Disclaimer: The Wheel of Time and all related media are property of Robert Jordan, not me.
Moiraine's skirts swished as she mounted the steps to the raised platform at the head of the great hall in the Sun Palace. There was the sound of loud, but polite, clapping in the large room. The room's design was made so that the sounds inside it would be magnified all the way up to the high, angular, vaulted ceilings.
Moiraine turned to look at the hundreds of nobles, dignitaries, and others deemed important enough to come to the ball in her hounor. She knew few of them personally and there were a few with whom she had never spoken before. But, of course, with an event of this magnitude the guest list was more about The Great Game of Houses than it was about Moiraine's friends celebrating with her.
Looking out into the crowd Moiraine could read the crowd like a children's book. The presences of some and the absence of others marked the moods of the Cairhien court. Laman's allies were standing in the front of the crowd. As were her father and Moiraine's closets friends. It mustn't look too much like strategic placement. The presence of Lord Maense was a surprise. He was a well known opponent of King Laman's current plans for settling the Foregate yet he stood amongst the highest members of the court. Moiraine looked right of Maense and saw an uneasy looking Lord Tharne. Maense's current position, then, was a quiet threat to Tharne. If Laman was willing to accept a man with whom he disagreed often what would stop him from riding himself of a man with whom he had known all his life.
Behind the two men stood Lady Cairen, a few rows back. The look on her face said that she read the situation easily and was seeing how she could benefit. She won't get anywhere at all if she doesn't learn how to mask her face. She couldn't look more devious if she had a knife poised over Tharne's back.
The clapping ceased and a hush fell over the hall. The king came out of a small door to the right of the stage. He came and stood behind Moiraine with a hand on her shoulder.
"We are here tonight to celebrate in hounor of my beautiful niece, Moiraine Damodred, about whom it was discovered just last week than she will become Aes Sedai. Tomorrow Moiraine will begin her journey to Tar Valon and The White Tower, and then to becoming an Aes Sedai. We hope sincerely, little niece, that you do not forget your home or your family when you can manipulate the very weaving of the Pattern." Laman said smiling at Moiraine. The jab was blatant. Laman did not hate Aes Sedai but they certainly weren't his favourite people either. Unless her eyes were cheated Moiraine could have sworn his eyes flickered in the direction of the Throne Room. He need have no fear that Moiraine would return to the Sun Palace to manipulate his throne, unless of course it was necessary. No, Moiraine wanted to go other places when she became Aes Sedai and back to Cairhien was not on the top of her list.
"I thank you, You Majesty, for your kind words. And I thank all those assembled here for your good wishes and your presences on the eve of my journey." A servant came and proffered a golden goblet on a silver tray to Moiraine. "Now let us raise our glasses to the glory of the Sun Throne and the hounor of the White Tower." Moiraine recited the words that had been given to her that morning. For now, her part was done and the dancing and eating would begin.
A long table had been set on the stage. A chair , more of a miniature throne really, that was glided was set in the middle of the table and to the right of it was set a chair also gilded and carved in the angular planes of Cairhienin style; that chair was Moiraine's place and the one to it's left, King Laman's. Moiraine walked around the table and stood by the chair once a servant pulled it out for her. Her father had now come up from the audience and was standing in front of his chair on the left side of the King's place. None of them would sit until the King had, of course.
The meal went past without much incidence. Moiraine chatted idly with Lady Halnie about the journey and Halnie went on at length about the villager that worked on one of her estates who had gone to the Tower. Apparently, she had been much too weak to even reach Accepted but had become the most obedient kitchen hand Halnie had ever encountered. Moiraine feigned interest but began to become bored. She liked Halnie but the woman could make the shortest story last all evening.
After the feast had finished the dancing would begin. Moiraine was rather partial to dancing herself and was quite excite by the time the dishes had been cleared away. Moiraine glided down to the square in the hall where tables had been cleared.
The first dance would be hers and she chose her father to dance with. It was a modest, slow song without any words. However, it did have words that only three people knew about. Moiraine's father sang the words he and Moiraine's mother had written for the song when Moiraine was born.
"Your mother would be very proud to see you tonight. Her little baby, a young woman on her way to becoming an Aes Sedai. She often wished she had had the ability. When we were young she would talk about how she would become Aes Sedai and bond me as her pacifist Warder. Little good I would have done her, a Warder that would refuse to fight and just wanted to shut himself up and learn. Unless, of course, the fighting would have been to save her. Then, I would have fought to the death." He said.
"But mother would have wanted you to learn. She would have gone into the Brown Ajah so you could learn together." Moiraine said laying her head on her father's shoulder.
"Aye, she would have." His voice was far and dreamy lost in the wistful memories of his long dead wife. She had died when Moiraine was still very young and her father had taken on the responsibility of raising her properly and turning Moiraine into the woman her mother would have wanted her to be.
By the time the song was ending the floor had filled with other dancers all performing the steps in prefect time with each other and the music. The last note played out and the dancers bowed and curtsied to each other. A more lively song began and some people left the floor and others changed partners. Moiraine's father bowed to her and retreated from the dance floor. He wasn't much for dancing.
Moiraine turned to go back to the tables herself when a hand grabbed her arm.
"Moiraine, you wouldn't leave without dancing with me, would you?" Lucon Rie, a tall young man for Cairhien stood with his head cocked to the side looking at Moiraine with a hint of mischief in his eyes. He was very pretty with dark eyes like deep,bottomless pools and black hair that had a slightly unruly curl. Lucon and Moiraine had known each other since they were 10 years old and Moiraine had always thought that they would marry. That was, until now.
"You haven't been to see me in quite some time, Swan." Lucon said as he walked Moiraine through the doors at the back of that hall. After dancing for sometime and making an appropriate exit the two young people had decided to escape to the quiet of the night. They were walking in the gardens that were below Moiraine's bedroom window.
"You haven't been to see me either." Moiraine replied. They were silent for a few moments. Moiraine could tell Lucon was trying not to become upset for he knew that Moiraine had been avoiding him with purpose. After she realized that she would be leaving him behind she had tried her best to put him out of mind and thought that avoiding him would be the simplest way to do that. She also knew that he had been several times to see her but she had told the servants not to let him in. And he knew that too.
"Perhaps I shouldn't have accosted you tonight. If you don't feel anything anymore than I should not bother you." Lucon said. "I just want you to know that there will always be a very special place in my heart for you, whatever happens-"
"Lucon, don't be silly. You know I care for you, but...but I'm going. And Aes Sedai rarely marry...and...I....I don't want to forget you...but I have so little choice." Moiraine began to feel that peculiar feeling in the back of her throat, the one that meant she was going to cry.
She sat down on a bench that was positioned along the path and turned her back to him. Moiraine didn't like people seeing her cry, it didn't matter who it was. With her hands over her eyes she couldn't see Lucon eyes welling up with tears but she could hear his footfalls as he came and sat on the bench. He put his arms around her from behind.
"You won't forget me, Moiraine Damodred, because I won't forget you." Lucon whispered as he turned her body to face his. "I love you, Moiraine."
He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. Lucon would die just seven months after Moiraine reached the Tower in a hunting accident that would see a stray arrow through his heart, but they didn't know that now as their lips touched each others lips in the moonlight.