Note: The character Dirk's real name is Kye. So either appellation refers to him.
What has gone before: It has been some time since I updated so a quick recap if it is needed. Kye was a Warder to Nevir Sedai of the Brown Ajah. They discovered a ter'angreal called The Eye of Loyalty which could discern one's oaths and loyalties. Before they could affectively use it Nevir was killed and to save her Warder Kye had his memories removed. He then began a new life as Dirk, not remembering all that had gone before, in the south. During the Seanchan invasion he came into contact with and 'rescued' a damane called Kea. First attempting to return her to her people and later helping her on her way to becoming an Aes Sedai the two travelled north together. A friendship has grown out of that and for Kea a true attraction and for both a mutual inter-dependence. They are within the white tower during the siege and have become embroiled in the hunt for the Black Ajah, aware of who Dirk used to be they have discovered the method used to seal his memory and Kea has just removed it.
Disclaimer: All profits to RJ
Chapter 22: To the Eye
Dirk just gazed at her for an entire silent minute. She could not break the silence, though she sorely wished to. She was holding her body rigidly in place still half tilted towards her old friend. He had been her friend, he had! She had been so afraid she had lost him and that his eyes would never open again after the trauma of removing the seal on his memories. Maybe it had been too sudden? Maybe the reasoning, that he would have died had he not lost those memories, had been more than a smokescreen excuse by Revoir? But Kea had been so relieved and she had been on the cusp of shouting for joy and of embracing him for the first time. She had been about to forget herself and her fears in a tide of cooling relief. Now that was shattered, for she had lost him. She was not sure exactly how but though living the eyes that held hers in this grave like silence were not those of her friend. Dirk it seemed was lost somewhere within.
It was he who broke the silence. "I need to get out of your apartments before I am noticed. We can use the same Ward we used on entering." He got to his feet, his Warder-like grace making it seem one effortless motion though he had been sitting cross-legged for hours.
"Dirk," she began but her voice was close to betraying her. "Do you… do you remember?" she finally managed.
"Of course, thank you" he replied. There was no insincerity to his tone, no deliberate sting to his words, yet they hurt. He was suddenly as cold as ice and as still. There was no longer a wasted motion or word and she realised as she thought this he had stopped smiling. Dirk always smiled; if he had ever stopped he soon restarted. His face looked strange without his smile; his voice was foreign without its kindly lilt. She was already missing the slightest fidgeting which had occupied his waiting moments and now was forgotten.
Pulling herself together and trying not to make her own discomfort as obvious as his own change she began her weaving. Her concentration was off but her well practised routines came into play. She had been practising endlessly forming weaves under duress in preparation for becoming Aes Sedai. Her life as a damane had prepared her well for such a test, as had her studious life her in the White Tower. It had never seemed so difficult to summon the inclination and energy to use the Power. It was more akin to the feeling of letting the Power go than embracing it, because she knew that this weave was sending Dirk out of this room and away from her. Once he crossed that threshold this change would somehow be more real, undeniable and permanent. Still there was no use in holding off, she had pushed Dirk into this had ignored the advice given her, she could not avoid the consequences she didn't like, he was not her toy to play with as she saw fit.
The Ward in place and his cloak on his shoulders Dirk left. Kea accompanied him into the hall. "I will be less likely to attract attention alone, Accepted. We can meet by the Warders grounds tomorrow, early. Then we can plan for the retrieval of the Eye." With the words barely out of his mouth he swept away from her down the corridor. With his cloak and the Ward in place he was impossible to see but to her, her own weaves glowed brightly. It looked like all light and happiness was leaving her life. She returned to her room and warded it. Then she wept unashamedly in the privacy of her own sorrows. Through her tears she forced herself to read a short note gripped in her clenched fist. No matter the cost! I trust you with my mind and my heart. My life before yours! What had she sacrificed?
The next day, he was waiting for her calm and cool practising with his blade, going through forms. Sweat was pouring off his skin in the early morning chill, so Kea assumed he had been out for some time already.
"How did you sleep?" she asked.
"Extremely well Accepted, I am ready for the challenge ahead" he replied in a curt and clear tone without breaking the rhythm of his practise.
"Can we talk here?" she asked.
"I believe so, we seem far enough away and after all people expect us to be talking and so make little effort to overhear us. We are it seems old news. Everyone, including the other Warders, is far more concerned with the negotiations and the siege."
