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Bondage	By : SAF Category: S through Z > Wheel of Time Series Views: 19304 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Wheel of Time series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Bondage
- 2-2
- 3-3
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The Dragon Reborn sat upon his gilded throne and brooded darkly.
His elbows rested upon the heavy arms of the “gift” the High Lords of Tear had made, his fingers were steepled before pale grey eyes that never seemed to lose their anger, and all about him the Sun Palace seemed to hold its breath.
“Lady Ailil has thus far refused to join her brother, but she and Lord Bertome have gathered their armsmen about them. Their estates are fortified for war. It may be best to sweep them up now rather than wait for them to join Lord Toram.” The speaker was Dobraine Taborwin. An short, solemn Cairhienin with grey hair and a, relatively, plain wardrobe… for a noble. He was an experienced soldier. and loyal. One of few that could be said of in this world. He had fought the Aes Sedai at Dumai’s Wells to secure his lord’s freedom. And Rand al’Thor, whom most called Dragon, would never forget that.
“Ignore them,” Rand said, curtly. He was finding it hard to be anything but curt these days. “If they join the rebels I will crush them all in one blow. Until they do they can practice their marching and formations all they please. Maybe it will get them a little bit readier for Tarmon Gai’don.”
Lord Dobraine gave no reaction to Rand’s tone. He made a slight bow, “As you say, my Lord Dragon.” He hesitated for a moment, then spoke, his voice carefully neutral. “There is still the matter of the Aes Sedai prisoners. Several of them have been allowed a modicum of freedom by the Wise Ones and they tend to be drawn towards the Palace. The guards are reluctant to interfere with sisters, but I’m sure a direct order from you would stiffen their resolve.”
Kill them, snapped the voice. They’re women, Rand objected, his face twitching with a fury that was not his own. What does that matter? asked his tormenter, sounding almost sane for a moment. They are our enemies and guilty of heinous crimes. Rand laughed softly, bitterly, Aren’t we all. Have you not the blood of enough women on your hands, Kinslayer? The voice receded to the dark depths of Rand’s mind, weeping. Ilyena, cried Lews Therin once more, and for a time at least, the Dragon was alone in his own head.
Dobraine did not seem to notice the struggle within Rand. Or perhaps he did and chose not to say. All men who could channel went insane eventually, the Dark One’s taint saw to that. Most would think hearing the voice of a dead madman in your head qualified as insane, certainly, but Rand knew better. Lews Therin had helped him escape from the Aes Sedai, he knew things about saidin that no one living could, bar the Forsaken themselves. He was real.
“The Aes Sedai,” Rand said, his voice surprising even him with its roughness. “A presumptuous breed, to pester me still after all they have done. Have they been speaking to the nobles? Trying to provoke more rebellion?”
Dobraine shook his head. “I have, of course, had them watched. So far they have been quiet. Merana and Masuri are most often in the library. Verin as well, though she tends to wander the halls, muttering to herself. I suspect age has caught up with that one. Alanna and Seonid keep a more public profile. The latter is Cairhienin and no stranger to the Sun Palace, and the former… she asks of you openly and often.”
Rand’s drew in a long breath, fighting for calm. That the Aes Sedai had been allowed to leave the Aiel tents was no news of course. If nothing else his bond with Alanna ensured that. That the damnable woman presumed to question random strangers about his habits, however, that he had not known. What could they possibly tell her, he thought, she already knows more of me than almost anyone. Far too much of me in fact. The Warder bond that Alanna had forced upon Rand gave her knowledge more intimate than he would have entrusted to many a friend or lover. And it still wasn’t enough. Would they never leave him alone? Would SHE never leave him alone?
“Tell Alanna to attend me immediately,” he said icily.
“I shall convey the message at once, my Lord Dragon.” Dobraine bowed and made to withdraw.
“No,” Rand snapped. “She doesn’t merit your personal attention. I rely on you to manage the affairs of this court. Send one of your servants to speak to the good Servant.”
Dobraine bowed once more, a trifle lower. “As you will.”
The Cairhienin left, passing by the mixed force of Far Dareis Mai and Asha’man which guarded the corridor to Rand’s quarters. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving the Dragon alone with his dark thoughts.
Dobraine had fought against the Aes Sedai, but even he didn’t truly hate them. The Tairens, whom Rand ruled as surely as he did the Cairhienin, disliked the Aes Sedai intensely but they had not been eager to join the rescue force at Dumai’s Wells Rand could not help but note. Outside of the Seanchan and the Whitecloaks, two groups Rand wanted nothing to do with, no-one seemed to hate the Aes Sedai enough to want them destroyed. Only enough to want never to have to meet one again. Do I hate them? Do I want them destroyed? The answer frightened him.
Even Perrin had taken the Aes Sedai’s side. His oldest friend, yet the very day after Dumai’s Wells Perrin had quarrelled with Rand over the Aes Sedai prisoners. Defended them against Rand, knowing what they had done to him! That had hurt. He had thought he meant more than that to Perrin.
Rand rose from his throne and paced the room, its heavy furniture and rich tapestries were only part of another kind of box it seemed then. The large writing desk, the soft carpets, the ugly throne. To think people actually schemed and struggled to acquire things like this.
He missed Min desperately. It terrified him how much he missed her. I should send her far away, somewhere my enemies could never find her. Somewhere I could never find her. The thought of Min being hurt again, or worse, killed, horrified Rand more than any box could. Of all people she deserved to be near him the least. Why wouldn’t she leave the Palace, leave Rand far behind her? Madness.
The sound of the door opening brought Rand to a halt, hands clasped behind his back. Alanna Mosvani, Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah, stepped through the opening with her chin held high and a feral glint in her dark eyes. She let the door fall shut behind her, and not gently.
