When Raekal awoke the next morning, it was to find Ren standing at the foot
of his bed, poking at the pile of clothes with a toe, holding the cloak in
one hand. He arched his eyebrow at Raekal when he saw he was awake. "Go
somewhere last night?" he asked with a small smile.
Raekal nodded slowly, not sure whether or not he should tell him about Elayne and him. His lips still tingled softly at the memory. Her presence in his mind was alert. She was waiting for something, or waiting impatiently for someone. After a moment, the feeling faded. Whatever it was had finally come. "Yeah. Tried to, anyways."
Ren smiled and nodded. "Well, get up now. You're already a little behind, you know." He tossed the clothes at him and talked idly as Raekal stood and dressed. Raekal had him efficiently tuned out, and once he was done, turned back to him.
"Alright, we can go now." Ren lead the way out to the Grounds, and walked to the racks holding the fake swords, the lathes.
"First off we shall learn the names of the forms," he said, gripping his lathe tightly and moving it through them. Raekal followed suit. He already knew everything that Ren was telling him, but the names were new. He had never learned the names of all of the forms, but knew what they were, knew the movements. He caught on quickly, and sparred against Ren, beating him easily. He sparred against three more men, and beat them all as well, their lathes never even reaching his body. They looked at him oddly as they limped away, rubbing bruises.
Raekal shrugged at Ren, who had a rather large bruise on his side. "Sorry," he said quietly, and looked to where men ran rings around the grounds. "Do we run too?"
It was the one area where Ren could finally beat him. He didn't have the endurance for running that Ren did, and when Korl finally showed up, he ran circles around the both of them. It seemed that the two men never quit running, while Raekal gasped and heaved for breath, his side burning. He could fight with his sword from sun-up to sun-down, but running was something else entirely.
Feet burning, legs aching, Raekal was almost glad when a young man only a little younger than himself ran up and handed him a paper with Elayne's signature. He broke it open and read quickly, and almost wished he could go back to running. Almost. Ren jogged over, not even breathing hard yet. Raekal glared at him, and Ren smirked. "Summons?" he peered over his shoulder. "By Elayne Sedai? You must of made some impression, my friend."
Raekal nodded, still unsure whether or not to tell them that he was already bonded to her. "Must of," he repeated softly, and turned and walked towards the Tower. "I'll be back soon. Run till I come back."
He meant the last as a joke, but Ren shrugged and started running again. The fool. He would probably run until his feet fell off and his legs wore down to his knees. Raekal walked into the Tower and towards the Amyrlin's office. He met Elayne halfway there, and she offered him a bright smile. "Been running?"
He shot a look at her. "How did . . . yeah," he said, as he realized that she would have felt his legs dying. "Too much, I think." She smiled again, and lead the way back up to the Amyrlin's office, and inside they stepped. The Amyrlin blinked to see Elayne with Raekal again, but one look at Elayne, and she nodded slowly.
"I should of guessed that Elayne would swallow you up," she said with a soft smile, but if the remark got to Elayne, she didn't show it. "Have you thought about what has been said?" she asked Raekal.
Raekal looked up at her. Light, his legs burned. He wanted to sit badly. "Yes. And I don't think my mind has changed much. And being threatened of death seems to have . . . deterred my mind from wanting to comply even more."
She sighed, and muttered something under her breath. The Keeper gave a start. She must be able to hear, Raekal noticed. "Some things that I said yesterday should not have been said," she relented. "You will not be done away with if you do not become what you are. However, not being what you are will affect the Pattern. It might do away with you, if you choose not to do as it says." She looked at Elayne. "The Pattern puts us all where it wants us to be all the time. We cannot fight it. The Pattern has put you here to learn of what you are. It wants you to be the next heir of Manetheren."
"Elayne says it was foretold." The Keeper shot a glare at the Green, and Elayne's alarm jumped in his mind. "I made her tell me. She did not offer it to me. The Three Oaths." He knew about those, enough anyways, to know that Aes Sedai must tell the truth. "Do not blame her, or you find me even more difficult to 'manage.'" In his head, he felt Elayne melt towards him.
The Amyrlin nodded. "It was foretold, yes. It was foretold that the man who would bring Manetheren back would come to the Tower, on the day that you arrived, and that he would best the best, and that behind him would come Shadow." She bit off the last part, and looked at the ground.
Raekal stood in silence for a while. "Tell me what I must do, then."
The Keeper started, and the Amyrlin snapped her eyes up to his. "You will be what you are?"
"If I am what I am, then how can I be what I am not? I must be what I am. It is the only path that the pattern will accept for me, I am sure." He looked to Elayne. "And I have some very good help."
