Disclaimer- I still don't own WoT, but I still own Scarlet

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Scarlet hummed to herself as she fixed her hair, grinning as her great serpent ring

caught the light. She had been Accepted for two whole glorious months, and

tonight she was going to her first festival as an Accepted. Her green dress,

matched her eyes perfectly and looked stunning on her, never again would she go

to a festival in novice whites again, nor would she ever wear novice whites again.

Had Scarlet been more aware of her surroundings, she would have heard the

squeak of the door being opened.

As to the fact that her mind was on other things, like whether or not she would get

to see Tarin tonight, she did not see the person who slipped into her room, not

until it was too late to do anything about it. With nimble fingers she twisted

strands of hair up into a detailed design on the top of her head, it was long she did

this, that she saw something behind her in the mirror. She went to turn around, but

was not quick enough, for just as she did the heavy weighted base of an old brass

lamp came in contact with the back of her skull. She crumbled to the floor, with

the sound of man's laughter in her ears.

He picked her up, cradling Scarlet in his arms, much like he did when she was

fifteen. Though the woman in his arms now was no longer a fifteen-year-old girl,

but was a mature twenty-year-old woman. Had it really been that long, since

Scarlet and his engagement had been broken, by the fact that she could channel?

The festival had already started, and for that Jet Loret was glad. It would make

getting Scarlet and himself out of this tower all the more easy, with the halls

practically deserted. He had already scouted the route he would use to the front of

the tower, where a carriage waited for him and his new lady friend.

Jet sighed with relief as he saw that the gates of Far Madding loomed in front of

the carriage. Scarlet was still out, not due to the lump on the back of her head but

because every time she had roused he had got her to drink tea, laced with fork

root. Fork root, what a wonderful herb it was. It would keep Scarlet groggy and

unable to channel. Though once in Far Madding he wouldn't have to worry about

that. For the guardian would take care of that.

Just as the carriage stopped at the gate Scarlet moaned in her sleep. He reached

out and with a loving hand creased her face whispering, "Don't worry darling,

soon we'll have you home to mother." He stepped out of the carriage and said to

the guard searching it, "Please be careful not to disturb my wife. She is ill." The

man nodded before continuing. Jet gave his sword to have it peace bonded, and

gave his name to the guard.

"Would you be Alisin Loret's son?" he asked. When Jet nodded, he grinned and

said, "Why didn't you say so sooner? Go ahead and go in. I hope your wife gets

better soon." Jet thanked the man, and climbed back into the carriage.

"Head toward home, Kaque."

As soon as they arrived to the house, he had Scarlet, his beautiful Scarlet, who had

saved herself for him moved to the chamber next to his.

Upon waking Scarlet found herself laying in a soft bed, and in a grand chamber.

She instinctively reached for Saidar, only to find it unreachable. It was still there

so she knew she had not been stilled, she knew it couldn't be fork root either, for if

it was she would be groggy, very groggy. Which meant one or two things, she was

either in an Ogier stedding or in the famed city of Far Madding, though looking

around this room she highly doubted that she was in an Ogier stedding, which

meant she was in Far Madding. The question was though, how in bloody light had

she got here, to Far Madding, and who had knocked her out? Soon very soon, her

questions would be answered for she heard the opening of a door.

"Good morning, my dear Scarlet." Said the voice, that sounded so familiar to her,

yet for the life of her, she could not put a name or a face to it. She screamed as the

face came into view, Jet Loret, stood there laughing at her scream. "Screaming

won't help you my dear."

"Yyyyour dead. Mathias killed you." She stuttered.

"No, your lover boy, well ex lover boy, thought he did."

Scarlet just looked in horror at him. This couldn't be happening, she closed her

eyes telling herself that this was all a bad dream. That when she opened them

again, she would be back in her room in the tower.

"One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . . five . . . six . . . seven . . . eight . . . nine . . .

ten." She said softly under her breath and opened her eyes, only to find herself still

in the room. She went to move only to find that she ached in place which she

should not unless . . . Her green eyes widen in horror.

Jet did not miss the way Scarlet's eyes widen and he laughed, "Yes, what you are

thinking is true. I did take you, and I must say thank you for saving yourself for

me. You really didn't have to my dear."

Scarlet glared at him, as she slid off the bed, trying to make herself look decent at

the same time. "You . . . You . . . monster!" she screamed.

