Age Of Legends: A Change of Plans
Barid Bel Medar sat slumped over the bar, head propped up on one fist, staring dejectedly into his drink. Any stranger would have thought him just another patron, drinking off a day at the office, but those who knew him...
The explosion at the Daam was still first on everyone's mind, and he could hear the conversations drifting behind him. The fools should have know they were messing around with things they shouldn't have. What people could get a grant for these days... At the moment, it made no difference to him.
He was busy drinking off the worst moment of his life.
He had been courting Ilyena for over two years now. He knew they were a good match and he loved her, fiercely, with a passion that seemed to overwhelm him at times. She was well born, a talented Aes Sedai, beautiful as the sun was beautiful.
It had taken him two months to make the decision to ask her. Two weeks of careful planning to set up the perfect moment.
And she had turned him down. Smiled sadly and turned him down flat. For Telamon! The glass in his hand shattered.
Several patrons glanced up in surprise. The bartender just grimaced and brought him another drink. He wrapped his hand in a towel to staunch the flow of blood, oblivious to the pain.
Telamon.
The man had bested him at every turn and now... His heart twisted violently, but he forced his face to remain impassive. Until today, he had not truly known how much he loved her. How much he needed her.
He had begged her to reconsider. Pleaded with her - on his knees, no less - to think of all they had accomplished together, all they could yet accomplish. Her smile had faded then, replaced by tears, but her choice remained the same. She would wed the Lord of the Morning and he...
A woman's voice invaded his thoughts, drawing him violently back to the barroom. "Barid Bel Medar."
"No autographs today," he growled, refusing to look up.
"Well, blood and ashes, I was so looking forward to having your name on my left tit..."
His head snapped around and he stared into bright green eyes and a smile he hadn't seen in years.
"Raelle? You look well."
The short woman bowed. Her brown hair was streaked with blonde and red, even braided, it fell almost to her waist. She was dressed in worn khakis and hiking boots and carried a knapsack which looked like it had seen better days. There were lines above her eyes which suggested she spent far more time smiling than most these days. The smile slipped a bit as she took in his condition.
"You look..."
"Drunk?" He supplied.
She laughed. The sound slammed into him, threatening to jar him out of his depression.
"Well, yes, but I was trying to be polite."
"Don't bother. Pull up a seat. I'll buy us a shot."
"Oh, no," she said, sitting down. "I don't do well with liquor. I'll take a beer, though."
He motioned to the bartender, who filled the order quickly and retreated to the other end of the bar.
"So where have you been hiding, girl?"
"Here, there, and everywhere."
"Still determined to walk every square foot of the world?"
"Working on it. How about you? I figured you'd be hanging out with your girlfriend tonight. She's almost as famous as you are. Isn't her big birthday bash tomorrow?"
He gritted his teeth and she caught her breath as she read his expression.
"Oh, Light, Barid, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."
"You couldn't have known."
An uncomfortable silence passed between them.
She finally broke it. "So how about that shot then? I'll buy."
"You will not. I'll not have you wasting your money on me. I offered and I'll stand by it. Luke! Two shots of bourbon. The good stuff."
The drinks came and they brought the glasses together. "To old friends..." he started the toast, then paused, at a loss for words.
"...and new roads." she finished, tapped the shot on the bar and downed it. He did the same, and motioned for a refill.
"So who's your friend?" the bartender asked.
"Raelle Doesine...it is still Doesine, isn't it?"
She nodded.
"World traveler extroarinaire," he announced, with an uncharacteristic melodramatic flourish.
She blushed and dropped her head forward, her hair falling forward in a brilliant curtain to cover her face.
Barid reached forward and brushed the hair behind her ear, as familiar as if there had been no years since their last meeting.
"The roads are not as safe as they used to be, Rae. You should consider settling somewhere, at least until this trouble is taken care of."
"The bandit king?" She chuckled.
Barid Bel nodded, serious. "Soudra. The Halls need to do something about this bastard. If anyone deserves Binding it's this fool."
"In order to Bind him, they have to catch him first. They don't call him the Rat for nothing."
"And they expect the constables to be able to handle it."
"People are carrying swords now in Shorelle, openly and not just for show."