Suddenly, before anyone else could speak, the door crashed open, and in spilled two women in green shawls. Elayne took a step back, and Raekal did as well, though his hand went to the hilt of his borrowed sword and he wanted to spring in front of Elayne. The Keeper blinked at them, and the Amyrlin opened her mouth to demand information, but the first sister to tumble in raised a paper.
"Shienar has fallen!" The words brought total and complete silence. Raekal really needed to sit now.
"Shienar?" The Amyrlin gasped.
"The Trollocs boiled through Tarwin's Gap in such great numbers that the army was shattered, and the cities fell within the day. The entire nation of Shienar is gone! No one lives, and the few that escaped have fled into Cairhein. But the Trollocs aren't focusing on Cairhein, mother . . . they're coming directly at Tar Valon! And the Trollocs are still coming through the Gap!"
The Amyrlin reacted immediately. "Call the Guard, set watches on the walls twenty-four hours a day. Call the people inside the city, send word to Andor and Cairhein. And Saldeae. Ask them for aid, anything they can send. The rest of the Borderlands need to form up and retake Shienar, re- plug the Gap. Spread word through the Tower, pair Sisters with their Warders, they are not to be separated now." When no one moved, she looked at the two with fire in her eyes, and at the Keeper. "Go! Why do you wait?" As the three ran to do her bidding, she beckoned Elayne to come closer with Raekal. The door closed behind the Keeper. "This attack has to be about you. The Shadow must know that you are here." She looked between them. "There is Black Ajah in the Tower. I . . . I will announce this to the Hall. Perhaps it will scare them out, and we can fight them in the open."
Elayne swallowed. She was Green, after all. The Battle Ajah. Raekal swallowed. "Anywhere you send Elayne I will go. You will send her nowhere without me. Please, mother." He wasn't sure why he had relented and used the honorific title, but he had and that was that.
She looked between them. "Okay," she said after a moment. Elayne, don't leave his side. Ever. That is an order. Raekal, go to Archer . . . tell him I'm placing you in charge of the Tower Guards. And the Warders. In fact, I think you are my new Master at Arms." He blinked, gasped, and tried to find his breath.
"What? Me? The new Master at Arms?" He couldn't believe his own ears.
"On the condition that you will eventually be in command of an army, you need prior experience." The Amyrlin grinned at him, and Elayne grabbed his arm.
"I . . . thank you, mother," he said softly.
She nodded impatiently. "Yes, well, you'll do good, I'm sure. Now go tell him."
Raekal lead the way out, and down the hall, and out of the Tower, still in a stupor. Elayne was still holding his arm, and when they found a deserted corridor, she pulled him to a stop and twisted him to look at her. He looked at her. "I'm Master at Arms," she said softly, and she nodded as she pulled his lips to hers.
"You are a very sweet person. I am lucky to know you," she said breathlessly, and put her arm back through his and began walking again. "My Master at Arms," she whispered to herself, let out a very un-Aes Sedai-ish giggle. He smiled despite himself, and walked across the Grounds to where he saw Archer and Korl sparring in a ring.
"Excuse me, Archer Gaidin." Archer turned and saw him. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Elayne. "I have a message."
"Alright," Archer said uncertainly. "And I have your sword," he said, turning and pulling a new sheath out of a wrapped cloak. Gingerly he handed over the sword, and Raekal pulled the blade out. There was indeed a dark heron on the blade now, and the steel looked flawless. The new hilt seemed made just for his hand, and the sheath buckled easily onto his belt. He took off the loaned sword and set in back in a different rack.
"Thank you very much," Raekal said earnestly. Now he just felt even worse about what he was going to say, and frowned deeply. "I . . . just came from speaking with the Amyrlin. She . . . she wants me to take over as Master at Arms for the time."
Archer hid his surprise, but his eyes showed his hurt. "For the time?"
"Yes. You see . . ." he quickly brought Korl and Archer up to date on what had happened. "The hall is being called to a meeting, and she is going to announce that there are Blacks in the Tower." His mind bounced. "There will probably be violence if she does such a thing. Fighting among the Warders. Darkfriends are everywhere."
Archer nodded, and his eyes flashed dangerously. "Yes . . . everywhere."
Raekal frowned. "Prepare yourselves, alright?" Archer and Korl nodded, and he spotted Ren jogging over. After filling him in, and even telling him about him and Elayne, he said, "Spread the word. There is going to be a fight soon, I think, and we need to be ready. Spread the word among those you can trust, okay? Those that you are positive would never serve the Shadow. Warning them will only lessen our chances of surviving."
Ren nodded. "My blade is yours." He walked away, looking around the Grounds. Raekal slowly shook his head and looked to Elayne. She looked back. She felt nervous, scared. Unsure. It was impossible to tell what was bound to happen, now. Impossible to understand what would happen next.
"I'm sure that Archer will be fine," she said softly, and he realized that he was worrying about how Archer would be. She rubbed his arm softly. "We should do something. Ride out to the walls, or something."
