This plot bunny wouldn't stop gnawing on my brain. Hope you enjoy this ficlet!
Disclaimer: It's all mine, except for all the stuff that belongs to Robert Jordan. Like the world, characters, setting.. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm just playing in RJ's sandbox, here.
Logain tugged absently on the sleeve of his freshly-donned black coat. The thing hardly fit, but it was the closest that could be found to his size while he'd bathed in the plain, unfinished chamber provided to him. Most of the place was unfinished. But when it was done, Logain didn't doubt it would rival any palace for size.
He moved to stand in front of the window. Through the clear, flawless glass he watched men in coats identical to the one he wore lifting great blocks of stone into the air, fixing them into some point above the room he stood in. A palace, indeed. Two women moved among them, one dressed plainly in brown wool with thick streaks of gray in her hair, the other in a high-necked Andoran gown with a touch of lace at the sleeves. They carried thick mugs and a pitcher, offering drink to the working men. Wives, perhaps, who had stayed with their husbands despite what they were. That heartened him, somehow. The Last Battle was coming, and after the Dark One was defeated... who knew? Perhaps men who could channel would once again be able to live without fear of going mad, as they had before the Breaking.
"Impressive, isn't it?" A low, cool voice said behind him. Logain whirled to see an unfamiliar man lounging in the doorway. The man was as tall as Logain, though more slender, with a hooked nose and dark, predatory eyes. His black coat was made of silk with strange red and gold creatures twined around the arms. Unperturbed by Logain's scrutiny the man sauntered forward until he stood only a few paces away. "Soon, the Black Tower will rival the White Tower. In numbers, and in infamy."
"The Black Tower," he repeated softly. He didn't like the man's tone at all, but his words had a nice ring to them.
The hook-nosed man gave him a thin smile. "I trust you're refreshed after your long journey."
"The accommodations are a little sparse," he replied dryly, with a thin smile of his own. "And the bath water was cold. Still, it's nice to be clean again."
"Why bother heating it for you? I didn't doubt you could do it yourself." The man raised an eyebrow, as if in doubt.
"A poor test, if you don't believe I am who I say." Logain grunted sourly.
"You must admit, your tale was rather... remarkable."
And so it was. Who would believe that a former false Dragon, gentled, had been Healed by an Accepted while spreading lies to help rebel Aes Sedai discredit the new Amyrlin Seat?
"I am who I am," he said, softly.
"I believe you," the man said simply. His dark eyes were fixed intently on Logain, like a hawk watching wounded prey, waiting for the right moment to strike. Well, Logain was no rabbit, and Mazrim Taim would learn that soon enough.
He met Taim's gaze steadily, and the silence stretched between them.
"You must have little love for Aes Sedai, after all that's been done to you," the other man said at last, expression unreadable.
"Little enough," Logain replied cautiously. As little as Taim himself, surely. The man had escaped Logain's fate by a fingers' breadth. Still, he owed Nynaeve al'Meara a great debt, and a lesser debt to Egwene al'Vere, the rebels' Amyrlin. He could not bring himself to hate all Aes Sedai. Not even most of them, truly. He wasn't the Dragon Reborn, after all. An admission as bitter as gall, but there it was.
Taim closed the distance between them, shoulder brushing Logain's as he stared pensively out the window. Logain turned back to the glass, where the men appeared to be taking a break. "They'll give us trouble, eventually. He doesn't want us to attack first. Doesn't want us killing them." Taim snorted softly. Logain had no doubt who the man was referring to. Rand al'Thor. The Dragon Reborn, whose amnesty allowed for all this to be possible. "Even with so many half-trained recruits, we could subdue them. We have strength on our side, and surprise. And Travelling." The man's mouth curved in a secretive smile.
"A wondrous thing." Logain had seen one of these gateways himself, as he rode into the Black Tower, escorted by a hard-faced young man with a sword pin on his collar. "Did the Lord Dragon--" a bitter mouthful, those two words "--teach you that?"
Taim's expression turned sour. "He did," the hooked-nosed man replied shortly. Apparently, Logain wasn't the only one having a hard time giving up his claim to a title that wasn't his. Something about the man made him uncomfortable, though he couldn't put his finger on what. "So what do you plan to do if the Aes Sedai do attack?" he asked, mostly to change the subject.
"We will subdue them, somehow." Taim gave him a considering look, then a lazy smile spread across his face. "I've worked the trick to gentling, as they like to call it. It would be nicely ironic, don't you agree?" Those dark eyes were cold enough to make water freeze.
"Ironic," he agreed faintly, a hard ball forming in the pit of his stomach. This man was dangerous. Logain wondered if the Taint had gotten hold of him, yet. Surely only a madman would suggest cutting Aes Sedai off from the Power for the sake of revenge.
Taim turned to face him fully, and the intensity of his expression made Logain swallow nervously. "You did well on your own, before the Aes Sedai managed to take you," he said softly. "But I have done much. Learned much. There is a great deal I could teach you." He reached out, and Logain had to steel himself to keep from stepping away from the hand that rested on his shoulder. Taim's low voice was almost... seductive. "You are very powerful, I think. Together we could do incredible things." The hand slowly slid down his arm. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Taim's. "United, none could stand against us. He is soft. If we follow what he wants, the Black Tower will fall to ruin at the hands of Aes Sedai. But even he would tremble before our combined strength."
Taim leaned close, until the length of their bodies were almost touching. He squeezed Logain's forearm, and Logain's breath caught. "I could give you power," Taim whispered. "Power such as you've never dreamed of. Power to make your enemies weep just hearing your name. Power to make the world tremble before you." Their faces were too close; Taim's breath tickled his cheek. "Join me, and I can give you everything you've ever dreamed of."
For a moment Logain remained still, heart pounding. Then revulsion rose within him, breaking the queer spell Taim had cast over him.
He jerked away, taking several steps backward. "I think we should do as the Lord Dragon commands," he said, stiffly. "The Aes Sedai will have their place at the Last Battle, as surely as we will. I'll not take part in anything..." He trailed off, letting his disgust show.
Taim stiffened, face cold. "Very well. I hope you won't come to regret your decision, Logain." A hint of a sneer as he said Logain's name. Well, he'd endured worse.
"Where will I be staying then, Taim? Here?" He sincerely hoped not.
The other man's face grew colder, if winter's heart could be said to grow colder. "I am called the M'hael, here." He announced pointedly. "I expect you to address me properly, like everyone else here. You won't be getting any special treatment."
Logain pursed his lips to keep the sneer off his face. "My quarters?"
"I'll have one of the soldiers find you... suitable accommodation." Taim turned sharply on his heel and stalked away from him. He paused briefly in the doorway, looking over his shoulder at Logain contemptuously, but said nothing. Then he was gone.
Logain exhaled slowly, tension easing out of his body. He looked over to the corner where the bathtub still stood, filled with grimy water. He briefly considered channelling the dirty water warm again. The encounter with Taim had left him feeling dirty.