Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

The World outside the Grey Tower is a vast place.
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Bella
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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Bella » August 23rd, 2020, 9:50 pm

Haeden very much wanted to just stay in their rooms and spend time together, he knew he was obligated.

Besides, his Aes Sedai had gone through the trouble of wearing an ensemble of which she was not terribly comfortable and he didn't want to put her effort to waste. Not his either, to be honest, since this was hardly his own favorite thing to wear. He felt something like a dog that had been dressed up and put on display, but he kept that particular thought to himself.

The pair walked from their chambers, Haeden playing the dutiful Gaidin and escort to Liaran while also somehow straddling the line of being the child of the family that they were here about.

Dinner that night, while formal, was at least not too grand an event. It was still larger than he would have preferred, but it was a far cry from some sort of ball or reception party with dozens of people that he'd harbored a fear of happening. This was a long single table. At one end sat Lord Hiron, and an elegantly dressed woman sat at the other end.

Hiron stood, and the guests followed. "Ah, Haeden, Aes Sedai," he said with that creepy, jovial smile. "May I present to you my good lady wife, Lady Allistira."

Haeden turned to her and bowed politely, holding her gaze. "Lady Allistira, it is an honor and a privilege to be welcomed into your home."

The woman smiled politely and returned the nod. She was...quiet, and she looked tired, but as mother of a newborn, that was to be expected. Haeden did notice that someone at the table had made some sort of noise when he referred to "her home," but he did not know who or why. He was probably being paranoid. Someone just had to cough.

After introducing Liaran and her title, everyone sat back down. Haeden sat to Hiron's left with Liaran directly on his other side. Across from his was an older man with the grizzled appearance of a veteran and steel gray hair. He was introduced as Jardin Aba, who oversaw the safety of the house and soldiers of the family name.

From there, Haeden knew they just had one meal to make it through and then the Naming Day Celebration on the morrow...and then they could go home.

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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Alianora » August 25th, 2020, 1:32 am

Liaran Sedai
Liaran had been half expecting a room full of people, so the sight of one long table in the middle of the dining room was a relief. Holding her skirt off of the floor, she walked in beside Haeden, still displaying her outward calm. After tolerating the necessary formal introduction to an exhausted looking woman who Hiron identified as his wife, they were shown to their seats and dinner began.

Making idle conversation with strangers was not something that came easily to Liaran, but she had learned over her years as Aes Sedai how to at least smile and feign interest. She had cause to be very grateful for that learning as the evening continued. She sat beside Haeden, of course, and across from an older looking woman she thought might be the wife of the man across from Haeden, neither of whom said as much as two words to her. More talkative were the younger women sitting beside her and diagonal from her. They looked to her to be of an age with many of the novices, and if their conversation was anything to go by, neither cared for much of anything beyond dresses, dancing, and men.

It was not a discussion that interested Liaran in the least, so she mostly remained silent, speaking mostly when she was directly addressed. The two young women near her both seemed to be fascinated by and somewhat fearful of her, a response Liaran had seen before while out of the Tower in people who rarely encountered Aes Sedai. She politely answered the few questions they dared to ask her, and did little more than pick at the food in front of her.

The evening seemed to drag on, and the young women near her never seemed to be quiet for as much as a moment. She did her best to tune them out and pretend to be preoccupied in cutting her meat. The long sleeves of her dress slipped down to her wrists, allowing the backs of her hands to be clearly visible. Liaran barely stopped herself from glaring at the woman beside her, who was very obviously staring at the stars and waves her hands bore. She put the knife and fork down slowly, hid her hands in her lap, and hoped the ordeal that was dinner wouldn't last much longer.

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Bella
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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Bella » September 2nd, 2020, 5:04 pm

It was naturally impossible for Haeden to not sense his Aes Sedai's discomfort, but it was only an echo to what he felt inside his own mind since he didn't like these sorts of occasions any more than she did. It was inherited from his mother. She was smooth as glass at such events, but equally as blunt about how much she disliked them.

Haeden was pretty good on the outside, however. He smiled politely. He answered questions. He asked them. He made small talk.