He nodded slowly. "We should at that. Or maybe we should wait for the declaration to come down from the Hall. By the way, those two women, did you know them?" She shook her head slowly, and he shrugged. "Ah well. Nothing can be done now anyways."
"Done?" she asked, confused.
"What if they were lying? I mean . . . they never really did offer any proof, just stated that and then ran off with mother's orders. They could be Blacks themselves, for all we know, and this could all be a plot to break the Tower."
Her worry spiked, and she said, "Do you really think that could be true? That the Amyrlin could be being fooled into doing what she is?"
He thought about it for a second, and then shook his head. "No, probably not. And besides that, I will see to it that no man here takes so much as a step inside that Tower that wants to do the Amyrlin harm."
She smiled. "Last night, if this had happened, you would have fought with those that wanted her stilled." She rubbed his arm again. "So much has happened in so short a time. I'm glad I have you with me. Honest."
He felt heat rising to his cheeks at her compliment, but at that time, Ren came running into view, a full score of armed men behind him. Raekal stepped in front on Elayne protectively, and his hand shot to his sword hilt, and Ren skidded to a halt just before crashing into them. "Raekal Gaidin! There are Darkfriends in the Tower! Among the . . . among the Gaidin!"
Raekal swallowed hard. Darkfriends were indeed everywhere. And he had just become Master at Arms. Some welcoming party. "Where?" Raekal asked.
"Coming this way. A few have Aes Sedai with them, and they don't look like happy Aes Sedai." Ren looked back in the direction that he had come. "Archer . . . he leads them, Raekal. With Korl."
Raekal wanted to swallow, but found himself unable to. "Archer?" he repeated hoarsely. Ren nodded. "I . . . never thought . . ."
Elayne stepped up next to him, looking over the score of men. "How many men will come to fight against him?"
Ren straightened. "Almost all, Elayne Sedai. But there are more than six Aes Sedai with them, and the Hall is meeting."
Elayne jerked and looked up suddenly. "I think it is more than meeting, Ren Gaidin," she said softly, and windows shattered above. Fire leaped out of them. She winced. "Too much of the One Power for one room." She stared upwards for a few moments, and then winced again. "They are spreading out, more people are channeling. The Tower is divided, I fear. The Blacks have come out of hiding." At that moment, around sixty men charged them, screaming dark cries, swords raised. Raekal looked over, and saw the six Aes Sedai coming behind them, riding serenely on horseback. Elayne sneered at them, and Raekal felt her contempt slide through the bond. "Black sisters . . . and everyone weaker than I." He smiled. That was good news. The door blew open behind them, and more Greens spilled out, looking at the few men standing in front of the Tower entrance.
"For the Light!!" Raekal roared, ripping out his sword. "For the White Tower!!" The men echoed his cries as they charged back, now unafraid of the six Black sisters, all thought lost as Raekal attacked.
His blade whipped around, and men fell before him. Until he looked up to find himself face-to-face with Korl. The man sneered. "Heir of Manetheren, are you? The Great Lord shall see you dead by day's end!" He drove towards Raekal, but he turned the blade, loosing thought in the Void. The man staggered as Raekal laid open his side, and blood poured from the cut. "Nice try, scum," Korl coughed. Blood bubbled on his lips. Raekal stepped forwards, and silenced Korl forever, no matter what pain it caused himself. Just then Archer slammed into his side, carrying them both to the ground. Somewhere in the background he heard a woman screaming. Elayne.
He rose without a thought, kicking Archer hard enough to keep him down for a moment, and turned to see Elayne standing over the body of one of the Warders, blood staining her side. She shook her head at him as he met her eyes, worry pouring through the bond. She fell back into the hands of another Aes Sedai, and he felt her pain fading as the other woman healed her. Nodding once, he turned back in time to meet Archer's slash.
"You ruined it!" Archer howled, his blade wild and careless. "I was in the perfect position, the most perfect position to kill the Amyrlin! And you had to come along, heir, and ruin everything!" Raekal ducked under one slash and danced away from another. Archer screamed and launched himself at Raekal . . . and lost his left arm at the elbow to a sharp retaliation cut. He staggered back, then flung himself forwards again. Raekal's nimble blade danced about, keeping Archer's from his body until he drove his own home. As Archer fell, the life draining from his eyes, Raekal looked up to see Ren's blood-streaked face coming towards him. All around, the dead and wounded lay on the blood-covered ground. Right in front of the Tower. The rest of the Warders had come, and only just in time. There were few of the ones that Ren had brought with him.
The six sisters lay unmoving on the ground, one smoking. A good ten warders lay in front of the stone-faced greens. Raekal looked at them, and then ran to Elayne's side. She was sitting against the wall, but okay. She looked up at him. "You're not hurt," she said in relief, and he shook his head.
