Chapter XCI - Dresses Are Out, Trousers Are In

Nynaeve stared Taija in the eye trying to keep her anger down. "Nothing is impossible to heal! Nothing except death." She was not going to give in on this and the bloody woman would have to realise that

"You're just going to be giving them false hope, making this harder for them!" For once Taija seemed to have abandoned her normally calm demeanour and was every bit as angry as Nynaeve was.

"You don't know that, you said you don't know much about healing."

"I know enough to know some things were impossible. Are impossible." Taija sighed and suddenly deflated a bit. "Look. Fine. You're aes sedai. You know more about healing than I ever will. If you want to offer, I won't stop you. I think it's cruel and I want you to think very hard about that before you do. That this isn't your desire for knowledge masquerading as compassion, but if you believe it, fine. Just make sure you ask permission. Don't just tell them." With a loud huff she spun on her heel and stalked off.

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The morning after Eben's return to the Hall Helena had not slept well at all. How could she sleep? How could they have done that to him? She'd barely recognised her normally cheerful friend, no lover, with his empty eyed stare and the despair that hung around him like a miasma. He'd given her a weak smile and let her try to comfort him, but they both knew there was nothing she could do.

Well that wasn't true. She'd find something. She'd get better and there would be something she could do. Maybe she actually would bind him as her warder. Perhaps that would help. Until then she'd be there for him as much as she could be.

Despite her tiredness and the early hour she was already up tugging on the overly loose breeches she'd borrowed from one of the other initiates until she could get her own. It felt strange not being in her accepted dress, but the White Tower had shown what it was. If Taija sedai went running in men's clothing every morning, so would Helena from now on.

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Mazrim Taim's normal contempt for the world was bubbling over into fury. What those aes sedai scum had done to Noruan was horrific, disgusting, unacceptable. He did not even like the man, he was a weakling. Nevertheless, Noruan had still been one of his students. They would have done the same to him if they had caught him.

Now Taija brought back aes sedai as prisoners. No doubt ready to hand them over to Siuan Sanche when she arrived for a slap on the wrist.

Weak. That was all these people were. Trying to rebuild a time that died because of its weakness. Oh Taija had proven herself to be a strong fighter, but what was the point when she had not got the strength of will to use that prowess?

He could feel himself becoming weaker, being sucked further into their happy little world every day he stayed here. If he had his way he would be long gone, off to take his own revenge on the aes sedai. However, he had his orders, from someone far more frightening than Taija or Tel would ever be and so he stayed.

That was why he was stalking back to his room rather than leaving now and that was also why he overheard gasps from a little gaggle of initiates. He was going to walk past them with a scowl, but then he caught something in what they were saying. Specifically something Irena was saying about the Tower aes sedai.

"What was that?" They all jumped at his sudden bark. Looking nervously at him.

Eventually Irena stepped forward slightly and gave him a small bow. Taking after Taija's habits he noted, when had curtsies stopped being good enough? "I was just telling the others about what happened when Taija sedai and Tel sedai rescued me."

Oh yes, she was one of the girls the aes sedai had taken, he had not paid much attention to them. Of course they came out of it unharmed, not like his boys. "Mmm, I suppose it is impressive that they could do it so bloodlessly."

Her eyes widened. "Bloodlessly? Light no. There… was a lot of blood." For a second she seemed to be staring at nothing, a look he recognised well enough. "They had fifty aes sedai at the start. Rand and Eben killed seven or eight of them."

He had known that they had killed a few, but then Taija had brought back nearly enough for a full circle and he had assumed that was the rest of them.

"Then of the rest… they killed every single one that's not here. Lightning, fire, gateways it it it was…" She seemed to run out of words for a second and then her face hardened. "They deserved it, all of them! For what they did to Eben and Noruan most of all!"

Taim blinked in surprise a couple of times. "Interesting." At least he was not the only one who was furious over what had been done to Noruan and Eben. As he continued on his way he chewed over that revelation. Unexpected, but perhaps satisfying. The real question was, how lightly would she let off the survivors? Filthy politics coming into play once more.

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Aleksi's staff whirled through the air deflecting one, two blows and then swiping down to take his opponent's feet from under him. Immediately after he was helping the man back up, laughing with him and clapping him on the back.

Underneath the cheerful veneer though… He wasn't a man who often got angry, but what those Tower aes sedai had done… Well, Taija would make sure that justice was done. For the survivors. He'd never seen her so angry before and hoped never to again.