When Liaran put her hands in his lap, however, he knew why. Under cover of the tablecloth, he reached over and put his large hand over her smaller, darker, tattooed ones and gave them a gentle squeeze.

He couldn't miss how Master Aba didn't seem to like him too well, or perhaps the older, grizzled man just had that sour expression all the time. Never having met him before it was naturally impossible for the Gaidin to tell. He just knew that hard eyes flashed his way more than once for reasons he didn't understand.

Eventually, thankfully, the meal ended. Haeden made their pleasant excuses, bidding a good night to the table, and especially to Hiron and his exhausted wife. Saying they would see them at breakfast.

Then he walked with Liaran back to their guest suite. Both relieved that this was over and done with now.

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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Alianora » September 5th, 2020, 1:16 am

Liaran Sedai
For the rest of dinner, Liaran spoke only as much as was absolutely necessary to avoid the appearance of rudeness. She ate little, and made sure her sleeves stayed in place when she did. The meal seemed to drag on, until finally, others at the table began to leave, allowing herself and Haeden to make their escape. Still, she maintained her calm expression until the two of them were safely in their rooms.

Once the door closed behind them, however, Liaran sat down in one of the sitting room chairs and sighed. "We made it," she said with a small smile for Haeden. Kicking off her slippers, she tugged at the heavy skirt of her dress, wishing she could get out of it as well. They talked for a while, but when Liaran began to yawn, she kissed Haeden good night and left for her own room.

She took off the dress, put it away, and climbed into the bed. It was just as she'd left it, with most of the pillows on the floor. Liaran laid on her side in the middle of it, and was asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.

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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Bella » September 6th, 2020, 12:20 am

There was a knock on the door.

Haeden looked up from the book he'd been reading. While Liaran had taken to bed, he had felt restless. There was a small alcove here in the room with several leatherbound books that he perused and chose from, settling into one of the overstuffed armchairs with the small tome open on his knee. It was about some ancient warfare, which he found somewhat strange in the home of his cousin, given that Hiron had never served in any sort of militial force.

Back to the knock at the door.

He set the book aside, grabbed his sword out of habit, and went to answer it. There was the usual level of wariness present, of course, but he felt like it was unlikely for someone up to dark deeds to manage to sneak into this manor only to then knock on the door.

"Hiron," he said with surprise. He would've thought the new father would turn in early, but here he was. Haeden's pale brow knit and he tilted his head. "Is everything alright?"

"Can we talk for a moment?" his cousin asked, gesturing to the hallway.

The Gaidin frowned slightly. "My Aes Sedai is asleep," he said, the words forming slowly. "I do not wish to be far from her, in case she has need of me."

Hiron laughed, but there was an uncomfortable edge to the sound. "Do you think she is in danger here? Among your kin?"

Suddenly, Haeden wasn't sure. And yet, he had no reason to think otherwise. "It's not that," he said, only lying a little. "But it is the duty of a Gaidin to remain close to his charge when we are away from the Tower. It is my duty."

"Right," his shorter but more rotund kinsmen said, the word sounding almost like a grunt. "Well, how about just in the room across the hall? You will remain close but we can speak more freely, without the worry of waking her."

"That should suffice," Haeden replied after a moment, stepping out into the hallway with a look back over his shoulder. There was an uneasy feeling settling in the center of his stomach and he yet he couldn't put a finger on just what it was causing that feeling. There seemed to be something...different about Hiron now, something he'd picked up on briefly at dinner but hadn't thought through much until now. Something off. Why did he even want to speak privately to Haeden?

The two men stepped across the hall and into another sitting room. As soon as he walked in, he saw a man on the other side. He was tall, perhaps just shy of Haeden's height. The Gaidin had seen him earlier at dinner, he recognized, although the man had always been seated. Now he stood, and his military bearing was clear. This was a career soldier, and a veteran of my battles. It was written all over his stance.

Jardin Aba.

Haeden felt his spine immediately go rigid and he started to turn toward Hiron, toward the door, and leave. He still didn't know what this was about, but with Aba's presence, it set his hair on edge and he wanted no part of it. Something stopped him, however.

