The Gathering Storm - Robert Jordan

"Ideally, it should be one of us five," Ferane said. "That makes sense."

The five looked at each other, and Jesse could read their answers to that in their eyes. They were the Ajah heads, the most powerful women in the world. Right now, they were balanced in power, and while they trusted each other more than most, there was no way any of them would allow the elevation of another Ajah head to the Amyrlin Seat. It would give the woman far too much power. After the failure of their plan, trust was wearing very thin.

"If we don't decide soon," Suana noted, "the Hall may take the decision from us."

"Bah." Adelorna waved a hand. "They're so divided they can't agree on what color the sky is. The Sitters have no idea what they're doing."

"At least some of us didn't choose Sitters who were years too young to be placed in the Hall," Ferane said.

"Oh?" Adelorna said. "And you got around that how, Ferane? By choosing yourself as a Sitter?"

Ferane's eyes widened with rage. It was not a good idea to rile that woman's temper.

"We all made mistakes," Jesse said quickly. "Many sisters we chose were odd. We wanted women who would do exactly as we said, but instead we got a group of squabbling brats with inflated opinions of themselves, too immature for more temperate minds to influence."

Adelorna and Ferane made a point of not looking at each other.

"This still leaves us with a problem," Suana said. "We need an Amyrlin. Healing must begin quickly, whatever the cost."

Serancha shook her head. "I honestly can't think of a single woman that a sufficient number of Sitters would support."

"I can," Adelorna said softly. "She was mentioned in the Hall several times today. You know of whom I speak. She is young, and her circumstances are unusual, but everything is unusual at the moment."

"I don't know," Suana said, frowning. "She was mentioned, yes, but by those whose motives I don't trust."

"Saerin seems quite taken with her," Jesse admitted.

"She's too young," Serancha said. "Weren't we just berating ourselves for choosing Sitters who lacked the necessary experience?"

"She is young, yes," Ferane noted, "but you have to admit, there's a certain . . . flair to her. I hardly think that anyone in the Tower stood up to Elaida as effectively as she. And while in such a position as she was, no less!"

"You've heard the reports of her actions during the attack," Adelorna said. "I can confirm that they are true. I was there with her for most of it."

Jesse started at this. She hadn't realized that Adelorna had been on the twenty-second level during the fighting. "Surely some of what was said is exaggeration."

Adelorna shook her head grimly. "No. It isn't. It sounds incredible . . . but it ... well, it happened. All of it."

"The novices all but worship her," Ferane said. "If the Sitters will not stand for someone of another Ajah, what of a woman who never picked an Ajah? A woman who has some experience—however unjustified—in holding the very position we are discussing?"

Jesse found herself nodding. But how had the young rebel gained such respect from Ferane and Adelorna?

"I am uncertain," Suana said. "It seems like another rash decision."

"Didn't you yourself say that we had to heal the Tower, no matter what the cost?" Adelorna asked. "Can you honestly think of a better way to bring the rebels back to us?" She turned to Serancha. "What is the best method of appeasing an offended party? Would it not be to give some ground to them, acknowledge what they have done right?"

"She has a point," Suana admitted. She grimaced, then downed the rest of her tea in one gulp. "Light, but she's right, Serancha. We have to do it."

The Gray looked at each of them in turn. "You aren't foolish enough to assume this woman will be led by the nose, are you? I won't stand for this if we're simply trying to create another puppet. That plan failed. It failed miserably."

"I doubt we'll find ourselves in that situation again," Ferane said, smiling faintly. "This one ... is not the type to be bullied. Just look at how she dealt with Elaida's restrictions."

"Yes," Jesse found herself saying, to her own surprise. "Sisters, if we agree to this, it will end our dream of ruling from the shadows. For better or worse, we'll be setting up an Amyrlin of strength."

"I, for one," Adelorna said, "think that's a splendid idea. It's been too long."

One by one, the others agreed.

Siuan stood, unmoving, beneath the boughs of a small oak. The tree had been engulfed by the camp, and its shade had become a favored location for Accepted and novices taking lunches. There were none doing so at the moment; the sisters, showing remarkably good judgment this time, had set them tasks to keep them from congregating around the tent where the Hall was meeting.

And so Siuan stood alone, watching as Sheriam pulled the flaps to the large pavilion closed. She was able to attend now that Egwene was back. It was easy to sense when the ward against eavesdropping was woven, Sealing the meeting to the Flame and excluding prying ears.

A hand fell on Siuan's shoulder. She didn't jump; she'd sensed Bryne approaching. The general walked with stealth, although there was no need. He was going to make an excellent Warder.

He stepped up beside her, hand still comfortably on her shoulder, and she allowed herself the luxury of taking just a small step closer to him. His height and sturdiness felt good beside her. Like knowing that though the sky stormed and the sea raged, your hull was caulked and your sail crafted of the strongest cloth.

"What do you think she will tell them?" Bryne asked, his voice subdued.