"Do you remember the location of the Eye?" she asked a little breathlessly. Even now after all that had happened she could not stop her heart racing in excitement at the prospect of finding this ter'angreal. Indeed it had been that very excitement that had caused her to act so quickly and without forethought.
"Of course, indeed I have a better memory of my life than maybe any man alive. It is as if it has been only a day since I did everything. I remember my first steps, how I felt when I was given my first sword, the dirt in my teeth at Soremaine, everything. Nothing could be clearer."
"Where is it?" she pressed.
"Not far, if we had the eye of the world we could probably see it from here. Turning he pointed and she followed the direction of his right index finger. There in the distance it rose strong and large and imposing, Dragonmount.
"You buried it on the slopes of Dragonmount?" she asked for confirmation her voice now an urgent whisper.
"Yes, Nevir was not sure we would be able to use it unimpeded and could not risk the Black Ajah stealing or destroying it in the wait, so we hid it nearby but out of reach. When will we go to retrieve it? I look forward to the dealing out of some death and judgement that is already five years old."
"Soon, tomorrow if I can manage it. I need to arrange an excuse to be out there. Fact is no one except Aes Sedai on specific business from the Amyrlin leave the Tower. No Accepted will get that opportunity."
"Use the other Hunters" suggested Dirk quickly. "That is what they are there for. Several of them are Sitters. Tell them to cover for you without being specific. They will not press deeply unless they think there is something to find, in any event you have power over them. You know their secrets and you can do violence with the power. The laws of the Tower protect you and their secrets leave them very vulnerable. Should they cause trouble apply that knowledge as leverage to get what you want. They can cover your absence, no one will care, there is too much afoot."
Kea stared at the Warder as he stopped speaking and dried his shoulders with a towel. He then began to pull on his shirt as if nothing was more normal than threatening Aes Sedai and plotting blackmail to get what you wanted.
"They are our allies Dirk. I am sure if I explain they will understand. At worst some of them will want to come with us and I don't think that would be such a bad thing. I do not want to betray their trust," she finished hurriedly. She had of course done exactly that when she had forced Revoir to tell her how to remove Dirk's block and then to cover up for her. But she didn't want to concentrate or dwell on that for long. Her conscience it turned out was still quite tender, and sharp!
"As you wish," Dirk acquiesced, "but there is something else."
"Yes?"
"If I am to be of best help I need to be your Warder."
"Oh…" she was silence. She wanted him to be her Warder, or at least she had. That had been her plan from the moment she had discussed Warders with Kera Sedai. But did she still want that? Was she worthy of it? Could she bear it if some else did?
"Yes, I will heal faster, be quicker stronger and able to benefit more from your channelling as your Warder. Our communication will be heightened and we will never lose each other, for instance on the rocky heights of Dragonmount. So if possible you need to be raised so that can be done. Indeed it may need to be done raised or not, it will make that much of a difference."
"Right," Kea managed to say. "I will go and sort everything out. You quietly get our horses ready and some provisions if you can."
"I can," he replied and left instantly without a mention or wave of farewell. He moved with speed and determination but his face was passive and empty. Did she want him like this? Could she refuse him, when it was she who had made him like this?
She swiftly went to find Pevara. She saw Saerin but did not stop. She knew that all of the true Aes Sedai would be disappointed in her right now, but Saerin was more likely to read her a lecture, Pevara would give an exasperated glance and then act. Action was what she needed. She found her without trouble; Pevara was often seen now talking to several Sisters, especially other Sitters. The Red Sisters had become a kind of nucleus for a debate that was not supposed to be spoken of outside of the Hall but certainly was rumoured everywhere from the Novices quarters to the Amyrlin's office: The rumour that the Red would bond men who could channel as their Warders. As enticing as that rumour was Kea had no time for it today. Pevara upon seeing her began to politely disentangle herself from the two Sisters currently trying to wheedle information from her. Inwardly Kea gave herself a congratulatory pat on the back for choosing Pevara. It would not be pleasant maybe but at least this way something would get done. The Red did not walk over to her but with her eyes showed Kea that she had marked her and then walked smoothly away. Kea followed and after descending a flight of stairs found herself in what appeared to be a Novice classroom. Pevara was waiting just within the door.
Kea made to weave a Ward against eavesdropping but Pevara made a motion of dismissal. "No Child, not wise. No one cares to notice we are together; bigger things by far are afoot. What you and I need to do is simply not spoil our wonderful hiding place –in plain sight- by channelling." Kea nodded, immediately seeing the wisdom in the Sitter's words.
