Author's Note: This one's been floating around in my head for awhile. I just couldn't think of what Siuan might crave that would send poor Gareth on a wild goose chase... Until now.
Something kept poking Gareth Bryne in the ribs.
He kept his eyes firmly closed, his only response being to pull Siuan a little closer to himself. He knew she would likely sense that he was less than sound asleep, thanks to her incessant poking, but he was not giving in again. The woman needed her rest and she wasn't going to get it if he kept letting her convince him to give into her amorous advances at all hours of the night. At least she was just poking him—there were plenty of other things she could've done that would've made her advances far more difficult to resist.
The poking became more determined—more like repeated nudges. Light, he loved making love to his wife, but even a Warder needed rest eventually! And a woman nearly three months into her pregnancy definitely needed it even more. Nynaeve Sedai was likely to have an apoplexy if she ever found he had let her talk him into any of it. He felt his jaw tighten, remembering her stern but embarrassed lecture the week before. Not that it was any of her business.
The nudges were starting to hurt. He grunted as Siuan's sharp knuckles dug into one of his short ribs. Siuan knew he was awake, of course. Why she had chosen this particular method to rouse and arouse him instead of words or kisses was beyond him. Perhaps she thought he was longing for the old days when her methods of showing her hidden affections for him had consisted of her throwing his spare boots at his head. He wondered how sure she was that he would no longer turn her over his knee for such things.
He could sense her growing irritation. Gareth was surprised she had yet to say something, but she was growing more and more illogical by the day. She seemed to be developing the strange idea that he could not only sense her emotions but that he could actually read her mind. Certainly there were times when one did equate the other, but how was he supposed to know that small hint of impatience meant that she wanted him to plump her bloody pillows?
Well, if she wasn't going to tell him what she wanted, that was fine. He wasn't going to give it to her this time, anyway. Strangely, he didn't sense the fiery desire from the bond that usually came when she decided she was going to have him, the Light be burned if he said differently. And that was just as well, as it would've made it nearly impossible for him to think of anything else.
So he burrowed his head deeper into the pillow, setting his arms resolutely around his wife. She would have to settle for that mode of affection at this hour. He would be more than happy to accommodate her in the morning, when they were both fully rested, but for now forced himself to tune out her painful nudges…
He had almost dozed off when she punched him in the solar plexus.
His eyes flew open and he grunted, the wind nearly knocked out of him. Being a Warder did not make one immune to pain, especially when the source of the pain came from your Aes Sedai deciding to take a piece out of you. "Siuan," he wheezed sternly, trying to catch his breath. "I am not giving in this time. We are not engaging in anymore activities tonight, if I have to get dressed and put on my armor to keep you from ripping my clothes off!"
She sniffed. "Men. That's all you think about! You kept me awake quite late enough as it is tonight. I do need sleep, Gareth." He gaped at her. That was all he thought about? He had kept her awake? The woman had threatened to tie him to the bed with Air if he didn't cooperate!
He knew better than to contradict her, however. The bond was…dangerous. That was the only word for it at the moment. "Then why, my love, did you insist on poking and prodding me awake?"
Siuan peered up at him scornfully. "I want fish." She said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
He stared at her, his mind struggling to make sense of these three words. Without thinking, he let one hand roam down to caress her abdomen. She wasn't really showing visibly yet, but he was too familiar with the curves of her body not to notice the small bump that was starting to emerge. It seemed to make her even more beautiful. Feeling her bare skin against his, he was regretting that her demand hadn't been what he had thought.
Particularly since that demand would have been far easier to provide for. "You want…fish?"
She narrowed her eyes. Oh yes, that bond was deadly now. Murderous. "Yes, Gareth. You will get me some fish." You would think she was Amyrlin again.
There was nothing to do but try to reason with her. "I will see if I can get you some fish from the butcher in the morning, my love," he told her soothingly, dropping a kiss on top of her head. "But this is not Tar Valon, so that may not be possible. Kore Springs doesn't get that much trade, particularly from the coastal cities. If you're hungry, I can have Suffa fetch some of the pot roast you didn't finish before you dragged me—"
She cut him off, her eyes like two blue daggers that glittered in the moonlight. "I do not want pot roast, Gareth," she said coldly. "I want fish. And you will find me some fish now or you'll be sleeping in the stables with those terrible beasts tomorrow night!"
Now that was unfair. Traveler, Bela and the other horses were all fine animals. "Siuan, where am I going to find fish at this hour? Even if we were in Tar Valon—"
"Kore Springs has a fishing hole, and you very well know it, Lord Bryne!"
The woman was mad. He had married a madwoman, and that madwoman was now carrying his child. "Siuan, I haven't fished since I was a boy, and I wasn't good at it then! If you can wait until morning, I can ask my men if—"
"I don't want fish in the morning. I want it now." She pulled away from him and sat up, placing a hand over her bare stomach. "I want fish. Our child wants fish. And I want you--not one of your men--to find it for us!"
He couldn't help but eye her appreciatively, even in his incredulity. In the light of the full moon, her skin seemed to glow with a seductive radiance and the petulant set of her mouth made her seem even more kissable than usual. Her eyes glared a challenge at him—even now, she still seemed to have no idea what that glare did to him. Perhaps it would be possible to distract her from this fish fixation…
He found himself on the floor, wrapped tightly in the comforter of the bed and a weave of Air before he could even move to reach for her. She leaned over the edge of the bed, a scowl on her pretty face. "You won't be so much as touching me until you find me some fish, Gareth Bryne!" The tight bindings of the Power released him, leaving him to disentangle himself from the bedding. "Now put some cloths on and get me my fish!"
Cursing under his breath, he found his way out of the comforter. Reluctantly, he tossed it over his wife, hiding from himself that which was far more appealing than the idea of tramping out in the cool of the night to…go fishing. Feeling her eyes on him, he dressed dutifully and opened the bedroom door.
"Oh, and Gareth?" He glanced over his shoulder. "Take Suffa with you. She can help you carry the fish. I want enough to last a few days."
Next Up: Gareth and "Suffa" go fishing...
