"Nate, can you hold the baby while I braid Ila's hair?" Mazrim asked with some irritation. The bloody man was drinking chilled wine on the balcony, looking as unconcerned as ever.
"Why me?" He was wearing a golden silk shirt with so much lace at the cuffs that Mazrim wondered how he even managed to lift his goblet.
"Would you rather braid her hair?" Mazrim countered wryly.
"I'll take her," Karys offered.
Mazrim handed her Yasmin and started working on her sister's hair. "Let's just remove the crown for a moment, shall we?" he told Ilawen.
She took off the extravagant tiara and held it reverently. "Make the braids tight!" she shouted.
"Aye, princess, but it would be easier if you stopped tossing your head around."
She stood still for a few seconds. "Do you think Uncle Knotai will let us play with the lopar?"
Natael snorted. "Are we still calling him that?"
"Queen's orders," Mazrim replied with a grin. To Ilawen, he said, "I don't think you're supposed to play with the…beast." He had been about to say 'monster'. The lopar was impressive, and not in a good way.
There was a knock on the door. "Can you at least open the door?" he asked Nate when no one reacted. The other man complied, but not without sighing. Peace! He was worse than the girls, sometimes.
It was Bao, looking regal in his black and gold outfit. He frowned when he saw that Natael was wearing gold, too, to Mazrim's amusement.
"Is everyone prepared to leave?" the King asked. "The others are waiting for us." The others being Min, Logain, Atal and Trygg. Well, they didn't have three children to dress and keep under control; of course they'd be ready quickly.
"Almost," Mazrim said. Ilawen was beginning to fidget again.
"Neya could have done that," Bao stated.
"But Mazrim does it better. He had a lot of practice because he was raised in a brothel," Ilawen said cheerfully. Bao narrowed his eyes slightly. "It's a place where ladies trade favours for money," she recited.
"Is it really?" Bao said, glaring at Mazrim.
He shrugged. "I wouldn't have had to disclose so much information if someone hadn't blurted out the word without thinking." Nate stuck out his tongue at him.
"I saw that," Neya said as she walked in. She looked dazzling, as always, wearing a colourful blouse over white trousers. Her crown, tastefully inlaid with tiny gems, scintillated in her braided hair. She had regained her former figure after giving birth over a year ago but, to be fair, she had looked just as beautiful when she was nearing term as she did now. She must have caught most of that from the bond, because she gave him a bright smile.
Natael cocked his head toward Mazrim. "He started it."
Neya chuckled softly, turning to Bao. "In retrospect, perhaps you were right. We shouldn't have adopted four children at once," she told him ruefully.
Bao shook his head. "Well, it's too late now, they've become attached to each other. It would be cruel to separate them," he said with a twitch of his mouth. He was getting better at this, although Mazrim still had to see him laugh properly. At least he seemed to have endorsed contractions in his speech.
There was a loud crash as Lews knocked over the wine pitcher. The girls giggled and Ilawen set to chase the cursed monkey around the room, half her braid coming undone as she ran. Mazrim was certain that the monkey was misbehaving on purpose, but Nate insisted that they keep the fiend anyway. It was fated, he claimed. Min had foreseen it.
Mazrim wasn't sure who had first come up with the unlikely pet's name, but it was one of the rare things that made Bao genuinely smile.
Naturally, the noise woke up the baby. It was Bao who took her from Karys; the man seemed to have a soothing effect on her.
Mazrim had expected Neya to name the baby after the late Amyrlin, or perhaps after her own late mother. Instead, they'd named her after Mazrim's mother, and so was born Yasmin. Thankfully, Sharans didn't bother with last names, so they didn't have to go through the ordeal of picking out one for her. That would have been an epic argument. As usual, Yasmin's cries receded after a few moments spent in Bao's arms.
The King looked at them all in turn. "Shall we?"
The rebuilding of the Court of the Nine Moons was still underway – Fortuona wanted it to be even more grandiose than the original building – but even so, the place was larger than Neya had imagined. Light, this chamber alone was bigger than the entire East Wing of their Sharan palace! Not that she cared, of course. If Tuon had delusions of grandeur, that was her problem.
There were many guests, as was to be expected, most of them unknown to Neya. They looked like Seanchan nobles – the Blood, as they were called. What a jolly name.
Fortuona herself was sitting on the Crystal Throne, looking more regal than Neya could ever hope to appear. Mat was nowhere in sight, nor was Neya's nephew. Which was odd, since everyone was gathered here to welcome him into the world – by giving him a name, a year after his birth. Neya had long ago given up on trying to make sense of Seanchan traditions.
She searched around for faces she recognised and spotted Loial right away. The Ogier was talking animatedly to Perrin, Neya realised. She made her way toward them, leaving her family to fend for themselves.