The sword on Jardin Aba's hip.

The heron-marked sword.

The engraved hilt of a heron-marked sword.

The very familiar engraved hilt of a heron-marked sword.

The very familiar engraved hilt of a heron-marked sword that shot him back to his youth.

It was the sword of Caden Ives Gaidin. Haeden's father.

How...

"Grave robber," Haeden declared, both fire and ice coiling around his tone. Caden and Miahala Ives had left the Grey Tower for the borderlands of their birth, to remain their in state. His mother had, as everyone was aware, somehow come back...but his father had not. His father's body had remained out in those unforgiving lands, lying in solitairy, utilitary state...and apparently to be robbed of one of his most prized, hard-earned possessions by this...

He didn't even had an epithet fitting enough for a man like this.

Haeden's eyes remained hard on this man until he heard the door shut and lock behind him. His head snapped to the side and saw that Hiron was gone.

Aba turned to face him, hands held loosely behind his back. "Lord Hiron feels that you cast too big a shadow for him to be under while you yet live. No one will fully accept he is the proper heir to the manor while you exist, and so we will fix that. With you dead--in an apparent attack on your way home, of course--then the family will cede there exists no other viable heir but he." Aba put his hand on the hilt of Caden's sword. "This was just...poetic. Lord Hiron has a flair for the dramatic."

Every fiber of Haeden Ives's being wanted to rush at that man and rip the sword from his body, and yet there was danger. His duty was to get back to his Aes Sedai and get her out of this hostile environment. He backed into the door--not taking his eyes off Aba--and grasped the handle. He knew it was locked, but he tried it anyway and yanked as hard as he could. The door was heavy and budged not at all.

There was a flare of emotion over the bond that rent through him, but it then went quiet...

He knew she was not dead, but what just happened?!

"The only way out of this room is through me," Aba said coolly. "And yet that will not be happening since I have my orders. I have years of experience on you as well, and I know the lay of this place better. You might as well just lay down and die now."

Haeden clenched his teeth and drew his sword, dropping the scabbard to the ground. "I'll be taking my father's sword back now."

Lowering himself in Ox Lowers its Horns, Haeden found the Void and sunk himself into that nothingness. Outside, his emotions raged in the sort of storm he had not felt so hot and so cold and so wild and so painful in years and years. Those storms battered at the Void, beating it with ephemeral fists while they struggled to reach his heart, but to weild a blade in anger was to lose.

He needed the cold.

OOC: This begins a long-ass sword fight sequence that you can choose to read or not, as you like. I've put it in a spoiler tag so you can skip if you choose.

Spoiler: show
Jardin nodded once as if in approval and them formed his rugged form into Lion on the Hill, and they each stood like that for several moments. Waiting to see what the other would do. Haeden was frozen. Was ice. He waited, and he watched. He knew little of the man before him, so he had to watch and learn fast. It wasn't too much longer before the man struck first, breaking the stalemate with Boar Rushes Down the Mountain.

With decades-trained reflexes, Haeden brought his sword up to block, steering the blade away and then taking that moment to thrust. Aba parried it away, and Haeden moved swiftly back to disengage. Now they each kept their sword in middle guard, loose and ready, circling each other around this well-appointed sitting room. Haeden's eyes were in a constant state of motion to know where Jardin was and what he was doing while also avoiding the furniture in this unfamiliar space.

The waters had been tested, and now the fight would begin.

This time, Haeden chose to make the first move with Lightning of the Three Prongs. Thrust. Thrust. Thrust. Then swooping up into Low Wind Rising to try to catch Jardin Aba in his smug face before returning to guard. He had a slim hope that maybe this man wasn't a good fighter and this move would take him out, but his reflexes were proving that he could have born the heron-marked blade on his own.

The Gaidin was immediately rebuffed with Striking the Spark, catching the motion of Haeden's blade and stopping it before it was able to cause damage. Fortunately for Haeden, he too was well-trained and saw it for what it was.

He met it with Two Hares Leaping, countering his opponent and then pushing them away from each other.

