Her shoulder muscles were sore and bunched as she stood at the window of her study, staring out at the view with eyes that saw nothing, though the pain was dull to her far-away mind. She'd been standing there since the bells tolled for the middle of the night, her thoughts inward.

The day before had been troubling for her. It was then she had finally forced herself to realize that she could no longer hide from her feelings for her Gaidin, Dagor. She had warred with herself, had hurt him, had hurt her, had wriggled around and under the Oaths that bound her to never speak a word that was not true... all to no avail. She had been brought to her knees by the words of a wolf. The animals were the only living creatures she could not hide from, nor would they hide from her, and what they sensed in her was the truth of things. Faced with the truth that she not only needed to love but that she also really did want to, Rio found she had no choice but to accept it. She had told the wolf in question and Dagor himself that her decision to either bound through her fear and accept the love or banish the thought of it from her mind entirely would come the next day. She had been locked in her study thinking through it, brooding really, weighing the pros and cons, since late afternoon of the day prior.

With a start, her thoughts returned to reality and the pain of her shoulders hit her like a vice. She winced and rubbed them delicately, moving them around to loosen the knots in them, and then noticed the sun had climbed almost to noon already. Her stomach roared ferociously as she noted the time, then figured out how long it had been since she had last eaten. The kitchens should still be open, she told herself idly. And then I need to find Dagor and tell him...

She sighed as she went to change into the lovely dress of dark green silk she wanted to wear. It helps to set the proper mood, she decided. I must look my best if I am to tell him I accept him as more than my Gaidin.

She went about making herself pretty for him, allowing herself the brief feeling of pleasure doing such gave her, and chuckled to herself as she looked in her mirror. I won't even wear the sword, she mused, since it spoils the appearance. But my dagger...yes, that is elegant enough to blend in. I must not forget that I am Altaran always.

She belted the dagger that was usually visible onto her waist where it normally went. Her two others generally went hidden on various accessable places on her person most days. Today is not one of them, she told herself as she closed her study door and headed off for the kitchens. Nothing could possibly go wrong today!

She did a little dance later, after she'd eaten a bit of bread and cheese and washed it down with a mug of milk, as she headed for the Training Yards and Dagor. He couldn't be with her constantly, since he *was* the Master of Arms, but she at least knew where to find him most every day. She walked slowly, smiling, and some of the novices she passed hesitantly smiled back at her. They must think I'm well and truly mad, she laughed to herself.  And perhaps I am, perhaps I am.

Rio's steps finally took her to her Gaidin. She clucked her tongue as she sauntered up to where he stood instructing a young Warder in Training on proper etiquette in the mess hall, her green silk swishing a bit as she came to a halt beside him. He looked at her in surprise and she said quietly, "I can come back if you're a bit busy at the moment." She folded her hands in front of her and remained in her Aes Sedai calm outwardly, even though inside she was roiling with emotion.

He nearly knocked the Warder in Training over in his haste.  "Rio! Dear Creator you look beautiful today...not to say you don’t always look beautiful but right now you...” he stammered, then gestured helplessly, unable to come up with the right words.  “I’m never to busy for you my dear.  What’s on your mind?”

She gave a long cool stare at the Warder in Ttraining in question, then looked back at Dagor. "We need to speak. Alone." She then turned gracefully and walked a little ways away to wait for him to come to her. I have to be me, she thought with a flash of wickedness in her brown eyes that never crossed her face itself.  Even now, especially now, I have to be myself in this.

“Wait here,” Dagor ordered the Warder in Training, who nodded once and did as he was told, as he followed Rio to where she walked and stood.  "What’s on your mind? For I daresay you wouldn’t come all the way down to the Arena, dressed as beautifully as you are without reason."  His voice was curious, as were his golden eyes, even though his face held a soft smile.

"Yes, Dagor," she stated slowly with a nod. "I do have a reason. You know that reason as well as do I. I am here with a decision for you." She remained aloof and in control, every inch of her an Aes Sedai even though her heart was hammering in her chest.

Dagor froze abruptly, not daring to move at her response.  “Yes m'lady I recall.  How could I forget?  What is your answer?  Will you love me?”  He held his breath a bit in desperate hope.