"No . . . nothing but my heart. I . . . I killed him, Elayne. Korl . . . and Archer. I killed them both." He hung his head down, his hair falling forward over his face. She lifted a hand and brushed it back, and lifted his chin so his eyes looked into her own.
"If you had not killed them, they would have you." This was do or die, Raekal. Do or die." He nodded slowly. Her words made since, but they had seemed so . . . normal. So much like friends.
"Is it over? The channeling in the Tower, I mean."
She nodded wearily. It seems to all be over. And considering that we're here, there's a good chance that so is the Amyrlin." She smiled thinly at him, and touched his cheek with a hand. "I got three of them. Three of the sisters. But that warder . . . I thought he was one of ours until it was too late."
Just as she finished speaking, a great many sisters came flowing out of the smashed doors, all following the Amyrlin, standing with her arms crossed. Her eyes picked apart the dead, and with a small shake of her head, she turned to face Raekal and Elayne. "Just as I feared. Archer was one of the many Darkfriends."
Raekal nodded slowly. "He told me that he was in the perfect place to kill you. But I ruined it all."
She nodded. "That you did. My plan worked well. I appreciate your help."
Anger boiled his veins. She had used him after all. Elayne's eyes widened, and she laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. He could tell she was trying to send calm through the bond, but it melted away like ice in a firestorm. "You used me and these men and women to rid yourself of a few threats. You are a selfish, vile woman. And you call yourself the Amyrlin." He spat at her feet, and a few Greens looked ready to pounce. He ignored them. One's eyes suddenly widened, and then another, until all the Aes Sedai before him were staring at him like a madman. He stared back, his ices pale ice.
As he took another step forward, the Amyrlin's eyes widened considerably as well. "You couldn't have cared whether we all lived or died, as long as your precious hide was safe!"
"You're wrong. I care whether you lived or died. Every person that fell here though, had pledged their lives to fighting the Shadow. They died fulfilling those pledges." She took a step back as he took another forward, and suddenly shock rolled through the bond. He looked back at Elayne. She was staring at him the same way the others were. Light, not her too, he thought desperately.
"How . . . how is this possible?" the Amyrlin murmured, and Raekal stopped.
"What?"
Elayne appeared at his side. "Raekal . . . you have enough of the power being used on you right now to crush the Tower! But it all just . . . vanishes . . . before it touches you." She ran her hands over him, as if to be sure that he was really there.
His mouth had gone dry. So that's why they're all staring at me like I just declared the Great Lord of the Dark was the ruler of Tar Valon, he thought, with a shudder.
"What are you wearing?" the Amyrlin demanded.
"Wearing? Nothing . . . just . . ." the sword. He had always known that the sword was special. He had never realized just how special. He held out the sword. The Amyrlin grabbed it, and suddenly he flew back and crashed into the wall of the Tower. Elayne shrieked, and he suddenly fell. He groaned as he climbed to his feet, marched over, and snatched his sword back.
"It is warded," the Amyrlin murmured. "I cannot see the wards though. That means . . . saidin." Everyone flinched, even Raekal, but his grip only tightened on the hilt.
"It's my blade, and it shall remain in my possession!" he snapped, and the Amyrlin nodded. "As you . . . as you wish, Master at Arms." Suddenly she was regal and overpowering once more. "Clean up these bodies, man. And be quick about it. Then march out to the walls and start setting up the defense. Reportedly, the Trollocs will be here within the week. They are running themselves to death, it seems. And the Fades . . . the Fades are driving them harder than that. They want you, heir."
Raekal blinked. That was too close to what Archer had called her, but before he could say a word, the Aes Sedai and Amyrlin vanished back inside. Elayne tugged at his sleeve. "Alone," she whispered, pointedly eyeing the men around them.
"You heard the Amyrlin," he said tiredly. "Let's get this mess cleaned. I'll return in a moment." He followed Elayne to his rooms. They were closer. As soon as the door was closed, she kissed him roughly.
"You are the luckiest man alive," she whispered. "Any other man would be ash by now, by orders of the Amyrlin. She respects you. She needs you." She rubbed his chest with the palms of her hands. "I need you too. Don't get yourself killed, eh?"
He hugged her. "I promise . . . I shall do my best not to." He kissed her forehead. "I find myself in deeper every day, it seems. Every day, it gets more and more complicated. And every day, something new is thrown at me. Light! Two days ago, I was a beggar! Now I'm Master at Arms, the Amyrlin's . . . Amyrlin's something, blood and bloody ashes. Not to mention I've fallen for a woman . . . a stunning beautiful woman."
She blushed, and he kissed her again. "You've fallen for me, eh?" she asked slyly.
"Yeah . . . kind of."
She smiled up at him. "I fell for you the moment you smiled at me." She snuggled up against his chest. "From that moment on I was all yours."