"You have not come here to shoot the wind with me Child I am sure" remarked Pevara and paused to allow Kea to speak.
For a moment she could not, she did not want to reveal the extent of her folly but she needed the Aes Sedai to know her plans. She carefully considered her words and then spoke.
"I was able to discover the manner of using the ter'angreal, the Circlet of Memory. I am afraid I was so enthused I went ahead and with Dirk's permission I used it on him immediately." Pevara held herself still; her face did not even register a scowl for which Kea was grateful, once again she was glad she had chosen Pevara, rather than Saerin or Yukiri Sedai.
"I was incredibly fortunate. My surmise was correct and I was able to fully restore all of Dirk Gaidin's memories."
"Shouldn't you call him Kye Gaidin child? After all he has been Kye a lot longer than he has been Dirk."
"I…" Kea had no answer so she simply pressed on instead. "Well he knows where the Eye of Loyalty ter'angreal is. I did not want o make the mistake of running off without an Aes Sedai knowing and helping me cover my tracks. It just occurred to me that there are so few people we can trust and of them only I am easily missed. I do not think there will be much danger, but I do know secrecy will be crucial. Please Aes Sedai; let this prepare me for my own raising to the shawl."
"You have proven yourself more impulsive than I would have first thought child. Still I would not quibble at sending you into danger. You have had that all your life and are in more danger within these walls than without truth be told. You would have made a good Red. You are prepared to stand boldly and alone and carry within you a fighting spirit, unfortunate really."
Kea could not resist. "I have not actually put on the shawl yet Pevara Sedai."
"True but it is rare for a woman who loves a man, even in pain to choose the Red. Not impossible, indeed a woman who is spurned can find solace in the Red Ajah that seems lacking in the others. But you Kea have rejoiced in this man. You have shared with him things you have shared with no other; opened your heart and mind to him as you have not to any other soul in this Tower. You have not formed any friendships either among the Novices or the Accepted. Even among we few we are not friends simply work colleagues or fellow soldiers. Only this man has got beneath your skin, only he is truly important to you. No one can survive alone and without him you would be alone. No Red can so be."
Kea only nodded, she could not make herself agree aloud it was too painful. For now she was alone and worse, she had done it to herself. "Go and retrieve the Eye, I will leave the impression you are working with me to prepare for your raising to the Shawl. In a way you are and that will help. But Kea, beware your impatience in these things of grave importance, selfishness leads to sorrow. The Dark One has us marked out for enough of that without our help, I assure you!" After a quick curtsey she turned and in a swish of a multicoloured hem she left to complete her own preparations.
They used a boat to get out beyond the range of the siege. Once far enough down river they disembarked with their horses and cut west to Dragonmount. Directions were not a problem; it stood oddly out of the plain like a pillar would in a market square. She had never really wondered enough to ask why this mountain was not in a range of mountains as was common, but just here and huge. She asked Dirk but he just replied that he did not know. That was the way of their conversations for the next day. She would bring something up and he would give short clear answers and return to silence. He spent his time in constant vigilance, never allowing himself to be distracted from the road for more than a moment. As they got further from the river, they increased the pace of the horses. Kea found herself longing for the journey to be over. She did not know how to ask Dirk what had changed didn't know whether she should even call him Dirk any more. But she did not want to use Kye… it would just sound like she was speaking to a stranger, but then again, maybe she was.
A long silent day of travel later they were mounting the foot of Dragonmount. She had thought the mountain impressive at a distance. Close up it was magestic and frankly daunting. It towered above them pristine and untouchable, frankly it appeared unconquerable. The man she had called Dirk Steadysteel did not even paused to look up. He just urged his horse into a fresh push. As they rose up the mountainside, the sun set on the other side of it. In the shadow of the mountain things seemed to darken much more quickly and she asked if they could stop.
"I am not confident in my riding in this light. If one of the horses throws a shoe or I take a bad fall it will slow us down too much."
That was reasoning the ex-Warder understood. He quickly guided her to a sheltered overhang and they made a small fire, the tiniest weave made such things very easy. Using a touch of Air and Water she warded their camp against what looked like oncoming rain, perhaps sleet if it turned much colder. With an inflection of Spirit she also Warded them against shadowspawn. Battle weaves, even after having been with the Aes Sedai these past months she was still most at ease with combat weaves, she doubted that would ever changed. You can take the a'dam off the damane but can you ever stop her being damane? She looked at Dirk. He had set her free, he was the same man, he just had a history, one he had not had to deal with when he met her but had to deal with now. Surly that didn't change who he was what he was capable of. She gathered her courage. How could she be Aes Sedai and defeat the Black Ajah unless she had the courage to confront this problem.