At least she'd managed to find some comfort in Tel's arms. He didn't think anyone else had noticed the change between them yet, beyond being a bit more relaxed when they worked together. But then Tel had an impressive poker face and nobody in this time, other than Tel, knew Taija as well as he did. If he had to guess, they were using gateways at night to keep things discrete.

He wasn't sure that he approved. He liked Tel, it was hard not to, right up until you thought about the things he'd done and that was the issue. But then, who had more right to judge him or forgive him than Taija? Ultimately, it seemed to be making her happy and that was enough for him to let it go.

Aleksi turned to leave and nearly ran into an Aiel maiden of the spear. Melinn he thought her name was. One of the small number of Aiel who helped provide more conventional guards for the Hall, she often seemed to be there when he was training. Perhaps she wanted to fight too? The Aiel were strange like that, but then people would say that about the women of the Hall too.

"Excuse me Melinn," he muttered, stepping to the side to go round her. She rarely said anything and today was no exception, but he was sure she was watching him as he headed away, although he couldn't for the life of him work out why.

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Bennae took a sip of tea, watching Taija over the lip of the cup. She was just thankful that Taija had accepted her story at face value. As she had suspected, there had been some benefit in provoking Katerine into dispensing with the illusion of her freedom, unpleasant as the experience had been. Not that there was anything that she was hiding from Taija in this case, it just would have looked very bad if she had been riding amongst the other aes sedai.

The demolition of the force of aes sedai though… Now that was something different. She had assumed Taija would win that battle with the resources at her disposal, but as it was, her and Tel... It had been perturbing just how easily they had slaughtered a force that could have toppled kingdoms. They had barely broken a sweat.

"Taija dear, are you alright? You are scowling into your tea again." Her friend jumped.

"I'm sorry, I'm just… still furious about what they did to Eben and Noruan. It's just… So cruel and so wasteful. So pointless."

"I know, it was appalling and a breach of Tower law even by their own standards. Disgusting." She did not even need to twist her words to agree. There was a reason why she had freed Jaer. "What do you plan to do with the captured sisters?" They had sealed their own fates as far as she was concerned, much as it was a pity.

"Give them fair trials of course. I'm just trying to think of who would be able and willing to defend them. Perhaps someone from Siuan's group?" Goodness the woman was far too soft for her own good. Was she really going to let them off with a slap on the wrist? Taija suddenly looked at her, "how about you?"

"Absolutely not." She surprised herself with her own vehemence. "I have no interest in defending those women and I need to live with your initiates afterwards."

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Sashalle Anderly stared out of the small window of her cell, studiously ignoring the man staring intently at her from just outside the open room. Of course they would have put a man to shield her. The insults given to the White Tower continued to multiply.

Apparently they were going to be subjected to a farce of a trial. Whether it was to salve the conscience of these people, because surely they must know what they were doing was wrong, or just a sick joke to display to the outside world she did not know.

They had told her that the trial would be delayed until the arrival of some more true aes sedai, not as prisoners but as guests. That had made her heart sink all the more. Siuan Sanche was certainly not her ally, but a traitor to the White Tower at best and a darkfriend at worst. Anyway, even if more aes sedai did come, what could they do other than die or submit themselves in the face of this kind of power.

When the men here went mad Caemlyn at the very least would be lost.

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Long lines of Aiel filed through the gateway under Ruarc's watchful eyes. It would be a good day to dance. The Treekillers had attacked the Car'a'carn and they would need to be shown the error of their ways. Their instructions had been strict, no abuses and they could only take the fifth if the Cairhienin fought back. Fortunately he had no doubt that some of the Cairhienin would wish to dance.

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Tel woke with a gasp, choking off a scream and groping for a sword that wasn't there. Another nightmare. They'd never really stopped since he'd learnt Taija was alive. Too many bad memories. Too many terrible things he'd seen and, more importantly, done. Another penance for him, far less than he deserved really.

He looked over at Taija's sleeping form. At least he hadn't woken her up. She slept badly enough as it was. He'd been woken up more than once by her lashing out in her sleep or waking up with a shriek. She never wanted to say what woke her up, but he could work it out well enough from the terrified way she'd look at him straight afterwards. The terror always faded quickly, but he saw it.

With a sigh he forced himself to relax. Beside him Taija mumbled something in her sleep and then shifted slightly so she was against him.

Tel closed his eyes, again and tried to relax, at least her comforting warmth would help him sleep.