As usual all speech in italics is in the Old Tongue.
Chapter LXXXIX - She Might Be A Little Upset
It was a beautiful summer's day as Taija jogged round the grounds of the Hall. When she'd started doing this it would just be her, Egwene, Elayne and Aleksi. Tel did his own exercise and had had the sense to realise he wasn't welcome on hers.
Now it had turned into something of a morning event. Obviously she'd got Tel too now, which was nice. They always used to go on morning runs together. Unlike in Taija's time, she also had a crowd of about 50 or so initiates and aspirants jogging with her, or to be fair in most cases some way behind her. Some of them were slower than others after all. There were more men than women too, but Taija was trying to set an example and it was huge progress. Another positive thing going on.
As they turned a corner Taija saw Cadsuane riding towards the grounds, presumably from the edge of the anti-Traveling wards and her heart sank. The woman wasn't outright galloping, but she was moving fast and Taija hadn't been expecting a visit. It wasn't going to be something good.
"Egwene, please could you keep things going. Tel?" Without waiting for a response she angled off towards Cadsuane, Tel beside her.
Cadsuane in turn headed towards Taija and immediately spun a web against eavesdropping. "Taija, I am sorry to be bothering you, but something has come up that urgently requires your attention."
She resisted the urge to sigh. "What is it?"
"Rand is overdue back from Cairhien."
"Overdue? How overdue?" Could he just have been delayed or gone off to do his own thing? He was quite young.
"He should have been back yesterday afternoon, but nobody bothered to inform me until today."
"Fuck." That was not good. Not good at all. "Has anyone been to Cairhien to check?"
"Not yet, I thought the wisest thing in the situation was to let you know immediately. If he has been captured or detained then I do not wish to send someone incapable of handling themselves into a situation there and if, Light forbid, he is dead or gone, then a small delay would make no difference."
She was right, but that didn't mean there was any time to lose. "Thank you Cadsuane. Tel and I will go to Cairhien."
Taija stepped outside Cadsuane's ward and spun a web to amplify her voice so that it echoed across the whole compound. "Aleksi sedai, Egwene sedai, Nynaeve sedai please could you come to the North Road entrance immediately." She'd had to put in place rules about using that particular web after some incidents with overly boisterous initiates.
They came running after a couple of minutes and Taija quickly explained the situation. "If something's gone wrong then this may be a prelude to an attack on the Hall. Tel and I are going to go to Cairhien and investigate. It's probably just paranoia, but Aleksi, retrieve Callandor and then come back and link with Egwene and one of the women. Egwene you're in charge of defending the Hall while we're gone. Nynaeve, I want you to stay here just outside the wards unless the Hall is attacked. If it's attacked, help with the defence, but until then stay here in case we need you. You'll be acting as a mobile reserve, whether it's for combat or healing. Egwene, trigger the alarms and get the defence organised. If nothing's wrong then it will at least provide a decent drill for the initiates. Make sure you keep an eye on Taim, Verin and Alanna too." Taija got sharp nods from all of them and a moment later the sound of clanging bells erupted around the Hall. "Cadsuane, what do you want to do?"
"I shall return to Caemlyn in case anyone attacks the palace."
"Fine, good luck. Tel, you've been to Cairhien?"
He nodded and a moment later a gateway opened in front of them.
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They emerged on top of a building neighbouring the Royal Palace with a view over its walls. Everything looked normal as far as Taija could see. Soldiers patrolled the grounds, workers looked after the garden. With a glance at Tel, they both spun webs of illusion over themselves and then Taija opened a gateway to an empty spot in the gardens, both of them looking like palace guards.
It was clear very quickly that something was wrong in the Royal Palace once they were inside. Taija's heart sank as she saw damage on the walls and a blown out window that suggested a battle had gone on.
The two of them made their way through the corridors, searching for more signs and eventually reached what must have been the main hall. It was a beautiful chamber, frescoes, paintings and statues decorating it. Normally Taija could have spent hours in it. However, today she wasn't interested. There was a huge hole in one wall and scorch marks marred the others, dark, brown stains covered parts of the floor. Taija suspected there'd be workmen there soon, but at the moment it was just supervised by a few guards who seemed uninterested in the two of them.
So, Rand and the others were probably attacked there. They must have been. She caught Tel's eye as they stood in the middle of the room, "the Cairhienin? Darkfriends? Both?"
