A Crown of Swords twot-7 Page 26

  When she entered the tent, though, Sheriam was not there. Which perhaps should not have been a surprise, given the night before. The tent was not empty, however.

  "The Light illumine you this morning, Mother," Theodrin said, making a deep curtsy that set the brown fringe of her shawl swaying. She had all the fabled Domani grace, though her high-necked dress was really quite modest. Domani women were not known for modesty. "We did as you commanded, but no one saw anybody near Marigan's tent last night."

  "Some of the men remembered seeing Halima," Faolain added sourly, with a much briefer bend of her knees, "but aside from that, they hardly recalled whether they went to sleep." Many women disapproved of Delana's secretary, but it was her next remark that made Faolain's round face darker than usual. "We met Tiana while we were roaming about. She told us to go to bed and be quick about it." Unconsciously she stroked the blue fringe on her shawl. New Aes Sedai almost always wore their shawls more often than they needed to, so Siuan said.

  Giving them a smile she hoped was welcoming, Egwene took her place behind the small table. Carefully; the chair tilted for a moment anyway, until she reached down and pulled the leg straight. An edge of folded parchment peeked out from beneath the stone inkwell. Her hands twitched toward it, but she made them be still. Too many sisters saw little need for courtesy. She would not be one of those. Besides, these two had a claim on her.

  "I am sorry for your difficulties, daughters." Made Aes Sedai by her decree on being raised Amyrlin, they faced the same predicament as she, but lacking the added shield of the Amyrlin's stole, small shield that that had proved. Most sisters behaved as though they were still only Accepted. What went on inside the Ajahs was seldom known outside, but it was rumored that they truly had had to beg admittance, and that guardians had been named to oversee their behavior. No one had ever heard the like, but everyone took it for fact. She had done them no favor. Another thing that had been necessary, though. "I will speak to Tiana." It might do some good. For a day, or an hour.

  "Thank you, Mother," Theodrin said, "but there is no need to bother yourself." Still, she also touched her shawl, hands lingering. "Tiana wanted to know why we were up so late," she added after a moment, "but we didn't tell her."

  "There was no need for secrecy, daughter." A pity they had not found a witness, though. Moghedien's rescuer would remain a shadow half-glimpsed. Always the most frightening sort. She glanced at the tiny corner of parchment, itching to read it. Maybe Siuan had discovered something. "Thank you both." Theodrin recognized a dismissal and made her manners to go, but stopped when Faolain remained where she was.

  "I wish I had held the Oath Rod already," Faolain told Egwene in tones of frustration, "so you could know what I say is true."

  "This isn't the time to bother the Amyrlin," Theodrin began, then folded her hands and turned her attention to Egwene. Patience blended with something else on her face. Clearly the stronger of the two in the Power, she always took the lead, yet this time she was prepared to step back. In aid of what, Egwene wondered.

  "It isn't the Oath Rod that makes a woman Aes Sedai, daughter." Whatever some believed. "Speak the truth to me, and I will believe it."

  "I don't like you." Faolain's mop of dark curls swayed as she shook her head for emphasis. "You must know that. You probably think I was mean when you were a novice, when you came back to the White Tower after running away, but I still believe you didn't get half the punishment you should have. Maybe my admitting it will help you know I speak the truth. It isn't as though we have no choice even now. Romanda offered to take us under her protection, and so did Lelaine. They said they'd see we were tested and raised properly as soon we return to the Tower." Her face grew angrier, and Theodrin rolled her eyes and broke in.

  "Mother, what Faolain is fumbling all around without getting to the point is that we didn't attach ourselves to you because we had no choice. And we didn't do it in gratitude for the shawl." She pursed her lips as if thinking that raising them Aes Sedai in the manner Egwene had was not really a gift to inspire much gratitude.

  "Then why?" Egwene asked, leaning back. The chair shifted, but held.

  Faolain jumped in before Theodrin could more than open her mouth. "Because you are the Amyrlin Seat." She still sounded angry. "We can see what happens. Some of the sisters think you're Sheriam's puppet, but most believe Romanda or Lelaine tells you where and when to step. It is not right." Her face was twisted in a scowl. "I left the Tower because what Elaida did wasn't right. They raised you Amyrlin. So I am yours. If you will have me. If you can trust me without the Oath Rod. You must believe me."