She tilted her head to one side, a hint of a smile playing around her lips. "Would you like for me to?" she countered softly, still not showing anything either way.

He refused to breathe at all until he heard, knowing she was toying with him a bit but also knowing it was just her way.  His heart leapt at the implications.  “If you would love me, my entire life would be paradise,” he whispered, heart pounding.  The bond told him very little, but then she had long ago become a master at hiding emotions even from it and he knew that very well.

"Are you quite certain of that?" she asked neutrally, watching him almost burst with impatience as she continued to evade the answer he sought.

"I'm quite certain, madame," he responded, barely hanging on to patience.  Light, please...he prayed.  Tell me you will love me!  He was almost maddened with the need to hear her say what he was almost certain she would say.

Oh, very well, then, she thought to herself. Enough of this torment! She opened her mouth to tell him his wish was granted, that she would love him to her roots, when someone cleared their throat behind her and interrupted her.  Rio whirled, eyes blazing, ready to show the offending person exactly what it was to irritate an Aes Sedai in a matter of importance, when her gaze fell on the woman before her. It was a novice, and she winced a bit at the look she was given as she curtsied deeply. "Forgive my intrusion," the girl said hesitantly, "but I was told to bring you to the M'Hael. He needs to speak with you, Aes Sedai."

Rio blinked. Keyeren needs to see me...? she wondered privately, then sighed. Turning to Dagor, she flashed him a bit of a smile. "I will return shortly, my Gaidin," she apologized gently. "This is not something I may simply ignore and attend to later." She then turned and walked away beside the novice.

Dagor just stood there as his love walked off, stammering confusedly.   No, he thought frantically, not when she was...she was..... Blood and bloody ashes!  Sighing, he just decided to wait and see, and turned back to the Warder in Training with a bit of fire in his golden eyes.  The other man winced a bit at the gaze and wondered if he would leave with his skin intact after all.

To pass the time on the trip to the M'Hael, Rio idly began a conversation with the novice. "I have not seen your face before, child. When did you arrive at the Tower?"  Ah, dear Creator, she groused, what a bit of bad luck!

"Oh, not long ago at all, Aes Sedai," she replied quickly, her large green eyes innocent looking. "One of the Sisters found me and brought me here." She suddenly got a guilty look. "Forgive me, Aes Sedai, but I have to see the Mistress of Novices for penance and I was told to bring something of mine to her. My room is on the way we are taking...may I stop by and get it quickly? It won't take but a moment, I promise!"

Rio smiled at the girl and sighed, relinquishing her irritation.  The Wheel weaves....she told herself.  "You're in luck today, child. My mood is light. Your wish is granted, but you will have to hurry. We mustn't keep the M'Hael waiting."

She brightened considerably. "Oh, thank you!" she cried with a large smile.

It didn't take long to arrive at the girl's room. "May I ask for your name?" Rio was curious, something niggling at her mind and a feeling of dread sinking into her for some reason as she stood outside waiting for the novice.  She’s almost...familiar, she reasoned.  Somehow.  I know I’ve never seen her before, though!

"Erg," came the reply, "it seems to be stuck, Aes Sedai! I can't get it loose from where it fell!"

Rio frowned. Light, what does this girl have to bring to the Mistress of Novices? she wondered in amazement as she stepped inside.

She jumped as the door slammed behind her, wheeling to face it with a ready retort on her lips for rudeness, when her gaze fell on the novice. She leaned against the door, still dressed in her novice whites, but the glow of saidar surrounded her. She looked entirely different from what she had before, and Rio's mind shrieked "Illusion!" immediately.  This girl had blond hair and blue eyes. Her face hit Rio in the gut with recognition, though she couldn't recall who she was. My past, she realized. She's from my past! "Who are you?" Rio growled, grabbing saidar firmly.

"You named me Petreya." She had a smug smirk on her lips. She was undeniably attractive and looked to be in the middle of her third decade.  This is her true face, Rio thought privately, her every sense screaming at her to send Fire at the girl and destroy her, but not being able to because she had not attacked her in any way.

Rio's eyes narrowed as the name bounced around in her head, striking quite a few alarms as it did. "I do not recall you," she stated warily.  Her stomach churned as if there were Shadowspawn nearby, very nearby, and Rio wondered if it was only because she was being faced with something from her unknown past.