"They'd have to have had channelers. A lot of them. Rand on his own could at worst match any other person one on one and he wasn't alone." Tel was slowly looking over the damage with expert eyes.
"So not the Cairhienin on their own, but it seems hard to believe they wouldn't have known." Taija pushed down on the anger bubbling inside her, she didn't know enough yet.
"Mmm, so the question is where are they?"
He didn't voice the question they were both thinking. "How do we find out?"
"Find the king and beat it out of him?" Taija shrugged.
"They don't have a king. The old one died and now they have a few nobles ruling in a regency council."
"Meh, find one of them, close enough."
Their discussion came to a halt at a shout from an officer, "what do you two think you're doing there? Who are you?"
Tel caught Taija's eye and she scowled before spinning air, freezing the officer and the guards behind him in place. "You'll do." She advanced on him, unknotting the web concealing her identity as she went. "My name is Taija Kosola Miranen, aes sedai. I'm looking for someone who can tell me what happened here. I do hope that will be you?" Taija gave him a predatory smile, hoping that he'd start wondering what would happen if it wasn't him that could help.
The officer seemed to be choking slightly, rendered speechless. Taija was about to ask again when a voice rang out behind her. "I see you Taija sedai."
Taija whirled, ready to blast whoever it was into atoms to see Jaer rippling into view, balanced in a very uncomfortable looking position between the top of a statue and the wall. He let go and half jumped, half fell to the ground with a thud. Before she could move towards him, Tel was already there helping him up. He looked like shit, bruised in several places, burnt in others and Taija suspected he'd be struggling to stand if not for Tel's support.
"Light Jaer! How long have you been there? Are you alright?"
He smiled faintly, "a day and a night, I was waiting for you to come Taija sedai." He seemed to see Tel for the first time despite the fact he was leaning on him . "I see you Tel sedai." Taija swore to herself, he must have been in even worse a state than he looked.
Taija ignored the strangled sound coming from the officer behind her. "You need healing, I'll get Nynaeve."
"No! I must warn you. I must tell you of what happened." There was desperation in his voice and Taija already knew she wasn't going to like what he had to say.
The officer started shouting behind her and Taija gagged him with air. "Go on."
Jaer took a breath. "It was an ambush. It was Tower aes sedai," he looked like he wanted to spit the words. "The Chief of Chiefs was welcomed as an ally and then they shielded him. Eben Hopwil killed their leader, which released the Chief of Chiefs and he danced with them, but he was overwhelmed. He killed many of them, but there were more than thirty. I was unable to count." He met Taija's eyes. "I did not fight, I have obligation. In the moment I could not strike against aes sedai. I contributed to his capture." He really hadn't, but Amys had taught Taija enough about the Dedicated for her not to deny it when one of them said they had obligation. "We were all captured, forced to kneel before the 'aes sedai'. I thought that was to my punishment for my failings, but the Creator had other plans for me. Someone released the shield on me, I do not know who, nor why they released me and not the others. I ran for I knew I must escape so that I could bring warning to you."
Fuck. Taija was chewing over the consequences, but Tel asksed the really important question. "Where are the others? Rand? The initiates?"
Jaer's eyes dropped to the floor. "The Chief of Chiefs and the women were taken. Eben Hopwil and Noruan Manin were," he just hesitated slightly, "severed. I failed them." Above the serene river of saidar Taija's world went white hot with utter fury.
"By the aes sedai?" Tel's voice was calm, flat. Dangerously so.
Jaer picked up on it too. He was a brave man, he didn't shy away, but there was a hint of discomfort on his face. "Yes."
Tel glanced at Taija and she spoke. Her voice mirroring his. "Thank you Jaer, you've done very well. It's time for you to rest though, we'll deal with this."
Taija spun a gateway back to the edge of the Hall's wards and leant through it. "Nynaeve! We need you here!" She wondered who helped Jaer. Bennae maybe? She'd better not have been involved in this. That wasn't a betrayal Taija would be able to forgive. Surely she wouldn't have been? Whatever, it wasn't important right then. She'd find out sooner or later.
After a few seconds Nynaeve stepped through the gateway, her eyes widening slightly at the frozen soldiers and the partly destroyed hall. As soon as her eyes landed on Jaer she hissed and strode over to him before channeling one of her healing webs into him. After that he only looked exhausted rather than half dead.
While she was doing that Taija turned on the officer and released his gag. "Where are the men who were severed… gentled? Which way did the aes sedai go with the Dragon Reborn?"