"And I am all yours. Forever." He kissed her again, and didn't let her go until some time had passed.
Raekal nodded slowly, not sure whether or not he should tell him about Elayne and him. His lips still tingled softly at the memory. Her presence in his mind was alert. She was waiting for something, or waiting impatiently for someone. After a moment, the feeling faded. Whatever it was had finally come. "Yeah. Tried to, anyways."
Ren smiled and nodded. "Well, get up now. You're already a little behind, you know." He tossed the clothes at him and talked idly as Raekal stood and dressed. Raekal had him efficiently tuned out, and once he was done, turned back to him.
"Alright, we can go now." Ren lead the way out to the Grounds, and walked to the racks holding the fake swords, the lathes.
"First off we shall learn the names of the forms," he said, gripping his lathe tightly and moving it through them. Raekal followed suit. He already knew everything that Ren was telling him, but the names were new. He had never learned the names of all of the forms, but knew what they were, knew the movements. He caught on quickly, and sparred against Ren, beating him easily. He sparred against three more men, and beat them all as well, their lathes never even reaching his body. They looked at him oddly as they limped away, rubbing bruises.
Raekal shrugged at Ren, who had a rather large bruise on his side. "Sorry," he said quietly, and looked to where men ran rings around the grounds. "Do we run too?"
It was the one area where Ren could finally beat him. He didn't have the endurance for running that Ren did, and when Korl finally showed up, he ran circles around the both of them. It seemed that the two men never quit running, while Raekal gasped and heaved for breath, his side burning. He could fight with his sword from sun-up to sun-down, but running was something else entirely.
Feet burning, legs aching, Raekal was almost glad when a young man only a little younger than himself ran up and handed him a paper with Elayne's signature. He broke it open and read quickly, and almost wished he could go back to running. Almost. Ren jogged over, not even breathing hard yet. Raekal glared at him, and Ren smirked. "Summons?" he peered over his shoulder. "By Elayne Sedai? You must of made some impression, my friend."
Raekal nodded, still unsure whether or not to tell them that he was already bonded to her. "Must of," he repeated softly, and turned and walked towards the Tower. "I'll be back soon. Run till I come back."
He meant the last as a joke, but Ren shrugged and started running again. The fool. He would probably run until his feet fell off and his legs wore down to his knees. Raekal walked into the Tower and towards the Amyrlin's office. He met Elayne halfway there, and she offered him a bright smile. "Been running?"
He shot a look at her. "How did . . . yeah," he said, as he realized that she would have felt his legs dying. "Too much, I think." She smiled again, and lead the way back up to the Amyrlin's office, and inside they stepped. The Amyrlin blinked to see Elayne with Raekal again, but one look at Elayne, and she nodded slowly.
"I should of guessed that Elayne would swallow you up," she said with a soft smile, but if the remark got to Elayne, she didn't show it. "Have you thought about what has been said?" she asked Raekal.
Raekal looked up at her. Light, his legs burned. He wanted to sit badly. "Yes. And I don't think my mind has changed much. And being threatened of death seems to have . . . deterred my mind from wanting to comply even more."
She sighed, and muttered something under her breath. The Keeper gave a start. She must be able to hear, Raekal noticed. "Some things that I said yesterday should not have been said," she relented. "You will not be done away with if you do not become what you are. However, not being what you are will affect the Pattern. It might do away with you, if you choose not to do as it says." She looked at Elayne. "The Pattern puts us all where it wants us to be all the time. We cannot fight it. The Pattern has put you here to learn of what you are. It wants you to be the next heir of Manetheren."
"Elayne says it was foretold." The Keeper shot a glare at the Green, and Elayne's alarm jumped in his mind. "I made her tell me. She did not offer it to me. The Three Oaths." He knew about those, enough anyways, to know that Aes Sedai must tell the truth. "Do not blame her, or you find me even more difficult to 'manage.'" In his head, he felt Elayne melt towards him.
The Amyrlin nodded. "It was foretold, yes. It was foretold that the man who would bring Manetheren back would come to the Tower, on the day that you arrived, and that he would best the best, and that behind him would come Shadow." She bit off the last part, and looked at the ground.
Raekal stood in silence for a while. "Tell me what I must do, then."
The Keeper started, and the Amyrlin snapped her eyes up to his. "You will be what you are?"
"If I am what I am, then how can I be what I am not? I must be what I am. It is the only path that the pattern will accept for me, I am sure." He looked to Elayne. "And I have some very good help."
Suddenly, before anyone else could speak, the door crashed open, and in spilled two women in green shawls. Elayne took a step back, and Raekal did as well, though his hand went to the hilt of his borrowed sword and he wanted to spring in front of Elayne. The Keeper blinked at them, and the Amyrlin opened her mouth to demand information, but the first sister to tumble in raised a paper.