Petreya gestured flippantly and smiled pleasantly in response. "You will, Mother," she replied, then something crashed into Rio's head from behind and the world went dark.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Petreya nodded to the dark robed figure. "Take her to where I instructed you," she ordered coldly, "and leave her there. The necklace will keep her from channeling until I arrive, so long as you fasten it on her."

"As you wish," the Myrddraal hissed, "Dreadlord." He lifted Rio easily and Petreya channeled open a gateway, then closed it once they were gone. She rewove the Illusion on her face to look exactly as she had before, and carefully hit her head on the wall to give herself a wound. She then flung open the door clutching her head and shouting for help, knowing that Rio's Gaidin was already on his way and figuring that would work into her plans very well.

Dagor had been watching one of the new training Warder candidates when the bond flashed sudden pain on the back of his head and told him Rio was unconscious.  He turned and ran for where he still sensed her presence, taking the stairs two at a time with ease, and cursed as his sword leaped into his hand.  The halls were too small for the axe in this area, and too closely together as well.  He hurtled down the corridor and then skidded to an abrupt halt as she was suddenly gone. The bond told him she was somewhere far to the North, perhaps even Shayol Ghul, and his first thought was that it had been Lotiel.  Though his every instinct was to go directly to her aid, he realized he had no idea what he was up against and so continued down the hall.  It wasn’t long before he heard someone calling for help, and not a moment later he saw the novice and identified her as the one who had taken Rio to see Key.  He rushed up to her and took her by the shoulders, endeavoring to be gentle as he noted the wound on the girl’s head and her apparent terror.  "Have you any idea what has happened to Rio'lan Sedai?" he demanded.

She whimpered a little as she looked at him. "There...there was more than one of them," she sobbed. "They shoved me away and hit her with something and then took her away! I just needed to stop by my room for something..." She looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "It's all my fault! They took her! It's all my fault..."

Impatience flooded him.  “Who was it?  Where did they take her? Do you know? Where is she?”  His fear began to grow with each passing moment, as if he could feel their bond being broken and the death that awaited him afterwards.  I would willingly go to it if she were to die, he railed internally.  Willingly!

"I don't know, I don't know!" Petreya wailed miserably. "They spoke of the Dark One, but they said they couldn't take her near Shayol Ghul until she'd been made submissive and then they left by some kind of opening they made with the Power," she cried. "One of them, it was a woman with blond hair, laughed at me and told me to run and tell my 'pitiful Aes Sedai,'" she mimicked through her tears, "that they had one of their own to add to the numbers of the Dark." She latched onto his sleeves in a death grip. "If you go to rescue her, take me please!" she whispered frantically. "It was my fault that she was lost!" Petreya knew she would never be allowed, but it helped to want to go and she knew it.

Dagor removed her hands from him and sheathed his sword with practiced ease.  “I cannot take you,” he responded hurriedly.  “Not only is it not allowed, but I will take only that which I need.” He rushed to his room to gather his things, picking up a Ter'angreal his newly departed brother had given him that he thought he would never need:  a Ter'angreal that made him immune to channeling.  Then he picked up his brother’s sword, wrote a note quickly explaining what had occurred, and whistled to Wind so the wolf would follow him.  He then raced out again to head to the stables and his mount.  It wasn’t long after that Dagor was spurring his horse down the road towards Rio, wherever she was.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Petreya sank back to the ground in tears as Dagor hurried off. As soon as he was out of sight, however, she stood and hurried into her room, then wove the proper flows for a gateway to match the one she had woven before. She stepped through neatly and closed the gateway with practiced ease, dropping her Illusion soon after.