Haeden held his sword ready, backing up careful and keeping wary green eyes on Jardin as he followed, just as warily. Haeden felt his heel bump into a piece of furniture, and he guided himself blindly to the side and around it. It was a small armchair and he moved until he was just behind it, then snap-kicked out and sent the seat sliding toward Aba. As he tried to sidestep the flying furniture, Haeden drove in behind it.

Swinging his sword, Jardin was forced to block and parry awkwardly as he regained his footing and the younger Gaidin drove him back toward the wall. Haeden pressed his advantage, but the old soldier was still fleetfooted and wily. When his back pressed against the wall, Haeden bound their blades, but he was met with Jardin's forehead into his. The taut skin over Haeden's brow split and blood slipped down his face.

In that split-second, Jardin pushed back and Haeden's boots skidded along the hardwood floor. Gritting his teeth, Haeden bore down and stopped the slide. He shoved at the older man's sword just enough to get some space and lean back to put the flat of his boot into Aba's stomach.

Jardin coughed and hunched forward, but he wasn't stupid. He was well-trained and took several steps back to not let Haeden take advantage of this moment.

That did not stop Haeden from trying anyway, of course. He surged ahead, and Jardin got the sword up just in time to block the first strike. A flurry of blows and blocks followed. Jarden suffered a moderate slash opening the front of his doublet to his chest, while Haeden received a pierce to his side. He felt no pain, no fear, no weakness from within the Void. He was aware of the pain outside, but it did not touch him.

Aba's next strike was met with Black Pebbles on Snow, moving Haeden back into his space with the follow-up strike that Jardin just managed to avoid, but immediately followed up by Cutting the Clouds and another blooded line across the man's midsection. Jardin half-spun to lessen the damage and then whirled back with his elbow. The pointy crook of the man's arm glanced off Haeden's chest, making him leap back to get space between them.

Now, they circled again. Both wounded. Bleeding. Determined.

Haeden didn't want this to go on for much longer. He had his Aes Sedai to get to. He'd leave his father's sword behind if the chance presented itself, but Jardin Aba was equally determined. What had he ever done to offend him? This felt...personal, but Haeden Ives did not have the time or energy to spend on figuring it out. He could only fight his way through or around this man so that he could get out of this room.

He jumped over the couch, catching Jardin by surprise.

The older man lifted his sword quickly into a high guard, meaning to bash Haeden in the head--no doubt--in a form such as Courtier Taps his Fan. Green eyes flickered to the blade quickly and saw it coming, bringing his blade to his hand and half-swording his block. He pivoted and brought the hilt around, catching Jardin on the back of the neck and sending him to the ground. Once his sword was free, he brought his blade up and down.

Unfortunately, Aba managed to roll out of the way just in time. Haeden's sword point landed on the floor and he had to wrench it free in time to deflect a wild swing. Two more followed, but Haeden was able to dodge back to avoid them both.

The third, Haeden ducked, then drove his shoulder into Jardin's gut and sending him back to the floor. He landed half on top of the other man and moved to hit. Aba couldn't get his blade around at this angle, but he was able to punch Haeden in the gut. The Gaidin coughed and felt pain rattle at the edge of the Void, since Aba's fist had been nearly atop his wound, but he shoved it all into the Flame. He drove his fist down into Jardin's face, hearing something in the other man's face crunch.

With a roar, Jardin bucked and rolled, somehow managing to dislodge the younger man, although Haeden was on his feet again in an instant. Weakness was threading at the cracks in the Void, tied to the sensation of the wet heat running down his legs, but he was on his feet. He was ready.

Haeden Ives surged forward once more.

The Wood Grouse Dances. He slashed and thrusted with the short, feinting movements that he had been taught by the very finest of the Warder Yards. He rembered training with his sister, during those long years when they only had each other. Jardin parried and blocked, but his movements were getting sluggish and he was laboring visibly. Seeing this, the Gaidin flowed into River of Light.

His blade moved like water, seeming to be independent of Haeden's conscious will and perhaps even separate from this world. Everything grew hazy but the figure before him as Haeden's blade slid over Aba's arm. The old man let out a shout of pain. It was the first in all this time...