Perrin gave her a crushing hug. Light, but his beard was getting longer and bushier every time they met. Was he trying to turn it into a bird's nest? She wondered what Faile thought about it. Then again, knowing the woman, it might have been her idea from the beginning. "Lord Goldeneyes," Neya said when he released her.
"Your Highness," he countered teasingly.
"I told you, we don't use titles in Shara," she scolded him amiably. "Loial," she went on, turning to the Ogier, "it's good to see you again." Thankfully, he didn't try to imitate Perrin. They bowed to each other instead. Loial had spent quite a bit of time in Shara the previous year, collecting material for his book. He had interviewed Bao, Mazrim, Jasin, Logain, Atal…and even Neya herself, for some reason. But he had really spent most of his days – and nights – in the Library. He had been a charming guest, and Neya had become good friends with his wife, Erith. They had been their only guests so far, besides Neya's family. Logain and Min, as well as Atal and Trygg, were no longer considered guests, but rather permanent citizens. "How fares Erith?"
"She is well, thank you. She passes along her greetings, but she was too occupied to join us, I'm sorry to say," Loial said in that booming voice of his. "The rebuilding is monopolising most of her time. Well, most of everyone's time, in reality," he amended. "I couldn't miss the opportunity to visit Seandar, however. We are unlikely to be invited very often. Did you know that their library is said to rival even that of the White Tower?" the Ogier told her with not a little awe.
"I did not know that," Neya replied truthfully. She turned back to Perrin. "How's the overhaul in the Two Rivers?"
"It's going well. Very well, in fact. You wouldn't believe the number of people who decided to stop by on their way home to pay their respects to the Dragon Reborn's homestead. They all want to give a hand when they arrive, and some never leave afterwards," he explained. "Thank you again for providing all that material on such short notice," he added.
"Of course," she told him dismissively. As discussed before the Last Battle, Bao had conceived, with Mazrim and Jasin's help, a network of gateway platforms located in all of Shara, to improve access to the land's resources and to allow all of its citizens to reach Shara's main cities. They planned to expand the system to the Westlands, but it would be some time before the nations' leaders accepted any help from Shara and its rulers. Perrin hadn't minded, however. "I hope Faile is well?"
"She's fine. She's busy overseeing…well, everything, in Saldaea." Yes, she would be. She was a control freak if Neya had ever met one, and she'd known several indeed, Nynaeve foremost among them.
Speaking of the former Wisdom, Neya spotted her and Lan a few paces away, discussing with a rather short man, a Cairhienin by the looks of him. She excused herself and joined them. "Hail, Lightbringer," the Malkieri King greeted her, bowing his head.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Dai Shan," she replied with mock formality. "Aes Sedai," she said to Nynaeve, which earned her a scowl. She turned to the other man. "I'm Neya," she said simply, extending a hand.
The man smiled as he shook her hand. "Talmanes Delovinde," he introduced himself. "At your service, Your Highness."
"You're Talmanes? The Talmanes?" He nodded uncertainly. "It's good to finally meet you. Knotai rarely stops talking about you and all the adventures you two had. He speaks highly of you."
Talmanes chuckled. "Prince Knotai is too kind," he said. "Have you seen him, by the way?"
"Ah, there you are," Knotai called out, right on cue. "Come with me," he commanded Neya. He nodded to Talmanes, who raised his goblet in acknowledgment. "Come on," he said again, more urgently.
"What's going on?" Neya asked curiously. "Please tell me you haven't lost your son already."
He glared at her. "Blood and ashes! Why does everyone keep saying that?" he muttered sourly. "I know where he is, burn you. What I don't know," he went on, "is how to put that flaming ridiculous thing he's supposed to be wearing for the bloody ceremony." They walked for a good five minutes before reaching their destination. No one was there, except for the baby in his crib. "Look at that!" Mat grumbled, waving an oddly-shaped piece of cloth in front of her nose. Neya had to admit that it didn't look like something with which any sane person would dress an infant. The Seanchan were truly bizarre.
"Does he really have to wear it?"
"Well, it depends. Do you want me to suffer a fatal accident sometime in the next few days?" he asked sarcastically – and rhetorically, Neya assumed. "Yes, he has to bloody wear it. She insisted." There was no need to specify who 'she' was.
"Don't you have servants to help with these things?" Neya didn't have servants to dress her children, let alone herself, but this seemed like a case where an experienced maid would come in handy.
"It's…complicated," Mat replied with a tremendous sigh. Most likely, he had done something that required some form of punishment from Tuon. "Come on, we can do this," he whispered, more to himself than to Neya. They did manage, eventually, although she wasn't certain that the poor child would ever come out of the contraption. "Alright, let's go. We're already late."
The guest of honour having finally been introduced to the assembled crowd, the ceremony could begin.