The ancient barn she stood in had a sagging roof and many, many loose boards, but yet still stood against the elements defiantly. Bits of the sky could be seen from the holes in the roof, and snatches of countryside were visible from the walls. Petreya turned to look at the still-unconscious Rio and clucked her tongue. The Myrddraal was nowhere in sight, but that didn't concern Pet much. "Where we're about to go, Mother," she crooned, "you will find willing help in regaining your memories." She hummed as she crouched beside the other woman and proceeded to sharpen her dagger while she waited for Rio to regain consciousness. "And we'll have to do something about that bond of yours. You can make it next to impossible for him to find you, and you'll have to do it too because otherwise the others will hurt you for no good reason." She patted Rio's leg amiably and continued to hum the song Rio had used to get Petreya to sleep so long ago. "I’ll only hurt you so that you can remember everything.  We'll be a family again soon, don't you worry."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dagor rode and brooded to himself with each stride the horse made.  What will happen to me if something actually happens to Rio?  What will I do?  He knew the answer to the first question, which led into a quick answer for the second one as well.  Light, I will not let her die! he affirmed stubbornly as his heart filled with dread at the thought of losing her.  Angrily pushing the thought from his mind, he continued on and wished that his horse would speed up or that he could channel just long enough to open a gateway.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rio surfaced into awareness with a long drawn-in breath.  Her head hurt ferociously, pain lancing through it from the back, and caused her to wonder what she had done to hit it.  Or did I? she asked herself groggily as she opened her eyes.

It was dim in the place she was.  The old smell of animals still clung to the room like spirits of the past, causing memory to leap back into her as she realized she wasn’t in her room.  Light, I’m not even in the Tower anymore, she saw with a thrill of fear.  Whoever it was that hit me... the girl?  Petreya?  She reached out for saidar and found that she hit a wall, as if she were shielded, and wondered what was in store for her as she settled in to wait.  She could more than likely break the shield given enough time and energy, but her head hurt so much that she couldn’t concentrate to do it.  Her hand reached for the comfort of the dagger at her belt only to find nothing there.  “What is going on?” she whispered to herself worriedly.

A figure seemed to appear from nowhere and Petreya’s voice commented, “I brought you here so you could awaken before I took you to the others, Mother.”

Rio’s lip curled in a smirk.  “I am not your mother,” she snarled.  “Woe be the woman who is to have you for a daughter.”

A light flared into being near the other woman as she struck flint to stone and lit a torch.  “You are the only mother I have ever known, Rio’lan Shade Dyelra.  You named me after your clan, did you know that?  Petreya Dyelra.  You told me once that it meant “she who kills” in your language, and that with the last name it became “she who kills the Dyelra.”  You taught me all that you knew....”

Rio glared at her.  “I am no killer, so how could I have taught you anything?” she growled.  The vision of Rio, herself, drowning a dying woman and her child flooded her mind, however, and she brought her hands to her head with a hiss.  No, I am not a killer, she told herself desperately.  There had to be a reason for that to happen!

Petreya chuckled darkly, and yet it sounded pleased nonetheless.  “I never said that I was a murderer, Mother, only that you named me something that sounded as if I was.  You must have recalled something of the old days to be able to make such a remark.”  Her face had a smile on it from the sound of her voice.  “What was it, Mother?  What did you recall?  If you can recall more, then there won’t be so much pain for you.”

Rio got to her feet unsteadily.  “Stop calling me “mother,” you viper!” she spat vehemently, then regretted it as her head felt as if it shattered.  She ignored it for the moment, though.  “And I will never tell you what I have remembered or what I haven’t remembered.  Bring on your pain.”

Petreya had stood warily as Rio had gotten to her feet, eyeing the woman speculatively.  “If your head is bothering you, I will Heal it as much as I can.  I found that I was not terribly proficient in it, unlike you.”

“I would rather be dead,” Rio responded stolidly, coldly.  “You have taken a member of the Grey Tower, a full Sister who was bonded to the Master of Arms.  Do not think it will not go unnoticed!”

“On the contrary,” Petreya replied smoothly, “I know it will not, and I wanted it that way.  But, the only one who is coming for you is that Gaidin of yours.  He will be easy enough to get rid of if he tries to rescue you.  I would suggest you do something with the bond, however, as it will only enrage my colleagues.  They want your memory back as much as do I, although their reasons are different.”

“I can only imagine.”  Rio’s voice held iron and an edge in its dryness.  She folded her arms under her breasts and tried to stand at her full height.  “My bond will remain untouched.”

“Then he will die.”  Petreya said it in such a matter of fact tone that it gave Rio pause.  “He may be a Warder, but there are many of us and one of him, and not all of us channel.”