"Shienar has fallen!" The words brought total and complete silence. Raekal really needed to sit now.
"Shienar?" The Amyrlin gasped.
"The Trollocs boiled through Tarwin's Gap in such great numbers that the army was shattered, and the cities fell within the day. The entire nation of Shienar is gone! No one lives, and the few that escaped have fled into Cairhein. But the Trollocs aren't focusing on Cairhein, mother . . . they're coming directly at Tar Valon! And the Trollocs are still coming through the Gap!"
The Amyrlin reacted immediately. "Call the Guard, set watches on the walls twenty-four hours a day. Call the people inside the city, send word to Andor and Cairhein. And Saldeae. Ask them for aid, anything they can send. The rest of the Borderlands need to form up and retake Shienar, re- plug the Gap. Spread word through the Tower, pair Sisters with their Warders, they are not to be separated now." When no one moved, she looked at the two with fire in her eyes, and at the Keeper. "Go! Why do you wait?" As the three ran to do her bidding, she beckoned Elayne to come closer with Raekal. The door closed behind the Keeper. "This attack has to be about you. The Shadow must know that you are here." She looked between them. "There is Black Ajah in the Tower. I . . . I will announce this to the Hall. Perhaps it will scare them out, and we can fight them in the open."
Elayne swallowed. She was Green, after all. The Battle Ajah. Raekal swallowed. "Anywhere you send Elayne I will go. You will send her nowhere without me. Please, mother." He wasn't sure why he had relented and used the honorific title, but he had and that was that.
She looked between them. "Okay," she said after a moment. Elayne, don't leave his side. Ever. That is an order. Raekal, go to Archer . . . tell him I'm placing you in charge of the Tower Guards. And the Warders. In fact, I think you are my new Master at Arms." He blinked, gasped, and tried to find his breath.
"What? Me? The new Master at Arms?" He couldn't believe his own ears.
"On the condition that you will eventually be in command of an army, you need prior experience." The Amyrlin grinned at him, and Elayne grabbed his arm.
"I . . . thank you, mother," he said softly.
She nodded impatiently. "Yes, well, you'll do good, I'm sure. Now go tell him."
Raekal lead the way out, and down the hall, and out of the Tower, still in a stupor. Elayne was still holding his arm, and when they found a deserted corridor, she pulled him to a stop and twisted him to look at her. He looked at her. "I'm Master at Arms," she said softly, and she nodded as she pulled his lips to hers.
"You are a very sweet person. I am lucky to know you," she said breathlessly, and put her arm back through his and began walking again. "My Master at Arms," she whispered to herself, let out a very un-Aes Sedai-ish giggle. He smiled despite himself, and walked across the Grounds to where he saw Archer and Korl sparring in a ring.
"Excuse me, Archer Gaidin." Archer turned and saw him. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Elayne. "I have a message."
"Alright," Archer said uncertainly. "And I have your sword," he said, turning and pulling a new sheath out of a wrapped cloak. Gingerly he handed over the sword, and Raekal pulled the blade out. There was indeed a dark heron on the blade now, and the steel looked flawless. The new hilt seemed made just for his hand, and the sheath buckled easily onto his belt. He took off the loaned sword and set in back in a different rack.
"Thank you very much," Raekal said earnestly. Now he just felt even worse about what he was going to say, and frowned deeply. "I . . . just came from speaking with the Amyrlin. She . . . she wants me to take over as Master at Arms for the time."
Archer hid his surprise, but his eyes showed his hurt. "For the time?"
"Yes. You see . . ." he quickly brought Korl and Archer up to date on what had happened. "The hall is being called to a meeting, and she is going to announce that there are Blacks in the Tower." His mind bounced. "There will probably be violence if she does such a thing. Fighting among the Warders. Darkfriends are everywhere."
Archer nodded, and his eyes flashed dangerously. "Yes . . . everywhere."
Raekal frowned. "Prepare yourselves, alright?" Archer and Korl nodded, and he spotted Ren jogging over. After filling him in, and even telling him about him and Elayne, he said, "Spread the word. There is going to be a fight soon, I think, and we need to be ready. Spread the word among those you can trust, okay? Those that you are positive would never serve the Shadow. Warning them will only lessen our chances of surviving."
Ren nodded. "My blade is yours." He walked away, looking around the Grounds. Raekal slowly shook his head and looked to Elayne. She looked back. She felt nervous, scared. Unsure. It was impossible to tell what was bound to happen, now. Impossible to understand what would happen next.
"I'm sure that Archer will be fine," she said softly, and he realized that he was worrying about how Archer would be. She rubbed his arm softly. "We should do something. Ride out to the walls, or something."