"Dirk… can I still call you Dirk? Should I?" Ha let him try to avoid that!
"Call me what you wish Accepted," he replied apparently interested in something beyond her line of sight. She embraced the Power and almost gave him a swat of Air in her frustration.
"Well I do not want to be called Accepted!" she hurled at his profile.
He turned his head but not his body to face her. "Very well, but it is not normal to call you Kea Sedai when you have not yet earned that title. You will do so soon enough and will relish it more if you wait until that time to use that appellation."
"Stop it Dirk!" she shouted. "Stop it! You know I mean, I want you to use my name. Call me Kea! We're friends, remember? You say you remember everything you did like it was last week; well don't you remember the last six months?"
"Of course I do. I have said as much; Kea."
His use of her name calmed her slightly and she was glad of it because her shouting had left her feeling like she was about to cry. This was emotional enough without tears.
"Then why are you so cold? Why don't you talk to me for hours like you used to? Why are you not interested in me and what I do any more? Why are you acting like I am your captain, instead of your friend? Don't you remember what I did for you? What you have done for me? Doesn't it count any more?"
He turned his head from her and even his body seemed to edge slightly left so that his back was facing her. After a moment of silence he seemed to gather himself and he turned back to look at her across the fire.
"You may call me Dirk, but you don't really know Kye. We are strangers really, because we never actually met till a couple of days past. Let me explain clearly so that there is no misunderstanding, Kea." He bit off the final word with a sharpness that made her wish she had not asked him to use it. For the first time she thought she heard some emotion is his voice and saw it in his face, more than a touch of anger and maybe resentment.
"I did be born in Illian and I was born to be sailor or soldier, I chose the latter. I did do well as a soldier, followed orders and killed people. Do I feel and have friends yes, lots and lots of them, most are dead, many from battle and some from age and disease, that do be life. While I was fighting a war an Aes Sedai called Nevir did find me, she saw what I could do, so she up and introduced to me the idea of becoming her Warder. It did be very clear exactly what she expected of a Warder, her last had died only a year before. I felt I could provide that and I did leave the Companions and she bonded me. It was as hard and as rewarding as she did say."
Dirk's face had taken on a wistful look; he was no longer locking gazes with her. He was far away imagining another woman, one with whom he had been happy and strong; one, who had not caused him to resent her.
"We did go through the Dark One's shadow a few times. She was totally bound to the idea of discovering a way to openly expose the Dark One's servants. She explained that if the Oaths of the Aes Sedai could cause a distinct and tangible difference then such a thing must be traceable and in some ways visible. Ter'angreal have every purpose under the sun and she was convinced it wasn't a matter of inventing the way so much as rediscovering it. I believed her and over the years we became quite a team. She had the knowledge of over two hundred years of study and I had my sword arm and my survival skills to help her. I kept her alive until she accomplished what we set out to do. We found out what would allow us to expose the Black Ajah. We returned with it, but then before she could get the other Sisters to listen to an old not very powerful Brown, who had been out collecting samples for too long, the Black killed her. They did so very cleverly, I never could discover how, she seemed to die in her sleep, but I had heard her scream to me through the bond before she died. But there was no mark on her when the Aes Sedai rushed to her room with me. My idea of her call was dismissed as a delusion caused by the pain of the bond being severed. I was determined to get my vengeance so I went to retrieve the Eye and then kill anyone who had an Oath to the Dark. I was stopped and I was in such pain I killed the people who tried to stop me even unsure that they were Black. I had no time for laws, rules and quibbles it hurt too much. Unfortunately the Aes Sedai didn't see it like that. If I had been Aes Sedai they'd have stilled me, if I had been a regular murderer, they'd have executed me, but because I was a grieving Warder and Revoir promised a way out they took it."
He stared now directly into Kea's Seanchan eyes. "That do be who I am, do you recognise me? If someone do get in my way they die. If I do suspect someone do be Black Ajah, they die. I feel pain and people die. I am a very good Warder, don't worry about that, what Nevir taught me, she did teach me well. I hate the Shadow and I follow orders. But in the end I took the Warder bond to make me a better killer and it worked! I am hurting now as I did never hurt in all my life, because I now hate what I do be, but I cannot erase that. It do not be a past, all separate that I can change and move away from, it do be who I still am. We are going to go, get the Eye of Loyalty and with the Light as my witness we will return and wreak a bloodbath in the White Tower. I want to do that, I'll relish in it; they deserve it! You will pass the test to become Aes Sedai; you are as strong as the Amyrlin Seat and do have come through more than she. The moment you do you will bond me your Warder and I will make sure you are never even close to harm. You will walk through a fire untouched by heat and throw a storm of arrows without a scratch. I will do it right this time. My life beforeyours. Do you see now why we are not friends Kea Sedai? Warders are many things but they are not friends. Allies, guardians, bodyguards, servants and yes even lovers but not friends!"
