasionally she piped up with sayings from her youth that made very little sense to someone brought up centuries later, and she didn't really feel like explaining herself right now. Well, she had an excuse. Kaylan had been old and grumpy longer than any of these children had been alive. Bar Phaedra, of course, but that was entirely beside the point.

~Kaylan Morin Aes Sedai

Sister of the Battle Ajah

Bonded to Mercury Sansiria, Calya Gille and Jada Sellick

[OOC: You can go ahead and take us to the city if you like.]

OOC: (as much as I hate to make a completely OOC post) Having read this again and tried to reply, I think it's actually a good end. So I vote we leave this thread here and pick up a new one another time. :) Email me if your vote goes the other way - have work tomorrow, probably won't be able to get on much. *hugs*

The party had gathered, carrying far less than they normally would have on a journey like this, and Kaylan turned to everyone with a smile. Two Aes Sedai, three Warders, three of the Tower Guard. A good number, a good group. Phaedra may have held doubts about how well they would do, but Kaylan was confident that they could go from here to Shayol Ghul if they wanted to and not have any problems.

Well, no problems fighting, anyway.

Phaedra could take care of the peacekeeping bit, surely.

One hand briefly touched the ring on Mercury's right wrist, one of the ter'angreal that they'd never been able to deactivate or even really study properly. There were a few Browns that fought over her Warder's time every now and again, but Kaylan barely even thought of them anymore. They did their job, that was the most important thing. Of course, they also cancelled out her Flows if Mercury wanted to fight against them, which had left the old Aes Sedai and her young red-headed Warder with a rather interesting relationship.

Sometimes, Kaylan couldn't understand why people didn't have Warders. At other times, she looked at her own and wished she'd never learned the weave.

"So, shall we be off?" She'd tested the weave more thoroughly since learning it, and was confident that there would be no problems getting their party to farms slightly south of Cairhien city. They might need to ride until that evening to reach the city, but they would certainly gain a huge advantage by using the weave.

Hopefully her friends still owned the farm.

Hopefully it hadn't been converted into a grazing ranch. That could be... interesting.

Embracing the source, the old Green wove together now-familiar threads and watched as a hole opened onto a large square platform, With seats and torches and a fence all round to keep the horses calm. Green and gray tiles formed an interesting geometric pattern that gave a suggestion of scales and swords, but wasn't necessarily designed as such.

"Shall we?" She motioned at the hole, stepping in herself and waiting for them to follow. Once they were all settled, the hole closed and the platform started moving, and Kaylan wished that she'd thought to bring sandwiches or something. Her trips to the blight had taken minutes, not seconds, so she was expecting the same of this. Still, it was far better than the weeks that it could have taken, and left them with much longer for the investigation.

After some time, the platform seemed to come to a stop. There was no wind to indicate it, just a feeling that was a little unsettling, but Kaylan stood confidently and opened another hole.

Still fields of wheat, thankfully.

"Alright, off you all go. Careful."

Her Warders went first, to make sure there was no trouble. She wasn't expecting any - it was a farm, after all, not a fortress.

[Cross posted to Alliance thread]

The party had gathered, carrying far less than they normally would have on a journey like this, and Kaylan turned to everyone with a smile. Two Aes Sedai, three Warders, three of the Tower Guard. A good number, a good group. Phaedra may have held doubts about how well they would do, but Kaylan was confident that they could go from here to Shayol Ghul if they wanted to and not have any problems.

Well, no problems fighting, anyway.

Phaedra could take care of the peacekeeping bit, surely.

One hand briefly touched the ring on Mercury's right wrist, one of the ter'angreal that they'd never been able to deactivate or even really study properly. There were a few Browns that fought over her Warder's time every now and again, but Kaylan barely even thought of them anymore. They did their job, that was the most important thing. Of course, they also cancelled out her Flows if Mercury wanted to fight against them, which had left the old Aes Sedai and her young red-headed Warder with a rather interesting relationship.

Sometimes, Kaylan couldn't understand why people didn't have Warders. At other times, she looked at her own and wished she'd never learned the weave.

"So, shall we be off?" She'd tested the weave more thoroughly since learning it, and was confident that there would be no problems getting their party to farms slightly south of Cairhien city. They might need to ride until that evening to reach the city, but they would certainly gain a huge advantage by using the weave.

Hopefully her friends still owned the farm.