Rand narrowed his eyes. She was angry, nursing some supposed outrage and kicking up a fuss over it. Poor girl.
“I got your message, Rand,” she said, her voice thick with the accents of Arafel. “Such a charming young servant you sent to summon me.”
“And here I thought you had decided to drop by uninvited.” Rand said coldly.
Alanna felt a flush of embarrassment. She was also filled with anger and concern, the two at war in her mind. Rand knew these things because of the Warder bond she had forcibly placed on him, just as she knew what he was feeling. Not that she was like to give a damn how unwelcome that knowledge was, of course.
“You should have sent someone of greater rank to request my presence,” the Aes Sedai continued, stubbornly. “It is not proper for a servant to speak so to an Aes Sedai. Have you forgotten who I am?”
Rand’s distaste found new root. They really did think themselves something special these so-called Aes Sedai. Why had they first named themselves Servants of All if not to try and ward against such creeping arrogance? The thought seemed almost alien for a moment, but the truth of it sat well with him. “I know all I need to of who and what you are, Alanna,” he said, voice curiously serene. “You are, among other things, my liegewoman. Who I choose to pass my orders through is irrelevant. They are still my orders.”
Her nostrils flared at that. “And I obeyed them, didn’t I? I am here as… summoned,” she bit off that last like a curse. Then she drew a deep breath and abruptly calmed. “Why did you want to see me? You felt very upset earlier, hurt. Is there something I can do to help?”
Rand stared. Bad enough she could tell what he felt, but she dared to mock him with it to his face!? Help? She offered to help after all that she had done? His fists clenched behind him, he almost felt he would choke on his rage.
The Green flinched under the Dragon’s baleful glare. Her eyes widened, her eyebrows rose, her bottom lip even quivered slightly. For all the world she looked surprised and hurt, like a young girl rejected by her beau. Worse, Rand could tell from the bond that it was no mere artifice, she even felt those things! What was wrong with the woman? How dare she?
The girl in question took a few short steps into the room, she cast about for a seat but saw only the gilded throne, which she eyed with distaste. There were no other chairs bar the one at his writing desk. Rand had little interest in entertaining guests. She ignored his anger, perhaps hoping it would just go away. Girl he had named her, she was probably fifty for all Rand knew, though she certainly acted like a girl. He snorted.
That brought her up short. The Aes Sedai rested one hand on her hip and faced the Dragon with a proud look. “Do you think me useless? Is that why you’ve ignored me all this time? I never ignored you. Its only because you wouldn’t let me near that…”
“Silence,” Rand hissed. “I never wanted your attention or your help. I never wanted anything from you. Not that that mattered.”
Alanna blushed, her proud mask unable to fully hide it. “That… that’s all in the past, Rand. Can’t we just put it behind us? I know we could be… friends if you’d only give me a chance.”
Rand shook his head, amazed at her wilful blindness. Put it behind them? She had… it was practically… suddenly he felt lost, hurt, exposed. Shame overrode it all though. Shame at himself for not seeing it coming, for not defending himself better.
Alanna gave a relieved smile, perhaps mistaking his fading anger for acceptance. She brushed down the skirts of her green silk dress, tossed back her thick black hair and stepped towards him, hope beginning to blossom within her. “You should have female channelers among your guards,” she began. “Those Aiel and your… men won’t be able to tell when saidar is being used against them. I could lead the sisters if you like. Some might not be eager to keep their vows but I can keep an eye on them for you, tell you which ones are trustworthy.” She spoke as though she genuinely believed he would trust her to judge that. And she believed what she was saying - even with the bond he could detect no deception in her. She doesn’t understand, he realised, she doesn’t feel she did anything particularly bad. Perhaps she feels she deserves a scolding but no more than that.
She’ll never understand, he despaired.
“Would you like me to bring the other sisters up now? I’ll get Ihvon, too,” Alanna was saying, oblivious to Rand’s thoughts. “You’ll like Ihvon, I think. He helped me to save your Two Rivers. I don’t like being too far away from my Warders, especially not since…” Grief crumpled her Aes Sedai mask and she fell silent for a moment, her eyes lowered. Then she looked up and gave Rand a little smile. It was almost pretty. “But I have you now,” she said, resting her hand on Rand’s forearm. “We’ll do great things together, my brave Rand.”
He shook his head tiredly. “You speak as though to a pet, Alanna. I am not your pet. Or anyone else’s.”
“I know that,” she objected, hurt. “You’re my Warder.”
“Why have you been asking the palace staff so many questions about me?” Rand asked quietly.
“You’ve been keeping tabs on me? I see,” she smiled coyly, dark eyes alight with mischief, obviously quite pleased. “Why, if you were curious about me you had only to ask, Rand.” Alanna leaned towards him. “I’m curious about you as well. There are many tales told of you, in the Sun Palace and elsewhere. Most are confused and some are outright fabrications I think.” She felt a flash of outrage over something then. “Perhaps you would enlighten me? For example, is it true you and the First of Mayene are… close?”
Yes, he thought, you would be wondering about that. She was not the most subtle of Aes Sedai, Alanna. Well then.
Rand ran his eyes over the Green sister casually, openly. The Arafellin was not a woman without her beauty. Physical beauty, anyway: her mind was a frightening and alien place he did not doubt. Still, she was pretty. Her hair was a long, dark mass. Her eyes big and brown. Her skin dusky. Her body was slim and fit, and her breasts looked a fine handful. He considered her, his head cocked to the side arrogantly.
Under his scrutiny, Alanna began to smile.
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Bondage