The Maiden who had gone in squeezed by Rand coming out, and he gave a start. "Light, I’m keeping you in the door. Come in; come in. Lerian, tell Sulin I need more punch. The melon. And tell her to hop." For some reason the three Maidens laughed as if Rand had said something funny.
One step inside the sitting room, a floral scent of perfume told Perrin there was another woman there before he saw her. When he did, he stared. "Min?" The hair in short curls, the embroidered blue coat and breeches were wrong, but the face was right. "Min, it is you!" Laughing, he caught her up in a hug. "We are gathering everybody, aren’t we? Faile, this is Min. I told you about her."
That was when he realized what he was smelling from his wife, and put Min down while she was still grinning at him. Suddenly he was too much aware that those tight breeches showed the shape of Min’s legs very well. Faile had very few faults, but she did have a slight tendency toward jealousy. He was not supposed to know she had chased Calle Coplin half a mile with a stick, as if he would ever look twice at another woman when he had her.
"Faile?" Min said, holding out her hands. "Any woman who can put up with this hairy lummox long enough to marry him has my admiration. I suppose he might make a good husband at that, once you housebreak him."
Faile took Min’s hands smiling, but oh, that acrid, bristly scent. "I’ve not succeeded in the housebreaking yet, Min, but I intend to keep him at least until I do."
"Mistress Luhhan curtsies?" Rand shook his head in disbelief. "I will have to see that to believe it. Where’s Loial? Did he come? You didn’t leave him outside?"
"He came," Perrin said, trying to keep an eye on Faile without being obvious, "but not all the way, not yet. He said he was tired, and needed a stedding, so I told him one I know of, an abandoned one north of the road from Whitebridge, and he set off for it afoot. He said he would be able to feel it once he was within ten miles or so."
"I suppose you know Rand and Perrin very well?" Faile asked, and Min glanced at Rand.
"For a while, anyway. I met them right after they first left the Two Rivers. They thought Baerlon was a grand city."
"On foot?" Rand said.
"Yes," Perrin said slowly. Faile’s scent was changing, the thorny jealousy dwindling away. Why? "He would rather use his feet, you know. He bet me a gold crown he would be here in Caemlyn no more than ten days after us." The two women were looking at one another, Faile smiling and Min coloring slightly; Min smelled faintly embarrassed, Faile pleased. And surprised, though only a hint showed on her face. "I didn’t want to take his coin — he has to go fifty miles or more out of his way — but he insisted. He wanted to make it five days."
"Loial always did say he could outrun a horse," Rand laughed, but there had been a pause. Laughter faded. "I hope he makes it safely," he said more seriously. He was tired, and different in other ways, too. The Rand Perrin had last seen in Tear had not been soft, far from it, but this Rand made that one look an innocent farmboy. He did not blink often enough, as if a blink might hide what he needed to see. Perrin recognized something of that look; he had seen it on the faces of Two Rivers men after the Trolloc attacks, after the fifth, the tenth, when it seemed hope was gone but you went on fighting because the cost of giving up was too great.
"My Lord Dragon," Faile said, startling Perrin; she had always called him Rand before, though they had been hearing the title since Whitebridge, "if you will forgive me, I will just have a word with my husband then leave you two to talk."
She hardly waited for Rand’s surprised assent to close on Perrin, turning him so her back was to Rand. "I will not go far, my dear heart. Min and I will have our own conversation about things that would very likely bore you." Fussing with his lapels, she began speaking hurriedly under her breath, so softly that anyone except him would have had to strain their ears. She did recall his hearing sometimes. "Remember he is not your boyhood friend any longer, Perrin. At least, not only that. He is the Dragon Reborn, the Lord Dragon. But you are Lord of the Two Rivers. I know you will stand up for yourself, and for the Two Rivers." The smile she gave him was full of love and confidence; he wanted to kiss her right there. "There," she said in a normal tone. "You are all straight again." She no longer gave off the slightest scent of jealousy.
Offering Rand a graceful curtsy and a murmur of "My Lord Dragon," she held out a hand to Min. "Come, Min." Min’s curtsy was considerably less practiced, and made Rand start.