As he spoke real passion resounded in his voice. Even as he flung her efforts in her face he showed that there was something underneath this cold and hard man who had been remembered out of the band of dull steel. She felt rebuked and new he was pushing her away, but to her this was hope. He was angry, hated this new him, just like she did. He felt guilty for being this person because he had become someone else without realising. He was not angry with her as much as himself. Though he did not know it she was incredibly aware of the scrap of paper, with a few scribbled lines in Dirk's hand, residing in an inner pocket of her dress. No matter the cost! I trust you with my mind and my heart. My life before yours! He had mentioned those words that meant somewhere inside all this shouting and anger he expected her to remember them too. His heart and his mind he had offered as the cost of his trust in her. She had given him back his mind and seemed to have lost his heart. But yet he was determined to put his life before hers and die in her service destroying the Black Ajah. There was still hope that in the midst of that she could reclaim the Dirk from within the sheath of Kye.
"Thank you for telling me how you feel. I understand much better, though not completely. I don't think anyone can unless it happens to them. Shall we think on it?"
Dirk stared at her and then to her shock, surprise and relief he laughed. It was not the carefree and jolly laughter they had shared after a joke on the road. Indeed it had a self deprecating edge to it but still it was laughter. "You do be strong Kea, and test or not, oath or not, you do be Aes Sedai. Aye, let's think on it."
Not long after that Kea slept, her mind racing with plans not of what to do with the Eye of Loyalty but of what to do with Dirk Steadysteel.
She didn't know what exactly woke her. It was as if her dreams just drifted into a kind of reality for a moment. She was dreaming of an old woman dressed in a long brown travelling cloak singing to Dirk and he was walking towards her as if expecting her to embrace him or even kiss him. Then it was night atop Dragonmount and she could see Dirk standing up and moving further and further from her. Her Wards were flickering in warning. In an instant she was awake and on her feet. She shouted his name but he did not turn and she thought she heard in the back of her head some kind of odd soothing singing. Remembering the dream she covered her own ears. Then weaving frantically she placed a globe of air and spirit around her head to shut out the sound. Thus protected she went in search of her Gaidin. She saw him walking slowly further and further from her, picking up speed as he went. At first she thought he was headed for their horses until she saw both unhappy animals dead, husks of lifeless flesh slumped where she had left them beyond the protection of her Ward. A foolish mistake that, one she would not repeat.
Dirk was still walking numbly towards where the mounts lay, presumably to meet the same fate as they. Not if she could prevent it. She rushed towards him cutting the distance between them and embracing as much of the Power as she could hold letting it sweep into her like all the wind in the trees and every drop of fire contained in the blazing sun. Saidar coursing through her, her eyes became light and she saw it a black winged creature crouching near the edge of the rocks. She did not hesitate, fire and air came together and with a clap of thunder a bolt of lightning rent the air and the creature exploded as did the rock on which it had sat. She hurried to Dirk's side to ensure he was okay but to her horror he continued. She realised their still must be more singing, but she could not see them. Still when Dirk got to them she would be able to and then she could kill them. However even as she thought this she saw him attempt to walk over the edge of the mountain where there was a cliff drop the height of the White Tower. She tried to hold him but he was too strong. She needed to get through to him, she couldn't hold him. Without consciously realising what she was doing she weaved what she had to, to save his life. Nothing mattered but that she save him. He could not die, not yet, not until she saw him smile at her, not until she had kissed him just once.
The weave landed and she felt the connection immediately, his presence in her mind and her in his. His awareness changed and in that moment he was free of the pull of this seductive singing. She was hurled from her feet as three of the dark winged creatures sprang from the shadows of the cliff face. Their wings buffeted her and she almost fell. Put a hand was around her arm and she did not falter. With him there and bonded to her she felt invincible. His pure energy was suddenly available to her, his vitality and awareness, all at her command. "Protect me!" she shouted unnecessarily, because somehow she knew beyond any doubt that, her safety was the only thing in his mind at that moment. His sword sung the forms as it whirled overhead forming a barrier of steel against their air borne attackers.