Rio’s eyes narrowed.  “Who is this “us” that you speak of?”  She became filled with dread at the thought of who it could only be, but she wanted to learn a bit more from this woman.

“Please, Mother,” Pet scoffed derisively, “don’t feign stupidity with me.  I know you’re much too bright for that.  You know bloody well who I speak of.”

Light, she knows me too well, Rio realized with a great deal of horror.  If I’ve never been around this woman in my life, how does she know me so well?  “You are of the Dark, then.”  It was a statement, pure and simple, for Rio knew very well that Petreya had to willingly serve the Dark One to do or say any of what she had been.  Light, and she channels, Rio suddenly recalled.  “I would hazard that you are a Dreadlord.”

Petreya nodded once.  “I knew you knew.  The Aes Sedai games are ones that I know well, seeing as you taught them to me long before I set foot inside the White Tower.”  She waved it off.  “But enough.  There is wisdom in blocking out your bond as much as possible until the Great Lord snaps it for you when you pledge to him.  Much better than having to watch your Warder die in front of you, or even being made to kill him.  We do have that power, you see, even though I know you will want to be a family again once the memories return to you.  You’ll forgive me for hurting you.”

Dagor...Rio thought as her stomach churned.  “I would never kill Dagor,” she stated, low and icy.  “I love him too much.”

Petreya blinked.  “That is something you will forget as well, Mother,” she told Rio with a nod.  “And though you may never kill him as you are now, when you are yourself again you will do so willingly and with a smile for his screams.  But what happens if he tries to kill you?  You will have no choice.”

Rio flinched and swallowed heavily.  Oh, Dagor, she wailed in her mind.  If I do, you will have a terrible time finding me and may not until it is too late.  If I do not protect you, then even worse would occur!  She groaned and held her head.  “I cannot do anything so long as I cannot channel.”

“Then I will allow you to only channel enough to block the bond.”  Petreya didn’t move physically, but suddenly the necklace Rio discovered she was wearing began to glow and saidar was again accessable to the Aes Sedai, though far and away not enough to do much anything.  “Hurry, Mother,” Petreya crooned warmly.  “My aides are waiting for us in Cairhien.”

Rio swallowed the bile that rose in her throat as she reached out to grasp saidar and wove what she needed to fuzz out the bond.  I’m sorry, love, she said to him mentally, but this is a fight I must wage on my own for a while, until you come for me.  “Done,” she lisped, head bowed, and was rewarded by having the shield replaced on her as solidly as before.  Light, what am I to do? she prayed silently as Petreya opened a gateway and then motioned for Rio to enter first.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dagor hauled back viciously on the reins, the horse he rode sliding to a halt with a scream of outrage, as he paled in terror.  He felt the bond...snap?  No, he decided as he felt her presence still, not a snap, but a blocking out.  “Fuzzing,” she called it, he remembered.  He could barely feel her, but knew without a shadow of a doubt that the northerly direction he was headed in was utterly wrong now.  She was far, far to the south of him, to the south of Tar Valon.  Then I head to Cairhien, he decided, and hope she is not farther away than that.

He spun the horse around and kicked it into a gallop again, going back the way he came.  Somewhere nearby, Wind sensed his frustration and fear and howled.  Had Dagor not been concentrating on the fastest route to Cairhien, he would have joined in.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rio’s large brown eyes had narrowed considerably at the rough semi-circle of people near her.  She was shielded by the necklace she wore, that much had been explained to her, but she was fairly certain there was another shield waiting for her if she found some way around the necklace.  Not that she could even lift it off her neck, as when she tried she was abruptly seized with saidin and reprimanded, and those reprimands were not terribly gentle.  She had already felt herself paddled once with Air, the memory of it bringing a deep stain of crimson to her cheeks unwillingly even as she thought of it, and had no desire to be so undignified in front of the Darkfriends again.  Dignity was one of the few things she had left to cling to, other than the faint hope that she would be found and rescued, or could escape somehow.  One of those people must be a male channeler, she reasoned silently from where she sat at the table they had set up for their own meetings, as I have not sensed saidar being used on me yet.  She was not a part of the discussion, but rather the reason for it, and any attempts on her part to speak out resulted in a gag of Air being forced into her mouth, again by saidin.  She couldn’t really see the figures at the table, however, as they wore various things to hide their identities from her which ranged from masks, to obvious Illusion, to long hooded cloaks.  They didn’t mind that she heard them as they discussed how best to go about returning her memory to her.  As a matter of fact, some of them almost seemed to enjoy offering up heinously fiendish ideas just to see her reaction.