Before they reached the doorway, one of the doors banged open and a tall liveried woman entered with a silver tray holding goblets and a pitcher that gave off the smell of wine and honey-melon juice. Perrin almost stared. Despite the red-and-white dress, she could have been Chiad’s mother, or maybe grandmother with that short curled white hair. Frowning at the departing women, she stalked to the nearest table and set down the tray, her face a mask of meekness that seemed frozen in place. "I was told four, my Lord Dragon," she said oddly; he thought she might be trying for humble respect but had something caught in her throat, "so I brought for four." Her curtsy made Min’s look elegant, and she slammed the door on her way out.
Perrin looked at Rand. "Do you ever think women are… strange?"
"Why are you asking me? You are the married man." Rand filled a silver-chased goblet with punch and handed it to him. "If you don’t know, you will have to ask Mat. I know less every day."
"So do I," Perrin sighed. The punch was certainly cooling, Rand did not seem to be sweating at all. "Where is Mat, anyway? If I had to guess, I would say in the nearest tavern, and odds or evens whether he has a dice cup in his hands or a girl on his knee."
"He had better have neither," Rand said grimly, setting down his punch untouched. "He is supposed to be bringing Elayne here to be crowned. And Egwene and Nynaeve, I hope. Light, there’s so much to do before she gets here." His head swung like a bear’s, at bay; then he fixed on Perrin. "Would you go to Tear for me?"
"Tear! Rand, I have been over two months on the road. My bottom’s taken on the shape of the saddle."
"I can have you there tonight. Today. You can sleep in a general’s tent, and stay away from saddles as long as you like."
Perrin stared at him; the man seemed serious. Suddenly he found himself wondering how Rand’s sanity was holding. Light, it had to hold, at least until Tarmon Gai’don. He took a long swallow of the punch to wash the bitter thought out of his mouth. What a way to think about a friend. "Rand, if you could set me down in the Stone of Tear right now, I would still say no. I have to talk to someone here in Caemlyn. And I’d like to see Bode and the others."
Rand did not seem to be listening. He flung himself into one of the gilded chairs and stared at Perrin bleakly. "You remember how Thom used to juggle all those balls and make it look easy? Well, I’m juggling now for all I am worth, and it isn’t easy. Sammael in Illian; the rest of the Forsaken the Light only knows where. Sometimes I don’t even think they are the worst of it. Rebels who think I’m a false Dragon. Dragonsworn who think they can turn villages in my name. Have you heard of the Prophet, Perrin? No matter; he’s no worse than the rest. I have allies who hate each other, and the best general I can name to face Illian wants nothing better than to charge off and be killed. Elayne should be here in maybe a month and a half with luck, but I may just have a rebellion on my hands here before then. Light, I want to give her Andor whole. I thought of going to get her myself, but that is the worst thing I could do." He rubbed his face with both hands, speaking behind them. "The very worst."
"What does Moiraine say?"
Rand’s hands came down far enough for him to look over them. "Moiraine is dead, Perrin. She killed Lanfear and died, and that’s an end to that."
Perrin sat down. Moiraine? It did not seem possible. "If Alanna and Verin are here…" He rolled the goblet between his palms. He could not really make himself trust either woman. "Have you asked their advice?"
"No!" Rand’s hand slashed a sharp cutting gesture. "They stay clear of me, Perrin; I made that plain."
/> Perrin decided to ask Faile to find out what was going on from Alanna or Verin. The two Aes Sedai often made him vaguely uneasy, but Faile seemed to get on well with them. "Rand, you know as well as I do it’s dangerous to anger Aes Sedai. Moiraine came looking for us — for you, anyway — but there were times I thought she was ready to kill Mat, me and you." Rand said nothing, but at least he seemed to be listening, with his head tilted. "If a tenth of the stories I’ve been hearing ever since Baerlon are even half-true, this might be the worst possible time to have Aes Sedai angry with you. I don’t pretend to know what’s going on in the Tower, but — "
Rand gave himself a shake and leaned forward. "The Tower’s split right down the middle, Perrin. Half think I am a pig to buy at market, and the other half… I don’t know what they think, exactly. Three days in a row, I’ve met some of their embassy. I am supposed to meet again this afternoon, and I still cannot pin them down. They ask a sight more questions than they answer, and don’t seem much pleased I won’t give them any more answers than they give me. At least Elaida — she is the new Amyrlin, if you’ve not heard — at least her people say something, even if they do seem to think I’ll be so impressed by Aes Sedai curtsying that I won’t dig too deep."