She let her weave drop and instantly was exposed to hideous screeches and the sound of rain and wind hammering the cliff side. "To the Dark one with all of you!" she screamed into the wind. Saidar pumping through her veins she unleashed it fire blossomed in rings around her prey and lightning struck around them. Arrows of air flew from her fingers smashing into her assailants forcing them to retreat and make acrobatic swoops to simply remain airborne. They were incapable of meeting such an onslaught. Each made a different mistake one avoiding the arrows of air dove into an expanding ring of fire. Another dove cleverly through the middle of a ring of fire and swerved around the arrows of air also. Even as the Draghkar was crowing its delight it slammed into the side of Dragonmount and found it as unyielding as its namesake. The other avoided the Saidar power attacks by flying headlong at Kea herself, knowing she could not use explosions of fire too close. Dirk was more than prepared. It took two cuts one sheering through a wing and the other a nasty backward slice across its back to bring it tumbling to the mountainside. Once down Dirk did not hesitate. He moved over it and beheaded it cleanly.
Kea collapsed into a sitting position wet, cold and utterly exhausted. Dirk moved over to her, his face showing a blessed amount of concern. It was enough to make her smile and forget her tiredness. If this small fight brought them together like this, what would the destruction of the Black Ajah do? Dirk may have given up on their friendship be she had not.
"I am fine, I am not wounded just exhausted," she managed to gasp. "I have not channelled so much power in so short a time before." Dirk nodded his understanding and turned to stand up; with a hellish scream another winged creature hurled itself at Kea's prone form. Dirk predictably lunged and seized its wings in his hands kicking against its legs with his. The creature bore him down and moved his jaws over his face as if giving him a macabre kiss. Kea remembered suddenly what she had heard about Draghkar in one session with Yukiri. She had nothing to draw on, no will left to weave Saidar and her physical strength was spent. Until suddenly she realised she had a reserve. Dirk while tired from the battle and lack of sleep was far from spent. Pulling on his strength she pushed herself to her feet and launched herself bodily at the Draghkar. Her body hit the creature at velocity and its mouth was ripped away from Dirks. Together they tumbled down the sloping side of Dragonmount, every roll bringing a jarring impact. Luckily a bush broke their fall before they had gone far. Unluckily Kea found herself trapped beneath the creature and not strong enough to force it off. It held her trapped helpless beneath its body as it began to sing and lowered its jaws to kiss her into soulless oblivion.
"The Bees and Illian!" came a roar and the creature disappeared. Kea blinked and looked around then saw its top half sailing away in the wind its twitching legs being slashed to ribbons by a frantic Dirk.
"Stop Dirk, I'm alive, I'm alive!" she called over the wind.
"Light woman!" he yelled back. "Do you think I could be your Warder and not know you were alive? You think I'd settle for this if you were dead?"
Flinging his sword to the floor he stormed over to her his face a mask of fury. Upon reaching her he seized both her upper arms and lifted her from the floor till she was eye to eyes with him. Then he shook her bodily. "I am your Warder Aes Sedai. No don't you dare interrupt me now, blood and bloody ashes, you do listen to me now! My life before yours, understand. Don't you ever do something so foolish, as throw yourself at one of my attackers again! Do you understand me?"
Kea went from a moment of real fear to holding back a smile and a laugh. She guessed that either reaction could prove costly to her in the long run. She could feel his emotions pumping through her like a living storm, not at all like the beauty of Saidar at all. But all the same it was ecstasy to her. His feelings were all for her, he was terrified of losing her; she could feel it he didn't have to say it.
Summoning all her Aes Sedai calm she replied in as level a tone as she could summon. "I understand Gaidin!" That had the required effect. The choice of words and the tone quickly set him back from making demands to looking a little sheepish. He released her as if he had been stung by a biteme. "Sorry Aes Sedai, but it was important."
"Thank you for saving my life, Dirk Gaidin," Kea continued all but ignoring his last actions and words. He gazed at her a little stunned it seemed. He then turned and picked up his sword and cleaning it on his clothes. Coming to stand before her he dropped to one knee. "Others have my allegiance in part, Illian, Nevir Sedai, the Light itself, but I am sworn and bonded to you and you alone in full, Aes Sedai. I am your sword and your shield. If you needed to pass any test I think you just did. Thank you for saving my life, Kea Sedai."
"The pleasure was mine."