Some of his momentum was lost in the swing so it did not remove the man's arm, but muscle was visible and blood flowed freely. Haeden could practically smell it, like a wild dog wanting to go in for the kill as Jardin stumbled back. To the old soldier's credit, he held his wounded arm to his bleeding chest while he held the sword in his other hand. Up in a guard and ready to fight this till the end. It was all over his face.

This could only end one way.

Blood was seeping into his eyes from the gash over his brow, but Haeden could see as much as he needed to. He and Jarden locked blades one again, and he saw his chance. With their blades bound up together, he used The Grapevine Twines and got this tip of his blade to the hilt of his father's sword. One twist, and the blade came free. Within a heartbeat, he had the heavy weapon in one hand.

Haeden dropped his own blade and with his father's heron-marked sword in both hands, he swung heavy and fast. The sword sheared through Jardin Aba, who gurgled briefly as blood rose to his mouth and then collapsed without further ceremony.
The Void abandoned him then, and in rushed all the pain. All the fatigue. All the emotion. He nearly fell from it all and barely caught himself in a stagger back against the door, blood running down his hand and fingertips to the rich carpet below. He didn't even remember being cut on the arm. He felt the blood on his face, though, from where it had sprayed him with Jardin's last breath.

The only image in his mind now, however, was Liaran, and he used his father's blade to hack open the locked door and half-stumble out into the hallway.

No one was in sight. Lord Hiron was a confident man, apparently. That made the Gaidin smile darkly as he staggered across the corridor and into the rooms he shared with his Aes Sedai. Hiron would get what was coming to him...but not now. (Although some corner of his mind said that if Hiron had still been in that hallway, Haeden would have shoved Caden's heron-marked blade right down his throat and tore out his lying tongue. He was his mother's son, after all.) But Hiron was not there...

Later. Later...

Haeden blundered through the sitting room, nearly tripping over and end table before just about toppling a plant stand. He found Liaran, unconscious on the floor in her bedroom. He dropped to his knees, the sword making a heavy thud beside him as he dropped it too, and gently lifted her head to his knees. He knew she was alive, could sense that over the bond and see it in the rise and fall of her chest, but someone had hit her on the head.

If he'd had the strength... When he had the strength, he would gather her up and get them both away from this place. He just needed...a little rest...

He left bloodstains on her skin as he touched her, but he could barely see them through his own tears as he waited for her to wake or for his strength to return.

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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Alianora » September 6th, 2020, 8:46 pm

Liaran Sedai
Liaran cracked her eyelids partly open, groaning at the pulse of pain at the front of her head. The bed she lay on felt much harder than she remembered it being when she'd gone to sleep, the pillow bumpy and uncomfortable. Slowly, she lifted her head, fully opening her eyes, understanding then that she was not in the bed at all. How did I end up on the floor? She could not think of any reason she should be there instead of in bed, and yet, here she was. Confused and blinking, the Aes Sedai struggled to sit up, her movements unsteady as the room seemed to spin around her. It took her much longer than it should have, and once she was finally seated on the floor, Liaran closed her eyes against the throbbing of her headache.

Unable to see the room she was in, Liaran's attention was drawn to the bond in the back of her mind. She could sense Haeden's nearness, but of more immediate concern to her was the complex tangle of his emotions, too numerous for her to completely grasp, and a few she would not have expected him to be feeling at all. The bond also carried within it the feeling of injuries he should not have had, not from an innocent visit to his family. Worried now, Liaran forced herself to open her eyes again, ignoring the pain in her head.

She found her Warder kneeling in front of her, and she looked him over as she raised her head to meet his eyes. The tears that glistened in them shocked her, and Liaran drew in a sharp breath. She leaned forward, swaying as her aching head objected to the sudden motion, placing her fingertips gently against the bloody wound on his forehead.

"Can I Heal you?" she asked. She moved her other hand to rest carefully on his shoulder, mostly to comfort him and partly to brace herself. Without waiting for an answer, or taking her eyes off him, Liaran spoke again. "Haeden, what happened to you?" From what the bond told her of his wounds and his emotional state, the Aes Sedai already knew she was not going to like the answer.