At the moment, there was a particularly fierce debate raging between two members.  Rio’s hands were clenched together in her lap to keep from trembling in rage.  Physical pain, as in beatings, were not uncommon to her and were things she could handle.  The anger she felt was due to that choice, though there had been no mention of exact details of the beatings that were wanted.  She figured they weren’t going to be too terribly delicate in their actions.  The argument that was being waged was over who got to do the deed, and where it should be done.  Light, just choose someone! Rio wanted to scream at them.  What does it matter to me who is my tormentor?  She kept her ageless face serene, however, and showed nothing of the emotions rising inside of her.

Petreya had been silent during the entire meeting.  She sat beside Rio, hands folded over her stomach placidly, almost as if she found the proceedings tedious.  The look on her face was aloof, at best, and uncaring at the worst.  She was the only one who remained unshrouded and seemed as unmoved by the idea that someone would scrutinize her as she was the idea that night had fallen outside.  When she suddenly spoke up, Rio’s dark eyes slid to the right where the younger woman sat and she wondered what Petreya had been thinking of since she’d come in.  The Green couldn’t help but notice how the others at the table shifted nervously in their seats as Pet’s voice slithered around the room lightly, and Rio wondered why it was so.  They almost seem to fear her, she mused privately.  “That is enough discussion,” Petreya commented in an idle tone.  “I will be the one to begin, and I already know what I will do.  If it doesn’t succeed, I have an idea as to what to use for the second idea.  I will need at least one of you, possibly two, to fetch it for me upon asking.  Until then, I need two of you to watch out for Rio’s Gaidin.  He will be arriving within the next fortnight to come for her, and he mustn’t be allowed to succeed.  He may have others with him.  If this is the case, inform me immediately so that I can move Rio to a safer location.  And try to stop him however you can.  From his eyes, I would hazard that he is a Wolfbrother.  I will get more information from Rio tonight concerning him.”

One of the cloaked figures replied in an icy feminine voice, “Do you then expect us to leap at your every command, then?  Are we not all your equals?”  Grumbles rumbled through the room from the others, though Rio couldn’t tell if they were out of agreement or anxiety.

Petreya looked at the mystery woman and smiled sedately.  “I expect you to obey the Great Lord’s desires.  If such means that you follow me when I am your equal in rank, then so be it.”  Utter silence followed the statement, and Petreya nodded once slowly.  “Then you may all go.  The ones who were not asked to aid us in this must needs be kept out.”  She stood and motioned for Rio to rise and follow her, then turned back and said, “The shield must stay with us, as you can also Heal.”  One of the dark members nodded curtly and detached itself from the others exiting to walk towards them.

He is the one who is keeping me from taking off the necklace, Rio brooded.  Light blast him, but he is.  If I ever get a chance to get that dagger of mine back from Petreya...  She felt a tug on her arm and wheeled on Petreya, glowering ferociously, but the other woman only motioned for her to follow her again and turned away to saunter off.  Rio clenched her teeth and strode after her captor, seething inside and utterly impotent to do anything at all to remedy the situation.  Dagor, she asked silently, please hurry.

She was led down dark stairs into the basement of the building.  It was cool and dry there, and four torches bolted to the walls illuminated the room so that visibility was fair.  A long table made of stone stood in the center of the room and there were grooves cut into the surface that looked like the rays of the sun in a way.  The stone floor around the table had a large square of lowered floor in it that led into a canal which halted at a set of bars covering a large hole in the wall.  Rio frowned a bit and halted where she was to eye the room, but the man behind her shoved her forward again roughly.  “Walk on,” he hissed.  She did so unwillingly, wishing once again that she had her dagger with her just once, male channeler or not, and then wondered briefly why she only wanted to kill the man.  Petreya is also at fault, she pondered uncertainly, frowning.  How odd.