  "And you, Theodrin?" Egwene said quickly, schooling her face. Knowing how the sisters felt was bad enough; hearing it again was… painful.

  "I am yours, too," Theodrin sighed, "if you'll have me." She spread her hands disparagingly. "We are not much, I know, but it looks as though we are all you have. I must admit I was hesitant, Mother. Faolain is the one who kept insisting we do this. Frankly…" She settled her shawl again unnecessarily, and her voice firmed. "Frankly, I do not see how you can win out over Romanda and Lelaine. But we are trying to behave as Aes Sedai, even though we aren't really, yet. We will not be that, Mother, whatever you say, until the other sisters see us as Aes Sedai, and that won't happen until we have been tested and have sworn the Three Oaths."

  Plucking the folded scrap of parchment out from under the inkwell, Egwene fingered it while she thought. Faolain was the driving force behind this? That seemed as unlikely as a wolf befriending the shepherd. She suspected "dislike" was a mild word for what Faolain felt for her, and the woman must know Egwene hardly saw her as a potential friend. If they had accepted either Sitter's arrangement, mentioning the offer might be a good means of disarming her suspicions.

  "Mother," Faolain said, and stopped, looking surprised at herself. It was the first time she had addressed Egwene so. Drawing a deep breath, she went on. "Mother, I know you must have a hard time believing us, since we've never held the Oath Rod, but —"

  "I wish you would stop bringing that up," Egwene said. It was well to be careful, but she could not afford to refuse every offer of help for fear of plots. "Do you think everybody believes Aes Sedai because of the Three Oaths? People who know Aes Sedai know a sister can stand truth on its head and turn it inside out if she chooses to. Myself, I think the Three Oaths hurt as much as they help, maybe more. I will believe you until I learn you've lied to me, and I will trust you until you show you don't deserve it. The same way everybody else does with one another." Come to think of it, the Oaths did not really change that. You still had to take a sister on trust most of the time. The Oaths just made people warier about it, wondering whether and how they were being manipulated. "Another thing. You two are Aes Sedai. I don't want to hear any more about having to be tested, or hold the Oath Rod, or any of it. Bad enough you have to face that nonsense without parroting it yourselves. Have I made myself clear?"

  The two women standing on the other side of the table murmured hastily that she had, then exchanged long looks. This time, it was Faolain who appeared indecisive. Finally, Theodrin glided around to kneel beside Egwene's chair and kiss her ring. "Under the Light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth, I, Theodrin Dabei, swear fealty to you, Egwene al'Vere, to faithfully serve and obey on pain of my life and honor." She looked at Egwene questioningly.

  It was all Egwene could do to nod. This was no part of Aes Sedai ritual; this was how noble swore to ruler. Even some rulers did not receive so strong an oath. Yet no sooner had Theodrin risen with a relieved smile than Faolain took her place.

  "Under the Light and by my hope of salvation and rebirth, I, Faolain Orande…"

  All that she could have wished for and more. From any other sisters, at least, who were not just as likely to be sent to fetch another's dustcloak if the wind rose.

  When Faolain finished, she remained kneeling, but stiffly upright. "Mother, there is the matter of my penance. For what I said to you, about not liking
you. I will set it myself, if you wish, but it is your right." Her voice was as rigid as her posture, yet not at all fearful. She looked ready to stare down a lion. Eager to, in fact.

  Biting her lip, Egwene nearly laughed aloud. Keeping her face smooth took effort; maybe they would take it for a hiccough. However much they claimed they were not really Aes Sedai, Faolain had just proved how much of one she was. Sometimes sisters set themselves penances, in order to maintain the proper balance between pride and humility — that balance was much prized, supposedly, and the only reason given usually — but certainly none sought to have one imposed. Penance set by another could be quite harsh, and the Amyrlin was supposed to be harder in this than the Ajahs. Either way, though, many sisters made a haughty display of submission to the greater will of the Aes Sedai, an arrogant showing of their lack of arrogance. The pride of humility, Siuan called it. She considered telling the woman to eat a handful of soap just to see her expression — Faolain had a mean tongue — but instead…

  "I don't hand out penance for telling the truth, daughter. Or for not liking me. Dislike to your heart's content, so long as you keep your oath." Not that anyone except a Darkfriend would break that particular oath. Still, there were ways around almost anything. But weak sticks were better than none, when you were fending off a bear.

