Opportunities
Elayne was bored.
Of course, as Daughter-Heir, she had been trained since birth not to let her boredom show. Instead she smiled benignly at the new Queen's Guard that was swearing his oath of loyalty to her mother; let her mind wander from the ceremony to focus on the soldier himself.
Gossip around the palace (not that Elayne gossiped, but she still managed to hear things) claimed that Tam al'Thor was blademaster. That he soared through the ranks of the Illian Army, and became one of the Companions. That he had left the Illian Army after the Aiel War to settle back down onto his farm in the Two Rivers with his wife and child. That he was now a widower, which put several of the older maids on alert. That his only son had followed his father to Caemlyn.
It was the fact that he had returned to his farm that caught Elayne's interest in the short, stocky man kneeling before her mother. Not that he had left the army – she was taught that the Aiel War had been so incredibly violent and vicious that many soldiers quit their posts afterwards – but that he was from the Two Rivers, which was so far to the west that it hadn't seen a Queen's representative in nearly eight generations. Until, of course, one of the captains had been sent there specifically to recruit Master al'Thor. The times were growing more dangerous with the insurgence of false Dragons, and Andor needed all of her swords.
The ceremony was drawing to a close. Elayne discreetly elbowed her brother Gawyn, who appeared to be lost in his own thoughts, and he subtly jerked to attention.
Galad, to her disgust, needed no such reminders.
Morgase bade the newly sworn in Guardsmen to rise to their feet, and began to glide throughout the room, making sure to talk to each of the new soldiers at least once. Imitating her mother's graceful stride, Elayne walked to the center of the hall and was mildly irritated to find that Tam al'Thor was already speaking to a tall red-headed man whose face she couldn't see. Tam al'Thor was going to Ghealdan in a week, and this was her best chance to ask about the Two Rivers. He was a rare opportunity to learn more about those peculiar Andorans, and Elayne didn't intend to miss it.
The man that Tam was talking to turned, and Elayne felt her stomach drop to her knees. It was because he looked like Tigraine, she told herself. That was all. She regained her composure and determinedly walked to the pair. After all, opportunities such as these did not come about every day.