"Me the monster?" he asked in mock horror, "My dear how sadly mistaken you

are. For you see, it is not I who am this monster but you!"

"Years ago I would have believed you." She said softly, looking at her hands, "but

time has taught me differently."

"Is that so my dear?"

"Stop calling me dear!" she yelled, "I am not your dear. I could never be your

dear, not when you killed my family!"

"Oh yes that." He said, laughing once again his deranged laughed. "You see my

dear, I had to do that. For I knew your family was the one thing that was most

important to you. You made me the laughing stock, when you spurned me for

your filthy Mathias, So I had to find away to tear you apart. So I could redeem my

good name." He paused watching her. He did so love this, how she acted like a

cornered cat. "Would you like to hear of how your family died Scarlet? I can give

you a first hand account, for I was there."

"You really are sick." She said picking up a paper weight from the table next to it,

She hurled it to him as she yelled, "I hope you rot in Shayol Ghul!"

He dodged it and said, "Maybe I will, maybe I won't. But you'll be dead long

before I am." He came closer to her, backing her against the table. He took her

wrist in one of his hands, leaning in to kiss her roughly. "Now behave my dear and

let me finish telling you of your family." He let go of her throwing her onto the

bed.

"I rode onto your farm with my men. I told them to torch the place. I knew it

would make your family come running. Oh and run they did. Your father looked

at me, as if he didn't remember me, I told them that I was here to hang them on

charges of being dark friends and hiding a Tar Valon witch. You would have been

proud of them. They accepted their fate and did not beg me to reconsider, Aren's

last words were, and I quote, 'You'll never get Scarlet.' Looks like he was wrong,

doesn't it?"

Scarlet was now glaring at him, trying to think of a word or words bad enough to

call him. Though for the life of her, she could not think of any bad enough to call

him. "Light burn you Jet!" she yelled as she dove for his feet, she knocked him off

his feet, stomping on his hand as she stood up.

"We will see if Aren was wrong or right." She yelled running toward the door

where he had carelessly left his sword, picking it she yelled, "Oh what a pretty

peace bond, time to break it!" Quickly she broke it, with a laugh. "You wouldn't

want the law people to see this would you?" she taunted an angered Jet, as he

stepped toward her.

*'You, fool girl, you don't know how to use a sword!* she thought to

herself, *'So? He doesn't know that!*

"Scarlet give it to me." He said holding out his hand, "Just give it to me, and I'll

let you live. I'll even still take you as my wife."

She snorted, "I'd rather be dead then your wife."

"Be careful what you wish for!" he stepped forward mincingly, "I order by the law

of the Children of the Light hand that sword to me, witch."

"Ha, save it for someone who cares!" She yelled, "Your stupid cloak or title

doesn't mean a flaming thing to me." She glared green fire at him and poked him

in the belly with the point of the sword. "Go away leave me be." He backed up as

she did, but not before Scarlet saw it behind his right shoulder.

It stood there, glittering in all its splendor, calling her toward it. The silver arch

that would carry her home. She let out a scream, as she heard the words, *The

way back will come but once. Be Steadfast.* How could she choose?

"Give me one more minute." She said. Jet looked at her as if she had lost her

mind.

"Give you one more minute?" he asked, but she ignored him. All she need was a

few more minutes to whip Jet Loret off the face of the world.

The arch faded in and out and the words once again echoed in Scarlet's mind.

"Fine! I am coming." She yelled taking one more slash at Jet and dropped the

sword as she ran toward the arch.

She heard Jet yelling behind her. As the light consumed her, she thought *'I

should have killed him.'*

She tumbled out of the arch falling to the ground. Her green eyes were wide with

the horror of her last arch as she looked around her, taking in the Aes Sedai with

their emotionless expressions.

"You all are so . . . " she trailed off, "Callous. You don't care!" she yelled as the

second cup of water poured over her head and Serafim said, "You are washed

clean of false pride. You are washed clean of false ambition. You come to us

washed clean, in heart and soul." Yet for all she was hearing. Scarlet could be

deaf. She felt numb from shock, disgust, grief, and horror.

Serafim lead her to the last arch and said, "The third time is for what will be. The

way back will come but once. Be steadfast."

She took a step in the direction of the arch but turned and asked, "This last one

is supposed to be the worst, is it not?"

The nod she got was the only answer she got as she stepped into the light. It burnt

her to the bones, but nothing no amount of pain would ever be able to burn away

the memories of what happened inside these arches.