"I cannot sa…"
She cut off his denial with a web of earth, ripping a large chunk of marble out of the ground with enough force for it to hit the ceiling and then slamming it back down. "Don't fucking lie to me! I will ask you one more time. Where are the men who were gentled and which way did the aes sedai go with the Dragon Reborn?"
Taija absently noted that he'd wet himself. Eventually he managed to speak, "the aes sedai went north-west on the Tar valon road. I do not know where the men are. Please! I am telling the truth!"
she looked at him with only a hint of the disgust and contempt she was feeling. "Fine. Who would know? I want whoever is the highest ranking lord or lady here."
"I I I…"
"You'll lead us. If you so much as think of trying to betray us, I'll kill anyone who gets in our way, except for you. You I'll take away with me and take my time with." Of course Taija was lying, she'd just kill him, she wasn't a torturer, but she wanted him too terrified to think of betrayal.
"Y y yes aes sedai. Of course."
Taija released the web holding him in place and tied off the ones around his squad so that they'd unravel in a day or so. A bit of petty cruelty to leave it that long, but it did little to quench the anger inside her.
"Nynaeve, take Jaer back to the Hall and be ready. Tel and I will deal with this, we'll come for help if we need it." Fucking aes sedai. If Siuan had had something to do with this she was going to end her little village.
"No Taija sedai, I must come and fight. I must aid you. I need to." Taija glanced back at Jaer.
"You're in no condition to fight." Then she pulled herself back, she needed to take into account what he'd just gone through, his pride and his need to be useful. She was angry with the Tower aes sedai, not him. "I have a more important task for you. When you're back Nynaeve will spin you a gateway to the main Dedicated camp near Caemlyn. Find the wise ones and chiefs as fast as you can and tell them what's happened. Tell them to prepare for war. Then get some rest because we will want you in the battlelines when the war comes. I think your Treekillers' independence just came to an end." Rand could decide what actually happened once they'd rescued him, but Taija knew what she'd be advocating.
Nynaeve spun a gateway to take her and Jaer back to the Hall, but Taija was already heading for the doors, giving the officer a shove with the Power.
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Bennae rolled with the motion of her horse. It was deeply annoying, but she was going to have to do something precipitous. At some point Taija was going to find them and she would be looking for blood.
It would look rather poor if she was found here, riding amidst the aes sedai. Of course Taija liked her, she would be given time to explain herself and she would have no trouble with that. As usual her conscience was clean and for once she could honestly say that she was entirely innocent. However it would be an uncomfortable time, no doubt. More importantly, she had no wish to be a victim of mistaken identity. As an aes sedai riding on a horse like this, she would be a target not somebody to be rescued.
She sighed to herself before raising her voice, this was going to result in some unpleasantness. She really was much too old for this sort of thing. "Katerine, I must insist that I be allowed to leave! I am aes sedai and I have business to attend to!" Bennae embraced saidar, drawing as much as she could and angled her horse away from the other aes sedai.
As Katerine swung her horse round, fury on her face she winced internally. This was not going to be pleasant at all.
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Taija and Tel were quickly led through the corridors by the trembling officer. They didn't encounter many people on the short walk, but when they saw servants the men and women flattened themselves against the wall and the couple of guards they encountered were franticly waved off by the officer. They soon reached an ornate pair of doors with two guards standing outside.
"You cannot enter, the Lady is not to be disturbed!"
"Light man, get out the bloody way! The aes sedai wishes to speak to Lady Damodred, now!" Taija didn't even need to saw anything with the officer so terrified.
The guard glanced down at the man's wet breeches and then up at Taija's face before swallowing and giving her a bow. "Who should I announce?"
Taija was about to speak, but Tel got there first. "Taija Kosola Miranen aes sedai, First Among Servants."
The guard nodded hasilty and opened the door before loudly announcing, "Lady Damodred, an aes sedai is here to see you. Taija Kosola Miranen, the First Among Servants," he hesitated and glanced behind him, "and her warder."
Taija didn't wait for him to move back, immediately striding into the room as he scrambled to get out of her way. The woman sitting there with a book on her lap looked so much like an older version of Moiraine that it threw Taija off for a second.
She looked the two aes sedai over and raised her eyebrows. "You do not look much like an aes sedai and I have not heard of a First Among Servants."