  Faolain's eyes widened, and Egwene sighed as she motioned the woman to rise. Had their positions been reversed, Faolain would have put her nose firmly in the dust.

  "I'm setting you two tasks to begin, daughters," she went on.

  They listened carefully, Faolain not even blinking, Theodrin with a thoughtful finger to her lips, and this time when she dismissed them, they said, "As you command, Mother," in unison as they curtsied.

  Egwene's good mood was fleeting, though. Meri arrived with her breakfast on a tray as Theodrin and Faolain departed, and when Egwene thanked her for the rose-petal pomander, she said, "I had a few spare moments, Mother." By her expression, that could have been an accusation that Egwene worked her too hard, or that she herself did not work hard enough. Not a pleasant spice for the stewed fruit. For that matter, the woman's face might sour the mint tea and turn the warm crusty bun hard as a rock. Egwene sent her away before eating. The tea was weak anyway. Tea was one of the things in short supply.

  The note that had been under the inkwell proved no better seasoning. "Nothing of interest in the dream," said Siuan's fine script. So Siuan had been in Tel'aran'rhiod last night too; she did a good deal of spying there. It mattered little whether she had been hunting some sign of Moghedien, though that would have been insanely foolish, or something else; nothing was nothing.

  Egwene grimaced, and not just for the "nothing." Siuan in Tel'aran'rhiod last night meant a visit from Leane sometime today, complaining. Siuan most definitely no longer was allowed any of the dream ter'angreal, not since she had tried to teach some of the other sisters about the World of Dreams. It was not so much that she knew little more than they, or even that few sisters believed they actually needed a teacher to learn anything, but Siuan possessed a tongue like a rasp and no patience. Usually she managed to hold her temper, but two outbursts of shouting and fist-shaking, and she had been fortunate just to find herself denied access to the ter'angreal. Leane was given one whenever she asked, though, and frequently Siuan used it in secret. That was one of the few real bones of contention between them; both would have been in Tel'aran'rhiod every night if they could.

  With a grimace Egwene channeled the tiniest spark of Fire to set a corner of the parchment alight and held it until it burned nearly to her fingers. Nothing left to be found by anyone rooting through her belongings and reported where it would rouse suspicions.

  Breakfast almost done, she was still alone, and that was not usual. Sheriam might well be avoiding her, but Siuan should have been there. Popping a last bit of the bun into her mouth and washing it down with a final swallow of tea, she rose to go find her, only to have the object of her intended search stalk into the tent. Had Siuan had a tail, she would have been lashing it.

  "Where have you been?" Egwene demanded, weaving a ward against listeners.

  "Aeldene pulled me out of my blankets first thing," Siuan growled, dropping onto one of the stools. "She still thinks she'll pump the Amyrlin's eyes-and-ears out of me. No one gets that! No one!"

  When Siuan had first arrived in Salidar, a stilled woman on the run, a deposed Amyrlin the world thought dead, the sisters might well not have let her stay except that she knew not only the Amyrlin Seat's network of agents, but also that of the Blue Ajah, which she had run before being raised to the stole. That had given her a certain influence, just as Leane's agents inside Tar Valon had given her some. The arrival of Aeldene Stonebridge, who had taken her place with the Blue eyes-and-ears, had changed matters for Siuan. Aeldene had been outraged that reports from the handful of Blue agents Siuan had managed to reach had been handed to women outside the Ajah. That Aeldene's own position had been revealed — only two or three sisters were supposed to know, even within the Blue — infuriated her to near apoplexy. She not only snatched back control of the Blue network, not only upbraided Siuan in a voice that might have been heard a mile off, she very nearly went for Siuan's throat. Aeldene was from an Andoran mining village in the Mountains of Mist, and it was said her crooked nose came from fighting with her fists when she was a girl. Aeldene's actions had started others thinking.

