Disclaimer: All characters, settings, most expressions (ie. wool-headed lummox...god I love that one!) belong to Robert Jordan(the genius who created WoT, keep em' comin Robbie...cant wait 4 #11!!!), except for el'Arianna Mandragoran who is my own creation.

R&R PLEASE

It was Shearing Day in Widow Aynal's Meadow, Emond's Field, The Two Rivers, Andor. Arianna sat on the banks of the Winespring, bare feet dangling into the cool waters, the pale blue skirts of her dress tied at her knees. The sun beat down on her as she surveyed the scene before her with cool blue eyes. Children were running back and forth bearing buckets filled to the brim, water sloshing out as they hurried along. She spotted Egwene al'Vere among them and smiled to herself. Kenley Ahan was teasing her and she was trying to give him the "look" all the older girls used. It didn't seem to be working. Egwene was a fiery little girl, nine years of age that particular summer. She was the youngest daughter of the Mayor of Emond's Field and the little sister of her friend Elisa al'Vere. Everybody said that Egwene would marry Rand al'Thor one day, but Arianna disagreed.

Her thoughts turned to Rand. He was her age...handsome? She turned to look for him. He was no where in sight. She tried to picture him in her head. He had reddish-brown hair, and blue eyes. No grey eyes. She finally settled on bluish-grey. He was really tall and skinny, a head taller than her. He was handsome, she concluded. Then there was his friend Perrin Aybara. He was tall too, but unlike Rand, he was broad and heavily muscled from his work as a blacksmith's apprentice. He was handsome with brown shaggy curls and rich brown eyes. He walked cautiously, as if he were afraid that he would break something if he was too rash. He was a gentle giant... and then the last member of the trio was Matrim Cauthon. She rolled her eyes at the thought of him. He was the mischievous one, a hand shorter than her. He always seemed on edge, bouncing on his toes. He had brown hair and eyes, but he was not handsome. He reminded her of a rat! They were the best boys in all of Emond's Field though. She loved to talk with them when she got the chance.

She sighed and stood up, untied her skirts, brushed blades of grass from her dress and slipped on her shoes. A cool breeze was blowing now, grazing her bare shoulders. Her dress was beautiful. She was supposed to save it for Bel Tine, but she couldn't resist. Her uncle, Cenn Buie, had bought it for her from a merchant when he travelled to Caemlyn. It was pale blue, off the shoulders with long billowy sleeves made of chiffon. Her hair hung down past her waist in strawberry blond waves. She was supposed to be folding fleece with the other girls...

She began to make her way to the tables laden with folded fleece, but halfway, she changed her mind and decided to go find Rand, Perrin or Mat. She was too lazy to fold fleece. She walked back towards the river and bumped into Wil al'Seen.

"Wil, have you seen Rand, Perrin or Mat?" she asked.

All the girls said Wil was pretty, but she thought his ears stuck out too much. He courted every girl in sight, and did it by telling them he was courting all the others just to be polite. The Women's Circle always clucked their tongues with disapproval whenever he was around.

"Um, I have actually...but, you're looking gorgeous today Arianna!" he exclaimed, putting on the old charm.

"Thanks," she muttered, rolling her eyes and then with a little cough, "what about Rand...?"

"Oh, their in Paet al'Caars' sheep pen...watching the sheep," he replied, "do you want to walk with me through the orchards?"

"I think I'll pass..."she replied, walking away.

She heard him curse under his breath as she walked away.

It wasn't hard to find the boys. They were so noisy. Rand was loudly proclaiming,

"I'd like to be a King!"

"A king of sheep!" Mat added mirthfully. This set the whole lot of them in a fit of laughter, doubled over on the ground, clutching their stomachs.

Boys! She thought.

It wasn't just Rand, Mat, and Perrin though. Dav Ayellin, Lem Thane, Ban Crawe and Elam Dowtry were also there. They all had their shirts unlaced, drenched with sweat. She cringed. That was disgusting.

"Hey boys, maybe taking a swim in the Winesping would cure your shirts of that sweaty smell..." she called, mockingly pinching her nose. They straightened up, blushing furiously and trying to act all cool. Mat tried to lean one arm on Rand's shoulder, but his arm slipped and he fell face-first on the ground. The others tried to hold back their laughter. Mat grunted and jumped to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Well, well...if it isn't Arianna...what do you want?"

"Do I need a reason to want to spend time with my friends?" she shot back.

"YOU WANT TO SPEND TIME WITH US?" he cried incredulously.

"Well...maybe not with you, but the rest of them..." she said, giving Mat a "look".

"Okay, whatever..." he sighed in defeat, "she always does that to me!" he commented to Dav who gave him a patronizing pat on the shoulder.

The sides of the pen were made of wood with posts at the four corners. She hoisted herself onto one rail and they all scrambled to sit beside her. Rand won the spot.

"I remember when the last thing you wanted to do was sit beside a girl..." she sighed.

Rand blushed.

The boys started up the chattering and Arianna rested her head on Rand's shoulder as he turned to talk to Perrin. She looked up and spotted a Raven perched on a branch of a close-by tree. Ravens were bad omens, the eyes of the Dark One. She shuddered and nestled closer to Rand. He automatically put and arm around her waist and she started to relax a bit. He'd always be there to protect her. Forget Egwene...Rand loved her and she loved him. Everything was perfect and the future looked bright, but little did they know, in a few years, two strangers would appear in Emond's Field and their perfect lives would be disrupted.