"And I'll wager it's tied to this mess at the Daam. I told those fools they were messing around in dangerous territory, but they were determined to 'open up new arenas of scientific research'. Give hope to the people, oh yes. That worked out well... Lost Beidomon and Meirin - two of the best - and left a great bloody hole where the Daam used to be." He was ranting.
"The explosion at Shayol Ghul..."
"Not necessarily connected."
"But a strange coincidence, nonetheless. And now this fool Soudra."
"There must be a connection"
"So what do we do about it?" It was a rhetorical question, but he leapt upon it.
"Find the bastard and string him up outside the Hall of Servants. But the constables aren't equipped to do it. We need men trained to hunt, to fight. We need..." he trailed off, lost in thought. She ordered another shot.
"So petition the Halls. Find men with the skills you need. You're a natural leader, Barid. Men will follow you."
He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. "The Halls will take some convincing, and training will take time. We don't have that kind of time."
She set the shot in front of him and laid her hand gently on his arm. "You will find the answers. If you can't find them, they aren't to be found."
He picked up the shot. "To Soudra. May he never find a safe place to lay his head."
They drank well into the night, the conversation moving further away from politics and into the past, meandering through the years. As they talked, he found himself leaning closer to her, imagined he could smell the wind in her hair. He watched her eyes dilate slightly each time their thighs brushed against each other, and he drew her in, thoughts of Ilyena slipping further and further from his mind, until he realized that everyone else had left the bar.
Luke was putting up the chairs, watching the two of them with poorly veiled curiosity. She looked down at her watch and groaned. "I"m never going to find a hotel at this hour."
"Stay with me," he said, without hesitation.
"I don't think that's a good idea. People talk, and you... she could..."
"She won't. Stay with me," he placed his hand on her knee and felt her shiver in response to the touch. For a moment, he could almost smell wood smoke.
She seemed about to protest. He silenced her with a kiss, paid the tab, and draped his arm around her shoulders, steering her out of the bar.
As the door locked behind them, she asked, "Are you sure you're OK to Travel?"
He grinned and the gate slashed open, revealing a lush garden. "After you, milady," he murmured in her ear, releasing her to step through the portal. He followed her through and let the gate snap shut, just a bit too quickly.
They stepped out into a perfectly manicured garden surrounding an elegant apartment complex. "The Towers," she whispered in amazement. "I didn't know you lived here."
He smiled, "I designed them, after all, and I get a very good deal on the rent." She stared in awe at the graceful twin spires rising from the gardens before them.
"They're beautiful. I've never been this close before." The awe in her voice filled him with a glow of pride.
He took her arm and led her to the entrance, speaking his name into a voice monitor. The door slid open.
The hallway was deserted. "I designed the security system as well. Took some convincing to get them to include it, but that was before the trouble started. Now, it's one of the main selling points," he explained as they walked down the hall to the elevator. The interior was as impressive as the exterior, all graceful arches, spirals and impossible curves. A glass elevator allowed a perfect view of the city as it rose impossibly high.
"I'm on the top floor. The view of the city is amazing." He turned her around so she was facing away from him, looking out over the glory that was Paaren Disen. He bent down to kiss the back of her neck and felt her press her body back against his. Light, but it had been a long time.
He could almost smell the wind and the sun in her hair, the sweet smell of dark earth after a rain. Freedom clung to her like morning dew on a blade of grass and he wanted to drink it all in, to bury his pain in her and cast it away.
He nearly dragged her out of the elevator, stumbled only once on the way to his apartment. It was one of only two on the floor and he paid dearly to have the other remain unoccupied. Barid Bel valued his privacy. He spoke into a second instrument panel and held the door open for her.
They had barely cleared the doorway when he seized her hand and pulled her into his arms, claiming her mouth. One of his hands splayed across her back, pressing her against him. The other moved to her hair, twisting into it as he forced his tongue into her mouth. Her body stiffened, surprised by the ferocity of his embrace, but only for a moment.
He shifted his hips against hers, felt her moan into his mouth, her hands tugging at his shirt, pulling it up so she could slide her hands beneath it. He felt her cool hands slide across his back, and reached up to undo the braid with shaking hands.
He heard fabric ripping and felt her hands on his shoulders, pulling him roughly to the floor. He was only too happy to oblige her. Clothing disappeared, tossed into the darkness.