  Egwene returned to her unsteady chair and pushed her breakfast tray aside. "Aeldene won't take it away from you, Siuan, and neither will anyone else." When Aeldene reclaimed the Blue eyes-and-ears, others had begun thinking that the Blue should not have the Amyrlin's as well. No one suggested that it should be in Egwene's control. The Hall was to have it. So Romanda said, and Lelaine. Each intended to be the one in charge, of course, the one those reports came to first, for being first to know had advantages. Aeldene thought those agents should be added to the Blue network since Siuan was Blue. At least Sheriam was content simply to be handed all the reports Siuan received. Which she usually was. "They can't make you give it up."

  Egwene filled her teacup again, setting it and the blue-glazed honeypot on the corner of the table nearest Siuan, but the other woman only stared at them. The anger had gone out of her. She slumped on the stool. "You never really think about strength," she said, half to herself. "You're aware of it, whether you're stronger than somebody else, but you don't think about it. You just know that she defers to you, or you to her. There was no one stronger than me, before. No one, since…" Her eyes dropped to her hands, stirring uneasily on her lap. "Sometimes, when Romanda is hammering at me, or Lelaine, it suddenly hits me like a gale. They're so far above me now, I should be holding my tongue until they give me permission to speak. Even Aeldene is, and she's no more than middling." She forced her head upright, mouth tight and voice bitter. "I suppose I'm adjusting to reality. That's ingrained in us, too, driven deep before you ever test for the shawl. But I don't like it. I don't!"

  Egwene picked up her pen from beside the inkwell and the sand jar, fiddling with it while she chose words. "Siuan, you know how I feel about what needs to be changed. There's too much we do because Aes Sedai have always done it that way. But things are changing, no matter who believes it will all go back to how it was. I doubt anyone else was ever raised Amyrlin without being Aes Sedai first!" That should have elicited a comment on the White Tower's hidden records — Siuan often said there was nothing that had not occurred at least once in the Tower's history, though this did seem to be a first — but Siuan sat there disheartened, like a sack. "Siuan, the Aes Sedai way isn't the only way, and not even always the best. I intend to make sure we follow the best way, and whoever can't learn to change, or won't, had better learn to live with it." Leaning across the table, she tried to make her expression encouraging. "I never did figure out how Wise Ones determine precedence, but it isn't strength in the Power. There are women who can channel who defer to women who can't. One, Sorilea, would never have made i
t to Accepted, yet even the strongest jump when she says toad."

  "Wilders," Siuan said dismissively, but it lacked force.

  "Aes Sedai, then. I wasn't raised Amyrlin because I am the strongest. The wisest women are chosen for the Hall or to be ambassadors or advisors, the most skillful anyway, not those with the most strength." Best not to say skillful in what, though Siuan certainly possessed those particular skills too.

  "The Hall? The Hall might send me for tea. They might have me sweep out when they've finished sitting."

  Sitting back, Egwene threw down the pen. She wanted to shake the woman. Siuan had kept going when she could not channel at all, and now her knees began to fold? Egwene was on the point of telling her about Theodrin and Faolain — that should get some rise, and approval — when she saw an olive-skinned woman ride past the open tent flaps looking lost in thought beneath the wide gray hat she wore to keep off the sun.

  "Siuan, it's Myrelle." Letting the ward go, she rushed outside. "Myrelle," she called. Siuan needed a victory to wash the taste of being bullied out of her mouth, and this might be just the thing. Myrelle was one of Sheriam's lot, and apparently with a secret all her own.

  Reining in her sorrel gelding, Myrelle looked around, and gave a start when she saw Egwene. By her expression, the Green sister had not realized what part of the camp she was passing through. A thin dustcloak hung down the back of her pale gray riding dress. "Mother," she said hesitantly, "if you will forgive me, I —"

  "I will not forgive you," Egwene cut in, making her flinch. Any doubt vanished that Myrelle had heard about last night from Sheriam. "I will talk with you. Now."