"Light," Perrin breathed. "Light! You mean to say part of the Aes Sedai really have rebelled, and you’ve put yourself square between the Tower and the rebels? Two bears ready to fight, and you go picking cloud-berries between them! Did you never think you might have enough trouble from Aes Sedai without that? I tell you true, Rand. Siuan Sanche made my toes curl up in my boots, but at least you knew where you stood with her. She made me feel like I was a horse and she was trying to decide whether I’d do for a long hard ride, but at least she made it plain she didn’t mean to saddle me herself."
Rand’s laugh was too hoarse to hold any mirth. "Do you really think Aes Sedai would leave me alone just because I left them alone? Me? The Tower splitting is the best thing that could have happened for me. They’re too busy staring at one another to turn full attention on me. Without that, there’d be twenty Aes Sedai everywhere I turned. Fifty. I have Tear and Cairhien behind me, after a fashion, and a toehold here. Without the split, every time I opened my mouth, there’d be somebody saying, ‘Yes, but the Aes Sedai say.’ Perrin, Moiraine did her best to tie cords to me until I forced her to stop, and truth to tell, I’m not so sure she stopped then. When an Aes Sedai says she’ll advise you and let you decide, she means she knows what you should do and will make you do it if she can." Taking up his goblet, he drank deeply. When he lowered it, he seemed calmer. "If the Tower was whole, I’d have so many strings tied to me by now, I could not move a finger without asking six Aes Sedai for permission."
Perrin very nearly laughed himself, and no more in mirth than Rand. "So you think it’s better to — what? — play the rebel Aes Sedai off against the Tower? ‘Cheer the bull, or cheer the bear; cheer both, and you will be trampled and eaten.’"
"Not that simple, Perrin, though they don’t know it," Rand said smugly, shaking his head. "There’s a third side, ready to kneel to me. If they make contact again. Light! This isn’t how we should be spending our first hour together again, talking about Aes Sedai. Emond’s Field, Perrin." His face softened almost to the Rand Perrin remembered, and he grinned eagerly. "I only had a short time with Bode and the others, but they mentioned all kinds of changes. Tell me what’s changed, Perrin. Tell me what’s the same."
For a long while they talked about the refugees and all the new things they had brought, new kinds of beans and squash, new varieties of pear and apple, the weaving of fine cloth and maybe carpets, making bricks and tiles, stonework and furniture more ornate than anything the Two Rivers had seen in a long time if ever. Perrin had grown used to the sheer numbers of people who had come across the Mountains of Mist, but it seemed to stun Rand. The advantages and disadvantages of the wall some wanted to put around Emond’s Field, and the other villages, were gone into in depth, and stone walls versus log. At times Rand sounded his old self, laughing over how all the women had been so hard against Taraboner or Domani dresses in the beginning, and now were divided into those who would wear nothing but good stout Two Rivers dresses and those who had cut up all theirs for rags. Or over how a number of the younger men were growing mustaches like Taraboners or Domani, occasionally with an Almoth Plain goatee as well, which made the unwise wearer look as though a small animal had latched on under his nose. Perrin did not bother to add to that beards like his own were even more popular.
It came as a shock, though, when Rand made it clear he had no intention of visiting the camp, though there were any number of men there he knew. "I can’t protect you or Mat," he said softly, "but I can them."
After that the conversation naturally lagged, until even Rand realized he had draped a blanket over it. Finally he stood with a sigh, scrubbing his hands through his hair and looking around in a disgruntled way. "You must want to wash and rest, Perrin. I should not keep you from it. I’ll have rooms set aside for you." Seeing Perrin to the door, he suddenly added, "You will think about Tear, Perrin? I need you there. There is no danger involved. I will tell you the whole plan, if you decide to go. You’ll be only the fourth man to know the real plan." Rand’s face hardened. "You must keep that to yourself, Perrin. Don’t tell even Faile."
"I can hold my tongue," Perrin said stiffly. And a little sadly. The new Rand was back. "And I will think on Tear."