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Bella
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Location: New England

Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Bella » September 7th, 2020, 1:35 am

Relief flooded through him as he felt her awake. Her immediate concern for <i>him</i> overwhelmed him, when he had just been sitting here in fear of what had happened to <i>her</i>...

"Liaran," he breathed her name like a man who had just taken his first breath of fresh air. He moved his bloody hands to cradle her cheeks, staring into her dark eyes with far more emotion in his green ones that anyone was used to seeing. "Keep your strength. I'll be alright now that I know you are well," he said, although his words sounded tired and came out lower, heavier than usual. "I will..."

He hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain succinctly. Yet even as he contemplated that, other things moved in his mind.

Haeden swallowed hard and started again. "I will explain all later, but for now, we must contemplate being away from this accursed place." This was the second time someone had tried to kill him in this manor, after all. "My cousin's kindness was indeed a facade as you and I suspected him of. I have taken care of the immediate threat, but I don't know if more are to come so I want gone from here."

Of course, he said that and didn't move just yet. "I had to fight his man, Jardin Aba," he went on, although his tone seemed like it didn't care about that. He stroked loose hair back from her forehead. "I was so worried what might have befallen you..." The thumb of his other hand traced her bottom lip, thankfully without blood streaks this time. (Romantic man, this Haeden Ives...) "Liaran. I love you," he breathed the words that neither of them had been brave enough to say, even in all their time together.

He knew, beyond the bond, how much he wanted to be in her life and how much he wanted her in his. "And someday, if you'll grant me the gift, I'd take your hand in marriage." He took one more moment to kiss her before he knew they would have to ready themselves and leave this place. But he needed this moment after everything that had transpired this night...

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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Alianora » September 7th, 2020, 10:20 pm

Liaran Sedai
Reluctantly, Liaran trailed her fingers down the side of Haeden's face. She could not force him to accept her Healing, and yet it bothered her to leave him in the state he was in. She moved that hand and the one that had been on his shoulder to rest gently on his back. Moving slowly, she scooted herself forward and pulled him closer to her, careful not to hold him too tightly. Looking up into his eyes, Liaran said, "Haeden. I am fine. I just have a headache." With no mirror in the room, the Aes Sedai could not see the bruised lump on her head that suggested something other than the simple headache she claimed. Still, she did not want him worrying about her when he was so clearly worse off than herself.

Then she was quiet, listening as intently as she could despite the persistent pain. That period of quiet concentration did not last very long, because when Haeden spoke of Hiron's dishonesty, rage flared deep within her. She had had to convince Haeden to come here, and to hear that his own family had meant him ill the entire time was hard for Liaran to hear. Her dark eyes opened wide, and she hissed,"That son of the sands!" In her anger, she did not recognize that she was being rude by interrupting.

There was a part of Liaran that very much wanted to stalk from the room, locate Hiron, and burn the man to ashes for the pain he'd caused her Warder. She only resisted her desire because she didn't want to leave Haeden alone. He also wasn't done talking, and because he was more important to her than anything else, she forced down her fury, leaving it to simmer just below the surface of her emotions.

She stroked a hand idly down Haeden's back. The worry he admitted to having felt for her was not what Liaran had expected to hear. How could he think so much about me after what he was put through? Then, in four simple, but powerful, words, Liaran heard the answer to that question. Tears welled up in her dark eyes, and she couldn't manage to make herself speak.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again as Haeden spoke to her. His request for her hand was something that Liaran had never dreamed to hear from anyone. She had had expectations for her life as an Aes Sedai, a life of service that of necessity would not include distractions such as romance and marriage. Since meeting Haeden, she'd learned how wrong she'd been, permitted herself to want what he offered, but it was still a surprise to her to hear it.

Liaran swallowed and took a breath, her eyes still locked on his. "I love you, Haeden," she said softly to him. She had known that for a while, but had never had the nerve to tell him so. "It would be...such an honor to be your wife." She could still feel her earlier anger, but it had quieted some in the light of her feelings of Haeden, and his for her. Unfortunately, her headache had not, though it had become a duller sort of pain.