With a crash Taija slammed the doors shut behind her with the Power. "Cut the crap." She had precisely zero patience for this noblewoman's games. "If you're the highest ranked noble here and have even a modicum of competence then you know exactly what the Hall of Servants is and who I am."
Lady Damodred calmly closed the book. "Well you can certainly channel, so I assume you are who you say you are. However, the White Tower has made the consequences of working with you more than clear. If I value my position and the continued existence of Cairhien as a nation then I have no choice but to deny false aes sedai."
"You're very brave to say that to my face after what you've done to the Dragon and my initiates."
"I have done nothing. The White Tower has taken action and I had no choice in the matter."
"Is that so? Yet you think we're going to leave you a choice in the matter? If I burn you to ashes right here will your precious Tower aes sedai save you?!"
Taija stopped as Tel laid a hand on her arm. "Time is wasting. You're worried about the Tower aes sedai? Well they will be dealt with shortly. We know where they've gone. What we want now are our men back. Any other reckonings can wait."
He was right. There was no point wasting time if they could just get that information from Lady Damodred. He was also, Taija hated to admit, rather better suited to dealing with these kinds of people than she was, especially when she was so angry.
Lady Damodred blinked a few times, seemingly thrown by Tel's intervention. Taija supposed no Tower aes sedai would allow her warder to intervene like that. "Of course, I would not try to prevent you from retrieving your men. They are in guest rooms nearby. I can have a guard lead you to them if you will agree to leave after that."
Tel leaned in closer to her. "We don't make deals with your kind. You will show us where they are yourself and then we are going to go and retrieve the Dragon. What you want is not relevant."
Lady Damodred sighed as if they were being unreasonable. If Taija wasn't so angry she could almost admire the woman's insouciance in the face of her and Tel. "I shall take you." She made it sound like it was her choice as she got up and headed for the door.
It was only a short walk to a plainer room with more guards outside it. They stood aside at a command from Lady Damodred and she led them into the room. It wasn't really a prison cell, despite the guards. It looked reasonably comfortable, but that did nothing to reduce the anger Taija felt at the sight within.
"As you can see, we have not harmed them, everything that was done was done by the aes sedai. We are as much vic…" Lady Damodred seemed to realise how stupid that was going to sound and stopped herself mid sentence. "We are powerless to do anything other than obey in such circumstances."
"Shut up." Taija snapped back without looking. Noruan was curled up on his bed sobbing to himself. Eben was just staring blankly into the distance. "Eben, Noruan, it's me. I'm here for you." Light how young was Eben actually? Her stomach twisted at the thought.
The very concept of someone being severed was uncomfortable, but these two needed help. Taija headed for Eben and Tel for Noruan. Eben looked up as she approached and got to his feet, Taija could see it was a struggle. He gave her a small bow, his eyes watery. "Taija sedai. I'm sorry. I failed."
Taija had never liked touching people she didn't know well, but she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. "You have nothing to be sorry for Eben. You did wonderfully, you killed the leader of those... women and you were in an unwinnable situation. It'll be alright," she lied, "we'll make sure you're alright."
After a moment she let him go, but he clung onto her like a liferaft in a tumultuous sea. "We're going to send you back to the Hall. Nynaeve will look after you there. Tel and I will be following shortly, but first we need to get Rand." Tel was muttering something to Noruan too. "It'll be alright."
Taija spun a gateway back to the Hall and a few seconds later Nynaeve looked through it. Her face hardened at the sight.
"Nynaeve, please could you…" Taija didn't even know what to say, but Nynaeve understood. She was already bustling through, followed by Damer, of course she'd have dug him out of wherever he was for something like this.
"Are you coming back too?" Nynaeve asked as she gently prised Eben from Taija.
Taija shook her head. "No, we're going to go and rescue Rand. We may have some prisoners when we return so please could you make sure that a suitable reception is ready for them."
Nynaeve nodded sharply. Then glanced at the two severed men. "You'll make them pay?"
"Yes."
"Good."
As soon as Nynaeve and Damer had gently urged Noruan and Eben through the gateway Taija let it close and turned back to Lady Damodred.
"Count yourself lucky that your people hadn't done anything more to them. You might survive the next few days as result. If you're lucky." She didn't wait for her to reply, instead spinning a gateway back to the roof you started from. "Tel?"
A few seconds later you're both stood in the open air. "Make our way down the Tar Valon road until we find them?"
"Yep." They were both too angry to say much.