Chapter 46
(Flame of Tar Valon)
Beyond the Gate
Perrin paid scant attention as Rand instructed a Maiden, "Tell Sulin to prepare rooms for Perrin and Faile and obey them as she would me." The two Aiel women took that as some sort of great joke, from the way they laughed and slapped thighs, but Perrin was staring at a slender man standing a little way down the tapestry-hung corridor. He had no doubt at all that the man was Davram Bashere. It was not just that he was Saldaean, and he surely looked nothing like Faile with those thick gray-streaked mustaches curving down to almost hide his mouth. He was no taller than Faile either, maybe a little shorter, but the way he stood, arms folded, face like a hawk staring down into a henyard, made Perrin certain. The man knew; that was certain, too.
Making last goodbyes to Rand, Perrin took a deep breath and walked up the hallway. He found himself wishing he had his axe; Bashere was wearing his sword. "Lord Bashere?" Perrin made a bow that was not returned. The man reeked of cold fury. "I am Perrin Aybara."
"We will talk," Bashere said curtly and turned on his heel. Perrin had no choice but to follow, and to take quick strides despite his longer legs.
Two turnings later, Bashere entered a small sitting room and closed the door behind them. Tall windows let in plenty of light, and even more heat than the high ceiling could handle. Two chairs with padded seats and high, scroll-carved backs had been placed facing each other. A silver pitcher with a tall neck arid two silver cups stood on a lapis-inlaid table. Not punch, this time; strong wine, by the smell.
Bashere filled the cups and thrust one at Perrin, gesturing peremptorily to one of the chairs. He wore a smile behind his mustaches, but eyes and smile could have belonged to two different men. The eyes could have driven nails. "I suppose Zarine told you all about my estates before you… married her. All about the Broken Crown. She was always talkative as a girl."
The man remained standing, so Perrin did as well. Broken crown? Faile had certainly never mentioned any broken crown. "First she told me you were a fur trader. Or maybe it was a lumber merchant first, and then a fur trader. You sold ice peppers, too." Bashere gave a start, repeating "Fur trader?" incredulously under his breath. "Her story changed," Perrin went on, "but once too often she repeated something you had said about how a general should behave, and I asked her straight out, and…" He peered into his wine, then made himself meet the other man’s eyes. "When I found out who you were, I almost changed my mind about marrying her, only she had her mind set, and when Faile has her mind set, shifting her i
s like shifting a hitch of mules that have all decided to sit down at once. Besides, I loved her. I love her."
"Faile?" Bashere barked. "Who in the Pit of Doom is Faile? We are talking about my daughter Zarine, and what you’ve done to her!"
"Faile is the name she took when she became a Hunter for the Horn," Perrin said patiently. He had to make a good impression on this man; being at odds with your father-in-law was almost as bad as being at odds with your mother-in-law. "That was before she met me."
"A Hunter?" Pride shone in the man’s voice, and his sudden grin. The scent of anger almost vanished. "The little minx never said a word to me about that. I must say, Faile suits her better than Zarine. That was her mother’s notion, and I —" Suddenly he gave himself a shake, and Perrin a suspicious stare. Anger began scenting the air again. "Don’t try changing the subject, boy. What we are about is you and my daughter and this supposed marriage of yours."
"Supposed?" Perrin had always been good at holding his temper; Mistress Luhhan said he never had one. When you were bigger and stronger than the other boys growing up, and might hurt somebody by accident, you learned to hold your temper. Right then he was having a little difficulty, though. "The Wisdom performed the ceremony, the same as everybody’s been married in the Two Rivers since time out of mind."
"Boy, it wouldn’t matter if you had the words said by an Ogier Elder with six Aes Sedai standing witness. Zarine still isn’t old enough to marry without her mother’s permission, which she never asked, much less received. She is with Deira right now, and if she doesn’t convince her mother she’s old enough to be married, she goes back to the camp, probably doing duty as her mother’s saddle. And you…" Bashere’s fingers stroked the hilt of his sword, though he did not seem aware of it. "You," he said in an almost jolly tone, "I get to kill."
"Faile is mine," Perrin growled. Wine slopped over his wrist, and he looked down in surprise at the winecup, crushed in his fist. He set the twisted piece of silver on the table carefully, beside the pitcher, but he could do nothing about his voice. "Nobody can take her from me. Nobody! You take her back to your camp — or anywhere! — and I’ll come for her."
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