"I honestly have no idea. She could call for my stilling, I suppose."

"I doubt that she will," Bryne asked. "She is not the vengeful type. Besides, she knows that you did what you felt you had to. For her own good."

Siuan grimaced. "Nobody likes being disobeyed, least of all the Amyrlin. I will pay for last night, Bryne. You're right that it probably won't be in a public way, but I worry that I've lost the girl's trust."

"And was it worth the cost?"

"Yes," Siuan said. "She didn't reali2e how close this band was to slipping away from her. And we couldn't know that she'd be safe within the Tower during the attack. If there's one thing my time in the White Tower taught me, it's that there is a time for gathering and planning, but one also has to act. You can't always wait for certainty."

She could feel Bryne's smile through the bond. Light, but it was good to have a Warder again. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed that comforting knot of emotions in the back of her mind. That stability. Men thought differently from women, and things she found complicated and baffling, Bryne saw as straightforward and simple. Make your decision and go. There was a helpful clarity to his way of reasoning. Not that he was simple—just less inclined to regret decisions he'd already made.

"And what of the other costs?" Bryne added.

She could feel his hesitation, his worry. She turned to him, smiling in amusement. "You're a fool, Gareth Bryne."

He frowned.

"Bonding you was never a cost," she said. "Whatever else happens because of this fiasco, that aspect of the night's events were pure profit on my part."

He chuckled. "Well, I'll have to make extra certain that my second^ demand is more unreasonable, then."

Fish guts, Siuan thought. She'd almost forgotten about that. Burning unlikely that Bryne would, though. "And when, precisely, are you going to make this unreasonable demand of me?"

He didn't respond immediately, instead looking down at her, rubbing his chin. "You know," he said, "I think I actually understand you now, Siuan Sanche. You are a woman of honor. It's just that nobody else's requirements of you can ever be more harsh or more demanding than your own requirements of yourself. You owe such a self-imposed debt to your own sense of duty that I doubt any mortal being could pay it back."

"You make me sound centered on myself," she said.

"At least I'm not comparing you to a boar again."

"So you do think I'm self-centered!" she said. Burn him! He could probably sense that she was actually bothered by his statement, rather than making argument for the sake of it. Burn him again!

"You're a driven woman, Siuan Sanche," he said. "Driven to save the world from itself. That's how you can shrug off an oath or an order so easily."

Siuan took a deep breath. "This conversation grew very tedious very quickly, Gareth Bryne. Are you going to tell me that other demand, or are you going to make me wait?"

He studied her stone face thoughtfully. "Well, frankly, I'm planning to demand that you marry me."

She blinked in surprise. Light! The bond said that he was honest.

"But only after you feel the world can care for itself. I won't agree to it before then, Siuan. You've given your life to something. I'll see that you survive through it; I hope that once you're done, you'll be willing to give your life to something else instead."

She reined in her shock. She wouldn't let a fool man make her speechless. "Well," she forced herself to say. "I see you have some sense after all. We shall see if I agree to this 'demand' of yours or not. I will think on it."

Bryne chuckled as she turned around to regard the pavilion, waiting for Egwene's reappearance. He could sense the truth from inside her, just as she could sense it from him. Light! Now she knew why Greens married their Warders so often. Feeling his affection for her while she felt the same for him made her giddy.

He was a fool of a man. And she no less a fool of a woman. She shook her head ruefully, but she did let herself lean back against him softly as they waited, and he replaced his hand on her shoulder. Soft, not forceful. Willing to wait. He did understand her.

Egwene stood before a group of smooth faces that were far too good at hiding their anxiety. By custom, she had ordered Kwamesa to weave the ward against eavesdropping, as the sharp-nosed Gray was the youngest among the Sitters in the large tent. It looked almost empty with so few places taken. A dozen women, two from each Ajah—there would have been three of each, but the Ajahs had all sent one Sitter with the envoy to the Black Tower. The Grays had already replaced Delana with Naorisa Cambral.

Twelve Sitters, along with Egwene and one other. Egwene did not look at Sheriam, who sat in her place to the side. Sheriam had seemed troubled as she entered. Did she realize what Egwene knew? She couldn't. If she had, she'd never have come to the meeting.

Still, knowing she was there—and knowing what she was—made

Egwene nervous. In the chaos of the Seanchan attack, Siuan hadn't been able to watch Sheriam. Why did the Keeper wear a bandage on her left hand? Egwene didn't believe her excuse of an accident while riding, her little finger getting caught in her reins. Why had she refused Healing? Blast Siuan! Instead of watching Sheriam, she'd come to kidnap Egwene!

The Hall grew still, the women waiting to see what Egwene's response would be to her "freedom." Romanda, gray-streaked hair up in a bun, sat primly in a yellow dress. She oozed satisfaction, while Lelaine— on the opposite side of the room—sulked while trying to act pleased at Egwene's return. After what Egwene had been through in the White Tower, this squabbling felt ridiculously petty.