Hopefully it hadn't been converted into a grazing ranch. That could be... interesting.

Embracing the source, the old Green wove together now-familiar threads and watched as a hole opened onto a large square platform, With seats and torches and a fence all round to keep the horses calm. Green and gray tiles formed an interesting geometric pattern that gave a suggestion of scales and swords, but wasn't necessarily designed as such.

"Shall we?" She motioned at the hole, stepping in herself and waiting for them to follow. Once they were all settled, the hole closed and the platform started moving, and Kaylan wished that she'd thought to bring sandwiches or something. Her trips to the blight had taken minutes, not seconds, so she was expecting the same of this. Still, it was far better than the weeks that it could have taken, and left them with much longer for the investigation.

After some time, the platform seemed to come to a stop. There was no wind to indicate it, just a feeling that was a little unsettling, but Kaylan stood confidently and opened another hole.

Still fields of wheat, thankfully.

"Alright, off you all go. Careful."

Her Warders went first, to make sure there was no trouble. She wasn't expecting any - it was a farm, after all, not a fortress.

[Cross posted to East board]

Works for me. *rubs hands together in glee*

CCed by the CoL/SC

"That suits me perfectly, Sister."

She knew that she had no tact, but she also had absolutely no desire to be involved in the politicking that this mission would no doubt involve. As far as Kaylan was concerned, she was there as a strong arm, protection for the Sitter and an extra set of eyes.

When her tactics were needed, she would use them.

"How soon are the three going to be ready to leave? I am prepared already."

Well, there was no harm in being organised. Kaylan tended to be ready for anything. You never knew when you would need to pick up and leave at any moment.

She let herself feel another thrill of pleasure at the fact that now she could skim away to anywhere familiar. It really was a wonderful discovery.

The kind of discovery that gathered an Ajah huge amounts of prestige. She'd been planning on doing a bit of experimenting with the weave, but hadn't had a chance yet. It wasn't the kind of thing that she could do publicly - experimentation with the power was... frowned upon.

Kaylan didn't care about being frowned upon.

In truth, once Kaylan had heard that the Gray Sister was going to Cairhien, she had actively petitioned to be given the job of accompanying her. Dawn's death had come as a shock to her, and the manner in which the younger Aes Sedai's death had been dealt with left a sour taste in her mouth.

Thankfully, she wasn't considered too old to be going off on her own just yet, and her three Warders certainly helped her argument. Though Jada still wasn't quite so experienced as the others, she had two blademasters and a competent army member tied to her, not to mention Mercury's specific gifts. Her enhanced strength always came in useful.

All three were prepared and ready for the trip, as she had told them to be waiting to leave at any moment. With their newly-discovered power to skim (and Kaylan's familiarity with a specific farm in Cairhien where she'd stayed for some months a few years back), the Green Sister had convinced herself that they could depart immediately.

Of course, she was puzzled that Phaedra hadn't just skimmed out of the Tower in the first place. Kaylan wasn't exactly known for her patience, though, nor for following rules. This was, of course, the Sister who had slapped the Keeper of the Chronicles, had passed on a Bond without thought for her reputation, had taken a Child of the Light as her Warder without asking - and had kept her. The old Green, so fond of wearing low cut dresses even though she had long since passed an age where it could be considered decent, was far too stuck in her ways to care a whit what anyone thought.

Especially now that she could get away without anyone knowing. Well, aside from her Warders - who had given her an earful the day she'd learned skimming.

Phaedra had been facing away from the door as Kaylan swept in, but soon enough the old Gray was looking at her with an expression that betrayed her thoughts.

"You didn't think I'd let them send some green recruit to help you? Sister, Dawn deserves better."

Taking the offered tea with a smile and a nod, Kaylan wandered over to sit opposite Phaedra.

"I find myself wondering why you bothered to ask, though I am glad in a way. I get a chance to help, now."

She barely paid attention to the Yellow, so intent upon her daughter was Elia. She looked up as Fawne touched tiny fingers and smiled. The pair would look like full sisters, without a doubt.

Wearily kissing Fawne back, Elia held up the baby - swaddled in a clean blanket for the moment - so that Fawne could take a proper look.

"Meet your little sister, Alexis."

Saying the name brought fresh tears to her eyes, but she knew that it was what she wanted to do. Alex lived on only in their memories, now, but his daughter should have some part of him since she would never get to meet him.