He nodded slowly. "We should at that. Or maybe we should wait for the declaration to come down from the Hall. By the way, those two women, did you know them?" She shook her head slowly, and he shrugged. "Ah well. Nothing can be done now anyways."
"Done?" she asked, confused.
"What if they were lying? I mean . . . they never really did offer any proof, just stated that and then ran off with mother's orders. They could be Blacks themselves, for all we know, and this could all be a plot to break the Tower."
Her worry spiked, and she said, "Do you really think that could be true? That the Amyrlin could be being fooled into doing what she is?"
He thought about it for a second, and then shook his head. "No, probably not. And besides that, I will see to it that no man here takes so much as a step inside that Tower that wants to do the Amyrlin harm."
She smiled. "Last night, if this had happened, you would have fought with those that wanted her stilled." She rubbed his arm again. "So much has happened in so short a time. I'm glad I have you with me. Honest."
He felt heat rising to his cheeks at her compliment, but at that time, Ren came running into view, a full score of armed men behind him. Raekal stepped in front on Elayne protectively, and his hand shot to his sword hilt, and Ren skidded to a halt just before crashing into them. "Raekal Gaidin! There are Darkfriends in the Tower! Among the . . . among the Gaidin!"
Raekal swallowed hard. Darkfriends were indeed everywhere. And he had just become Master at Arms. Some welcoming party. "Where?" Raekal asked.
"Coming this way. A few have Aes Sedai with them, and they don't look like happy Aes Sedai." Ren looked back in the direction that he had come. "Archer . . . he leads them, Raekal. With Korl."
Raekal wanted to swallow, but found himself unable to. "Archer?" he repeated hoarsely. Ren nodded. "I . . . never thought . . ."
Elayne stepped up next to him, looking over the score of men. "How many men will come to fight against him?"
Ren straightened. "Almost all, Elayne Sedai. But there are more than six Aes Sedai with them, and the Hall is meeting."
Elayne jerked and looked up suddenly. "I think it is more than meeting, Ren Gaidin," she said softly, and windows shattered above. Fire leaped out of them. She winced. "Too much of the One Power for one room." She stared upwards for a few moments, and then winced again. "They are spreading out, more people are channeling. The Tower is divided, I fear. The Blacks have come out of hiding." At that moment, around sixty men charged them, screaming dark cries, swords raised. Raekal looked over, and saw the six Aes Sedai coming behind them, riding serenely on horseback. Elayne sneered at them, and Raekal felt her contempt slide through the bond. "Black sisters . . . and everyone weaker than I." He smiled. That was good news. The door blew open behind them, and more Greens spilled out, looking at the few men standing in front of the Tower entrance.
"For the Light!!" Raekal roared, ripping out his sword. "For the White Tower!!" The men echoed his cries as they charged back, now unafraid of the six Black sisters, all thought lost as Raekal attacked.
His blade whipped around, and men fell before him. Until he looked up to find himself face-to-face with Korl. The man sneered. "Heir of Manetheren, are you? The Great Lord shall see you dead by day's end!" He drove towards Raekal, but he turned the blade, loosing thought in the Void. The man staggered as Raekal laid open his side, and blood poured from the cut. "Nice try, scum," Korl coughed. Blood bubbled on his lips. Raekal stepped forwards, and silenced Korl forever, no matter what pain it caused himself. Just then Archer slammed into his side, carrying them both to the ground. Somewhere in the background he heard a woman screaming. Elayne.
He rose without a thought, kicking Archer hard enough to keep him down for a moment, and turned to see Elayne standing over the body of one of the Warders, blood staining her side. She shook her head at him as he met her eyes, worry pouring through the bond. She fell back into the hands of another Aes Sedai, and he felt her pain fading as the other woman healed her. Nodding once, he turned back in time to meet Archer's slash.
"You ruined it!" Archer howled, his blade wild and careless. "I was in the perfect position, the most perfect position to kill the Amyrlin! And you had to come along, heir, and ruin everything!" Raekal ducked under one slash and danced away from another. Archer screamed and launched himself at Raekal . . . and lost his left arm at the elbow to a sharp retaliation cut. He staggered back, then flung himself forwards again. Raekal's nimble blade danced about, keeping Archer's from his body until he drove his own home. As Archer fell, the life draining from his eyes, Raekal looked up to see Ren's blood-streaked face coming towards him. All around, the dead and wounded lay on the blood-covered ground. Right in front of the Tower. The rest of the Warders had come, and only just in time. There were few of the ones that Ren had brought with him.
The six sisters lay unmoving on the ground, one smoking. A good ten warders lay in front of the stone-faced greens. Raekal looked at them, and then ran to Elayne's side. She was sitting against the wall, but okay. She looked up at him. "You're not hurt," she said in relief, and he shook his head.