She joined her family and they all sat with Neya's parents and sisters on the benches. Everyone got along quite well, and they saw each other reasonably often, all the more since the wedding – her second wedding – in the Two Rivers, five months ago. She had loved the first ceremony, of course, the one Mintel had performed in Shara what seemed like a lifetime ago, but it had been nice to have Abell lead her to the altar, with Perrin speaking the binding words and her whole family being gathered at the same time. Bao had been oddly compliant when she'd announced that she wanted to get married again, in front of a bunch of people he'd never met. The girls had been delighted, naturally, both her sisters and her daughters. Even Mazrim had appeared to enjoy himself, and Jasin had magnanimously agreed to play the harp. Knotai had been allowed to attend, although Tuon had made no appearance – thankfully. A surprising number of people had shown up for the event, Lan and Nynaeve among them, as well as Min, Logain, Atal ,Trygg, and some of the Asha'man Neya knew from the early days of the Black Tower. Even Moiraine and her husband, Thom Merrilin, had attended the ceremony. The old gleeman had provided entertainment without being asked, to Neya's delight and that of her guests.
On the bench, head resting against Mazrim's arm, Ilawen had fallen asleep. There was a considerable time difference between home and Seanchan – to the Sharans, it would be the middle of the night. Finally, the ceremony came to an end. The guests were released and offered an assortment of Seanchan delicacies that Neya was convinced Tuon had carefully selected to make sure that they wouldn't outstay their welcome in Seandar. The Sharans had some bizarre treats to offer, to be sure, but those were not just peculiar; Neya wondered if they were even edible. And the jellied monkey's brains were certainly there just to annoy her in particular.
She had been afraid that Bao and the others would be shunned out today – it was incredible enough that they'd been invited; she probably had her brother to thank for that – but Karys was talking to Loial animatedly, Bao was discussing with Moiraine and Thom, and Mazrim and Jasin were in conversation with Lan and Perrin. Ilawen was now asleep on the lopar, which lay immobile at the foot of the throne like a hairless carpet. Knotai had assured Neya that the animal wouldn't hurt a fly. Not unless Tuon ordered it to, anyway. That was only partially reassuring.
Knotai joined her a moment later, cradling Havran. Neya wasn't sure what to think of the name and, judging from her brother's scowl, neither was he. It simply meant 'raven' in the Old Tongue. "Who would have thought someone so adorable could be related to you?" Neya said teasingly.
"Well, I only provided half the material."
Thinking about the baby, she started suddenly. "Where's Yasmin?" she asked, looking around the room. She hadn't been with the men.
"Don't worry, I've got her," someone called from behind. Neya turned to find Natti holding her granddaughter. "She really looks just like you, dear."
"Poor thing," Knotai said with a smirk. Neya punched his arm.
Natti chuckled. "This, at least, will never change."
Abell joined them a moment later. "We should go, love," he told his wife. "We have a long day ahead of us."
Natti nodded and handed Yasmin over to Neya. "You'll come and visit soon? I must see my grandchildren more often. All of them," she added sternly, addressing Mat.
Abell and Natti had decided to build an orphanage in the Two Rivers, with Perrin and Elayne Trakand's approval, and it was taking up most of their time.
Even a year and a half after the Light's victory, there was much to do. They had won the battle, but rebuilding would take years, if not decades, even if the western leaders allowed Shara to assist by providing material and workforce. Countless families had been broken, children had been orphaned, entire villages had been burned down to the ground; to the best of their estimation, the world's population had been reduced by at least a fifth since Rand had proclaimed himself the Dragon Reborn.
But they were alive. They had survived Tarmon Gai'don. They had withstood the Shadow and the Dark One itself had been shut out. They would endure, as people did since time immemorial, and from their ordeal they would arise, stronger than ever.
Neya opened her eyes, aware that she was lying in a bed that was not the one she shared with her husband; instead, she found herself in the bed in which she had spent so much time huddling after Elan had brought her in this strange little room in the middle of the ocean. What an odd place to dream herself in, after so long.
She had come back here only once – in the waking world – since Elan had died, to retrieve his books. She had been afraid that Lanfear might have done away with them, or destroyed the place altogether, but it seemed that the woman had had other things on her mind at the time and couldn't be bothered. There had been no ter'angreal, no object of Power of any kind for her to use, and the Forsaken had apparently dismissed the rest as worthless.
Neya walked to the other room and suffered a small shock. It was very different from what she remembered. All the books seemed to be back on their shelves, and they looked oddly new, as if someone had just bound them in leather. The whole place appeared changed. It was more…welcoming, somehow. She realised that there were several windows overlooking the sea and brightening the room. The walls were blue to match the colour of the cloudless sky outside.
How peculiar. It made sense for her to conjure the place in her dreams, since she had spent so much time here, but why did everything look different?
Then Neya understood why. It wasn't her doing at all.
There was a man in the armchair, near the fireplace.
"Hello, pet."