[OOC: Bleh, sorry, it's just not happening for me tonight. Didn't want to hold things up though. Sorry love! *kiss*]

It could have been a few minutes, or it could have been a few days for all Elia knew. Through the haze of pain she was dimly aware of worried faces and whispered words, snapped orders from the Aes Sedai and gentle encouragement from the stream of women that seemed to be coming through to see her.

She looked up at the person stroking her forehead to see her mother looking down at her, and she smiled through tears at the vision.

"You're going to be ok, Elia. The baby is going to be ok."

"I can't do it, I can't..." She sobbed the words, thinking of her father's sisters - both dead in childbirth, and posessing the same build as her. Not so fit, perhaps, but both tall and slim and neither had been able to deliver properly. She hoped that if her baby was a girl, she wouldn't have this same problem.

Her skin was slick with sweat and tears, the bed beneath her damp sweat and blood. She knew that it was going badly, knew that this baby shouldn't have been coming so fast, knew that her hips weren't wide enough to allow it passage even if it had taken days of coaxing her into readiness. She simply wasn't built for childbirth - perhaps that was why it had taken so many years for her to conceive. Nature did not intend for her to be giving life, it seemed, only defending it.

A voice was whispering in her ear, telling her that she had to push or the baby would die, but Elia didn't think she had the strength.

"You need the strength, Elia, or your baby will die." Another familiar voice - her mother's mother, long dead, married to a Tower Guard.

Tears, for pain both physical and emotional, were the last thing she remembered.

***

It was a nice feeling, actually - all her pain gone, floating on a bubble of warmth and knowing that soon she would be with the people she had loved and lost.

The bubble burst. Elia felt like she was falling for a long moment, before plunging into an icy cold river, and she jerked awake with a gasp to see Fayth standing with one hand to her forehead, and the baby crying in protest at being taken away.

Her pain was still gone, and Elia pushed a damp strand of hair back from her forehead to reach out for her child.

"It's a girl."

This time, her tears of were joy, and she took her daughter into her arms with a radiant smile.

Tiny hands grasped and tiny feet kicked and Elia looked down and felt it all worthwhile.

"What are you going to name her?"

She'd avoided thinking about that throughout the entire pregnancy, not wanting to contemplate what Alex would have wanted to call his second child.

"Alexis," she said, and she thought she could hear an echo of the voices.

"Alexis."

Was it supposed to hurt so much?

Surely it was supposed to take longer than this.

The pain she'd been feeling all day, once a dull ache, was now waves of agony that barely stopped for a moment before starting up again.

"Something's wrong."

It was little more than a whisper, but the words contained all her fear and pain and grief. She couldn't lose this baby, it had to arrive healthy - it was the only other bit of Alex left in the world, the one little piece of their love still there.

Squeezing Fawne's hand and crying out in pain, Elia had to do her very best not to hurt the young woman. It was a reflex, the strong grip, but Elia was trained in weaponry and her lanky frame was stronger than it appeared.

"Where is Fayth? Something's wrong."

The Yellow would know what to do, would know how to fix this and make sure that the baby was ok. It was odd, really, that Elia wasn't thinking of herself at all - but Fawne could hardly raise her half-sibling on her own. She knew, somewhere deep down, that her health was just as important as the baby's - but all Elia could think about was keeping hold of the last part of Alex that she had left. The last parts - she squeezed Fawne's hand again, softer this time, before her reassuring smile turned into another cry of pain.

At least she wasn't the only one who was nervous about it all - the whole inn seemed thrown into a state of nervous anticipation by the imminent birth of Elia and Alex's child. He had lived and worked there for many years, so it was a rather emotional moment for all of them.

Somehow, Fawne managed to get her back up the stairs and into her bed, though Elia had a feeling that Fayth would be unhappy about that. She wasn't going to deliver the child in the common room, though, and was having trouble imagining herself getting up to the White Tower successfully. Fayth would manage, surely.

They would all manage.

Rubbing her belly - which seemed far too big to be holding just one baby, though Fayth had assured her that she was only carrying one child, Elia tried to ignore her thin frame and think positive thoughts.

More waves of pain proved an effective distraction.

"Oh, Fawne. The baby is going to be alright, isn't it?"

Considering that she could usually face down a charge of warriors without flinching, Elia sounded absolutely terrified.