"No . . . nothing but my heart. I . . . I killed him, Elayne. Korl . . . and Archer. I killed them both." He hung his head down, his hair falling forward over his face. She lifted a hand and brushed it back, and lifted his chin so his eyes looked into her own.
"If you had not killed them, they would have you." This was do or die, Raekal. Do or die." He nodded slowly. Her words made since, but they had seemed so . . . normal. So much like friends.
"Is it over? The channeling in the Tower, I mean."
She nodded wearily. It seems to all be over. And considering that we're here, there's a good chance that so is the Amyrlin." She smiled thinly at him, and touched his cheek with a hand. "I got three of them. Three of the sisters. But that warder . . . I thought he was one of ours until it was too late."
Just as she finished speaking, a great many sisters came flowing out of the smashed doors, all following the Amyrlin, standing with her arms crossed. Her eyes picked apart the dead, and with a small shake of her head, she turned to face Raekal and Elayne. "Just as I feared. Archer was one of the many Darkfriends."
Raekal nodded slowly. "He told me that he was in the perfect place to kill you. But I ruined it all."
She nodded. "That you did. My plan worked well. I appreciate your help."
Anger boiled his veins. She had used him after all. Elayne's eyes widened, and she laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. He could tell she was trying to send calm through the bond, but it melted away like ice in a firestorm. "You used me and these men and women to rid yourself of a few threats. You are a selfish, vile woman. And you call yourself the Amyrlin." He spat at her feet, and a few Greens looked ready to pounce. He ignored them. One's eyes suddenly widened, and then another, until all the Aes Sedai before him were staring at him like a madman. He stared back, his ices pale ice.
As he took another step forward, the Amyrlin's eyes widened considerably as well. "You couldn't have cared whether we all lived or died, as long as your precious hide was safe!"
"You're wrong. I care whether you lived or died. Every person that fell here though, had pledged their lives to fighting the Shadow. They died fulfilling those pledges." She took a step back as he took another forward, and suddenly shock rolled through the bond. He looked back at Elayne. She was staring at him the same way the others were. Light, not her too, he thought desperately.
"How . . . how is this possible?" the Amyrlin murmured, and Raekal stopped.
"What?"
Elayne appeared at his side. "Raekal . . . you have enough of the power being used on you right now to crush the Tower! But it all just . . . vanishes . . . before it touches you." She ran her hands over him, as if to be sure that he was really there.
His mouth had gone dry. So that's why they're all staring at me like I just declared the Great Lord of the Dark was the ruler of Tar Valon, he thought, with a shudder.
"What are you wearing?" the Amyrlin demanded.
"Wearing? Nothing . . . just . . ." the sword. He had always known that the sword was special. He had never realized just how special. He held out the sword. The Amyrlin grabbed it, and suddenly he flew back and crashed into the wall of the Tower. Elayne shrieked, and he suddenly fell. He groaned as he climbed to his feet, marched over, and snatched his sword back.
"It is warded," the Amyrlin murmured. "I cannot see the wards though. That means . . . saidin." Everyone flinched, even Raekal, but his grip only tightened on the hilt.
"It's my blade, and it shall remain in my possession!" he snapped, and the Amyrlin nodded. "As you . . . as you wish, Master at Arms." Suddenly she was regal and overpowering once more. "Clean up these bodies, man. And be quick about it. Then march out to the walls and start setting up the defense. Reportedly, the Trollocs will be here within the week. They are running themselves to death, it seems. And the Fades . . . the Fades are driving them harder than that. They want you, heir."
Raekal blinked. That was too close to what Archer had called her, but before he could say a word, the Aes Sedai and Amyrlin vanished back inside. Elayne tugged at his sleeve. "Alone," she whispered, pointedly eyeing the men around them.
"You heard the Amyrlin," he said tiredly. "Let's get this mess cleaned. I'll return in a moment." He followed Elayne to his rooms. They were closer. As soon as the door was closed, she kissed him roughly.
"You are the luckiest man alive," she whispered. "Any other man would be ash by now, by orders of the Amyrlin. She respects you. She needs you." She rubbed his chest with the palms of her hands. "I need you too. Don't get yourself killed, eh?"
He hugged her. "I promise . . . I shall do my best not to." He kissed her forehead. "I find myself in deeper every day, it seems. Every day, it gets more and more complicated. And every day, something new is thrown at me. Light! Two days ago, I was a beggar! Now I'm Master at Arms, the Amyrlin's . . . Amyrlin's something, blood and bloody ashes. Not to mention I've fallen for a woman . . . a stunning beautiful woman."
She blushed, and he kissed her again. "You've fallen for me, eh?" she asked slyly.
"Yeah . . . kind of."
She smiled up at him. "I fell for you the moment you smiled at me." She snuggled up against his chest. "From that moment on I was all yours."
"And I am all yours. Forever." He kissed her again, and didn't let her go until some time had passed.