In a far more serious tone, she said, "If you ask it of me, we will go down to the stables right now and Skim away from here." Liaran wasn't sure that was the best idea, but if Haeden wished it, she would do it. "I know you're worried there might be further threats to us, but I'm not sure we should leave without dealing with Hiron. He'll find out eventually that whatever his plans were for you, they didn't succeed. Will he come after you again then? I don't know if that's a risk you want to take." Hiron might not be much of a threat to someone like Haeden, but Liaran felt it had to be considered. She would, however, leave the decision to him, and support him in any choice he made.

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Bella
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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Bella » September 9th, 2020, 3:32 pm

If ever there were a moment of conflicting emotions, this was it.

Haeden was exhausted and in pain. He felt the injuries he had sustained, and the energy expended settled on him like a blanket made of stone. There was concern for the safety of his Aes Sedai, and there was the need to flee this place to get her (and thus also himself) to the safety of the Grey Tower and away from here.

What she said, however, made sense. There was a pragmatic coldness to his mind that agreed with her. Hiron obviously saw Haeden as a threat, and he'd gone so far as to make this plan. He'd gone so far as to desecrate the grave of Caden Ives just to get the man's sword and torment Haeden in the process.

Would he stop now that his first attempt had been thwarted? No, probably not.

Did he wanted to risk Liaran's life, and his own again, to stop that threat here and now, however? He could find the law, but Hiron was a noble... Liaran was an Aes Sedai, though, and they were respected here. They would listen to her, if not Haeden--the fallen son.

Beyond all that, however, were emotions far on the other side of this horizon. There was elation and excitement. He had (finally) spoken the words he had felt about her for so long. That he loved her. That he wanted to marry her. She had returned both sentiments and assured him that she felt the same. This was a joyous thing...

...but it was happening just after they had both been attacked. So. A little confusing a moment for him.

"You are right," he finally said. "He is not likely to stop here. Yet my first duty is to protect you, but as your Gaidin and..." Even now, with all this, the next words made him smile. "...and your future husband. I don't know how many other guardsman he has here, or if you and I alone can possibly face that unknown number and reach Hiron. I doubt he's without protection."

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Re: Family Ties [Attn: Liaran Sedai]

Post by Alianora » September 12th, 2020, 1:06 am

Liaran Sedai
When Haeden referred to himself as her future husband, Liaran smiled too. That expression of how happy those words made her felt strange to her, combined with the remnants of her anger. The oddness of it didn't make her stop though, until Haeden moved on to the more serious subject of their current problem. Then Liaran's smile rapidly faded as she thought about what he'd said. She let her hands slide down from where they'd been on his back, placing one in her lap and the other back on Haeden's shoulder. She blinked at him, trying to think, a task made far more difficult by the pounding of her head.

Perhaps that was why she hadn't considered Hiron's guards. That he'd have them seemed so obvious once Haeden said it, and that made Liaran feel a little frustrated with herself for not thinking of it earlier. One man she could handle with no more than a ball of fire, of that Liaran was sure. An unknown number of armed guards was something quite different, and while she hated to admit it, neither she nor Haeden was at their best right now.

She studied his face, noticing the pain and fatigue that echoed through the bond. He needed to be seen by a Yellow, in her opinion; there was no way they could go after Hiron tonight. To acknowledge that truth annoyed Liaran, and a small, furious part of herself still wanted to set the man on fire. The rest of her, that greater part that operated by morals and ethics, was horrified by that desire. It might be for the best, she observed to herself, that we can't get to him now.

Still, Liaran had never been one to give up easily, and the thought of essentially just running away, leaving Hiron to do as he pleased, left her feeling rather irritated. The Aes Sedai sighed and leaned forward, raising the hand in her lap to rest her aching head. "I didn't think about the guards," she muttered. "Without knowing what we'd be dealing with, and you already hurt, we really can't confront Hiron right now."

She closed her eyes, then opened them again, before continuing, "But, Haeden, I don't like it. I don't like just leaving him here to move against you again whenever he wants. He deserves to face some sort of consequence after what he did to you, a guest in his home....I just don't know how to make that happen."

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