He woke alone, the space where she had lay still warm to the touch. He sat up carefully, not surprised at the dull ache that blossomed at the base of his skull. Sunlight streamed in through arched windows, letting him know it was close to noon.
He heard water running in the bathroom and smiled as he ran his hand through short cropped dark hair. How different his little wanderer was from Ilyena the Pure.
Inall the time he and Ilyena had been together, he could count on one hand the number of times they had made love. And each time he had felt as though he were holding a bird in his hand. Too much, and he would crush her. Too little and she would fly away.
But Raelle...
He had always thought of her as fragile, but she had proven far from it. The lifestyle she had chosen had given her a hard edge that appealed to him, and he sincerely doubted that high bred Ilyena would have pulled him down on his living room floor to ravage her.
A plan had begun to form at the edges of his mind. A way to turn Ilyena's refusal to his advantage. It was a risk, but he wasn't afraid of taking risks - so long as they were calculated risks.
He heard humming coming from the bathroom and smiled.
The only ones who knew of his proposal were himself, and Ilyena. She wouldn't tell Lews Therin for fear he might assume more about their relationship than was proper, and risk whatever designs she had on the Lord of the Morning. If he could turn the rumor mill in his favor - turn it to his advantage - he could give his public a story they would talk about for years. If he could at the same time, secure himself a bit of stability and a chance for some happiness, so much the better.
True, Raelle Doesine was an unknown. She was neither Aes Sedai, nor politician. She had no known connection to any of the current ruling families. As such she was a wild card. But she had an adventurous spirit and a quiet kind of beauty which could only enhance his own energy, and, unlike Ilyena, she would be far less likely to draw the spotlight away from his own triumphs.
He slipped quietly into the bathroom to put his plan into action. Raelle yelped in surprise as he stepped into the steaming water behind her, slipping his arms around her.
"Wretched man! You scared me half to death," she squirmed in his grasp.
"You were expecting someone else?" He laughed, deep and low, his body responding instantly to the feel of her. He turned her to face him, kissing and caressing her, drawing her to him, making her his, all thought of Ilyena slipping from his mind.
They spent the day wrapped up in a blanket on the couch, learning each others bodies and avoiding any serious conversation. As the sun sank into the west, he led her out onto the balcony overlooking the city. A slight breeze blew, wrapping them both in her long hair.
"It has been so long," he murmured.
"So long since what?" she asked, staring out at the stars. This high, they seemed a reflection of the lights of the city.
"Since I've been happy," he answered. A few more minutes, and it would be decided.
She turned to face him, concern written on her face. "Now you want to get all serious? Can't we just..."
He raised his finger to her lips. "Let me finish. If I don't say this now, I'm afraid I might lose my nerve."
"Barid Bel Medar, lose his nerve? I doubt it."
"I am not the man you believe me to be Raelle. But I could be. I have no right to ask you this. But I feel... compelled." He took her hand and pressed it to his chest. "Raelle Doesine, Will you consent to be my wife?"
Her jaw dropped.
"Marry me. Take my name and I will raise you on a pedestal so high that no one in the land will dare to look down on you again."
She stared at him as though she would laugh, "You can't be serious."
"I've never been more serious in my life. I need you at my side to be my wife, my strength. To feed my dreams and share in my triumphs. To bear my children."
"Children.. Blood and ashes, Barid! I haven't seen you in years, and after one night you're talking about..."
"I know the risks, and I am willing to take them if..." he trailed off, searching her eyes for the answer he was looking for. Yes would not be enough. Not for this. He needed more.
"If?"
"If there is even the smallest chance that you may learn to love me?"
"Barid Medar," her shock caused her to drop the honorific, "I have loved you for years."
He smiled and drew her against him. "Say you will be mine, forever, and I will make all your dreams come true."
She pushed him away, and retreated to the edge of the balcony. "It's too much. Too much, too fast. I have to think about it."
He closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. He felt her melt in his arms. She would yield. With the right touch and the right words, she always had. She would be the one thing which belonged to him and him alone. One thing Telamon could never steal from him. More importantly, he knew that within weeks, his public would be parading theirs as the greatest love story of the times. She would be his, and They would love her.
Perfect.