Sail Away With Me (attn: Bella)

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

While she moved through the water, Liaran reflected that there was really nothing else quite like swimming in the ocean. The lake back home at the Grey Tower, much appreciated though it was, just was not the same. She allowed herself to simply enjoy the activity, matching her pace to Haeden’s until the pair of them reached the shore. Her toes dug into the sand beneath them as Liaran emerged from the sea. The Aes Sedai kept moving, even as she grasped her wet hair and wrung most of the water from it.Then she let go, allowing it to dangle freely around her shoulders.

Strolling along the sand beside Haeden, Liaran gave him a wide smile when he spoke. “I’m glad I could share this with you,” she told him. “I know living at sea, even for such a short time, has been an entirely new experience for you.” It meant more to her than Liaran could put into words that Haeden had not only wished to travel with her here, but seemed to be enjoying himself. She had to turn away from him to look at where she was walking, but after a quick glance at their surroundings, confirming that nobody else was close enough to notice them, the Aes Sedai reached out, intending to take hold of her husband’s hand.

[Bella]

Haeden's hand drew itself toward hers as she reached out for him, almost as if operating of its own accord. Like a magnet being drawn to its own kind when a hint of proximity presented itself. Although he never lost his innate watchfulness of what was around them, he intertwined his fingers with hers and cast a smile toward her.

"It has been new," he agreed, "that's hard to deny, but new experiences are good for a person I think. For someone who has, while still traveling extensively, otherwise lived within the confines of the Grey Tower my entire life... Well, broadening horizons is healthy, and I am glad that you were the one to help me do it."

His hand squeezed hers gently as his eyes roamed the long, richly colored line of the sea beside them. He had known water, but this was still something else... There was something of a promise, of the taste of possible adventures and untold stories, in something so deep and broad as all that. He didn't have the urge to live that life, as he would always be a land creature, but he could at least feel the appeal and the pull.

"Besides, it's only fair," he said a moment later, humor coloring his normally stoic tone in ways only she would hear, "I think you've ended up on a horse more often since we've been together than all the time before it."

[Alianora]

Liaran Sedai

Liaran was content to leave her hand in his as they strolled along the sand together. With a short laugh, she told Haeden, “I’m sure you’re right. Before the Grey Tower I had rarely even seen a horse, and even as a novice and an Accepted, riding wasn’t necessary most of the time.” If not for the patience of the man beside her, the Aes Sedai wasn’t sure she would ever have troubled herself with attempting to learn. She glanced towards the raker docked a short distance away and said with a smile, “I’m sure you understood before, but you can see now why my people don’t ride; where would we keep them?”

She could only imagine trying to keep poor Seawind, or any horse, confined on a ship that simply was not made to carry them. It was not something Liaran would have wanted to do to any animal while she’d lived aboard the ships, but as she’d made a life for herself on land, she was grateful to have finally learned the skill most other grown women she knew seemed to have possessed since they’d been girls.

Her voice grew quieter, her tone more serious as they continued on their way. ”I am..glad you encouraged me to learn, and grateful for your patience with me,” she admitted to her husband. She would never have the way with horses that he had, but he would never be as comfortable on the water as she was, and Liaran saw nothing wrong with that; it was the effort each had made to connect to the other that was important, one she appreciated more than she could express with words. As they drew closer to the ship, Liaran let go of Haeden’s hand, preparing herself to once more be surrounded by others.

[Bella]

And so it continued.

They were blessed to not have any more strange interactions and to not enact what his mother had sometimes thought of as her family's curse to always have some sort of danger, trouble, or combat whenever she went anywhere. Truth was, Miahala had once said, she felt like she couldn't even go into the Tower kitchens without some sort of incident.

Haeden and Liaran, however, were fortunate for the rest of their trip. They simply enjoyed one another's time and some space away from the confines and duties of the Grey Tower. Haeden departed with more knowledge and understanding of his wife's history and upbringing, and thus of her, which he was grateful for.

Of course, all vacations must end, and the pair soon returned to the Grey Tower. Traveling was nice, but it was also nice to be home.