Author's Note: Ok, so it's been longer than I said it would be. My life is crazy, and not exactly accomodating. Here's the next chapter anyway. Disclaimer: I own nothing, to the best of my knowledge, besides Dorinda, Loriana, Miena, Seline,Ceyla, Loma, and Warder Herodan. Augusta
Oh, Light! Amaline thought. I'm in for it now!
Dorinda, the Head of her Ajah, was seated straight across from her, wearing her shawl. The three Sitters, also shawled, made a half-moon behind Dorinda. Behind their Aes Sedai calm, they were all only too obviously displeased, maybe even angry. " Amaline, child," Dorinda said gently-she said everything gently, even while angry-" surely you must understand why we're upset with you."
Loriana snorted loudly. The Moireinan woman was no kind of lady. " Upset with her? We ought to drag her back to Tar Valon by her hay-colored hair and thrash some sense into her! And a double dose for that Miena who was put to telling her Ajah customs, too!"
" Loriana!" Seline said sharply. " Foolish though Amaline may have been, and unreliable as Miena may have been, they are our sisters. We can't just have them strapped like a pair of foolhardy novices!"
" Don't see why not, if they act like fool novices," Loriana grumbled, but subsided. If Amaline hadn't been so worried about what was going to happen to her, she would have thought it was funny-Loriana was a huge, sturdy woman as strong as most men, and Seline was tiny, frail-looking, and pale as a ghost, but strength in the Power was what established the pecking order among Aes Sedai.
The third Sitter, Ceyla, tried a different approach. " Perhaps we should let Amaline try to explain herself," she said nervously. She had only been elected Sitter a few weeks ago, and wasn't yet comfortable with being too open around Loriana and Seline.
" I agree," Dorinda said firmly. " Amaline, you knew that the Ajah disapproves of sisters marrying. Why did you accept young Tanreall?"
" I love him." There was little she could do to soften that into Aes Sedai proportions. Loriana was gaping at her with horror. " But there are reasons that could be beneficial to the Ajah," she said quickly. " One day, I would be Queen of Shandalle. It's been a long time since there was an Aes Sedai queen. For the Blue to have a sister on a throne would give advantage in the Hall, maybe enough to counter anything the Reds could throw out. And for the political possibilities..." she trailed off. She got the impression she had made an impression, but there was no visible sign of it. Still, they were listening. " Besides," she said, half-afraid and half-defiant, " there's nothing you can do to stop me."
Loriana gasped with horror, but Amaline was sure the corners of Dorinda's mouth twitched. " True," she said. " Very good, Amaline. Legally, we can't do the first thing to stop you. But we could throw you out, of the Ajah or the Tower, as we pleased. It would not be difficult."
Amaline had to swallow hard before she spoke. " Do it, then, if you want to. I've made up my mind. I'm going to marry him."
" You have a backbone," Dorinda said with a brisk nod. " I like that. Go along now, child, while we discuss this." She turned to the Sitters and started whispering as Amaline walked out the door.
Artur's worried eyes searched her face when she walked into his parlour. " How did it go, Ammy? What did the Sisters say?"
Amaline shook her head. " They're discussing what to do with me," she said with a touch of bitterness. " As if I were a child, or unable to make up my own mind or care for myself. Worst case scenario, they take me back to Tar Valon, have me birched and set a penance for the rest of the current Amyrlin's reign if not longer. If I'm lucky-if we're lucky-the prospect of having a Blue for Queen of Shandalle will be too much for them to resist and they'll name me a guardian to ensure that I behave appropriatly and manipulate me like a puppet."
" When the Pit of Doom freezes over," Artur snapped. He had a temper, sometimes. " No one threatens you or anything of the like while I'm breathing, and I don't care if it's the Amyrlin in her stole with the whole bloody Hall behind her!"
" If Dorinda and the others use the Power-" she broke off suddenly, then laughed with delight. " That's it!" she cried triumphantly. " I've got it, Art-I've worked it out! Aren't you good with a sword?"
" Good enough," he said, overmodestly. " My old Swordsmaster was a Warder-my Aunt Loma's an Aes Sedai."
" Good enough." She giggled, clapping a hand over her mouth to hide the sound. " You, m'love, are about to be a Warder."
"Come again?"
" I'm going to bond you my Warder. It's virtually airtight-no halfway sane sister would even suggest separating me from my Warder, and you're shackled here by your crown. What d'you think?"
Artur laughed. " Old Herodan would die of shock at the very idea, but whatever works, right?"
The weave was among the most complex known to Aes Sedai. It took most of Amaline's training in concentration to master it, but she felt fairly sure she did it right. When she was done, Artur asked, " Did it work?"
" Think about something, something you feel strongly about." He simply looked at her, and she instantly recognized the second set of emotions besides her own as a blend of love and complete trust. She smiled. " It worked, love. It worked very well indeed."
Dorinda and the Sitters looked shocked to say the least when Amaline walked back in without waiting for permission, Artur with her. " I'm afraid, Sisters, that the matter of what is to be done with me is closed," she said calmly, fighting down a smile and keeping her face blankly pleasant. " As you all know, it is considered most inappropriate to separate a sister from her Warder, and the Prince is mine."
Loriana fainted dead away.
Author's Note: That went better than I expected. Sorry if some of the language isn't quite archaic enough; I try, but I make slips and the WOT books certainly don't use medieval language in them. I'm working on the next chapter, but it may be delayed because of work-by-request on my other piece, Bethamin's Tale. Thanks for reading!
Augusta