She hadn’t realized she had once again halted until the man had literally shoved her with enough strength to send her all the way to the table.  She barely caught herself on its edge as her foot caught the lip of the depression around it and nearly tripped her, but she banged her knuckles on the stone and skinned them raw in the process.  She whirled around to glare at the one who had done it and felt her eyes go wide in shock at what she beheld.  Petreya stood toe to toe with the taller man, glaring up into the darkened area where his face was, and held a dagger in each hand that Rio hadn’t even seen on her person beforehand.  She could’ve bet and won that the woman held saidar as well, even though Rio couldn’t see a nimbus surrounding Petreya at all.  “Never without my permission, nictuga,” she whispered, low and dangerous, and Rio started at hearing the language she had been known to spout on occasion.

To complete Rio’s utter surprise, the man backed down with a stiff bow for the shorter woman, muttering a trite apology in the process.  He backed to the stairs and stood with arms folded over his chest, saying nothing, and Pet cast an irritated glance at him.  “Take down your hood,” she snapped at him.  “I know who you are and Rio will soon enough as it is.”  The man didn’t move for a long moment, then brought his hands up to the hood and swept it down slowly, his every line showing that he found following Petreya’s orders to be distasteful.  She nodded at him and turned back to Rio.

The woman smiled pleasantly and pointed to the table.  “This is where we’ll be conducting the treatments, Mother.  Let her speak, please.”  The last part was again to the nameless man, and though he didn’t move Rio suddenly felt the gag of Air removed from her.  She sighed in relief but said nothing.  “Nothing to say?” Pet asked Rio curiously.  “Hm, well, I guess we can begin.  Please disrobe, and don’t mind my aide.  He’s seen female flesh before, I’m sure, and will only touch you when he must Heal you.”

Rio’s face flamed as she stood at her full height.  “I will not!” she responded sharply, her pride flaring out.  How dare she even suggest it! Rio shrieked in her mind.

Petreya sighed almost wearily and shook her head.  “I knew you would say that, Mother,” she replied sadly.  “But I had hoped... Either you will do it, or Aivon will do it for you while you are wrapped in Air.  As that would entail cutting off that lovely dress you wear, you may want to reconsider.”  She watched Rio patiently, much to the older woman’s anguish, and finally Rio made a sound of displeasure and did as she was told.  She stepped away from the pool of dark green silk lying on the floor and Petreya lifted it easily and took it to the banister of the stairs, where she calmly set it over it.  Rio felt gooseflesh crawling over her from the cool air of the room but refused to rub at her skin to rid it of the feeling.  Whatever they do to me, she affirmed, I will not give them the satisfaction of a reaction.  She felt Aivon’s admiring gaze on her form and solidly attempted to ignore it completely.

Petreya smiled again and nodded at Rio.  “Now, if you would, please lie on the table, Mother...?”  Rio shot her a scathing look that fairly bellowed, You expect me to do something different?, but did as she was told.  Petreya brightened considerably at how well Rio behaved, then came over to where Rio was.   “Aivon, I’ll need your help for a moment.”

Rio watched the other man approach, then Petreya said, “Take her legs.  I’ll take her wrists.”  Rio frowned at the two phrases, opened her mouth to say something, then snapped it shut as she felt the restraints get put on her.  Oh, Light, they do mean to torture me, don’t they? she realized with a shudder as everything fell into place.  No matter, let them bring on their pain.  I will withstand it.

Aivon sauntered back over to his place by the stairs and Rio’s gaze went to Petreya’s where she stood next to the table.  The blond woman smiled gently at Rio and caressed her long braid lovingly.  “Now, be good, Mother, and try to remember all that you can about your past.  And all that you know about your Gaidin.  The faster you do it, the less I’ll have to cut you.”

“Cut all you want,” Rio snarled defiantly.  “Won’t be anything I haven’t felt before!”

Petreya nodded sagely as she turned from Rio and channeled over a small sack from under the staircase.  “That is true.”  She bent down and Rio heard the clinking and scraping of metal against metal for a moment before Petreya straightened again and held aloft a wicked looking black blade Rio instantly recognized as being Thankandar-forged.  She felt herself pale even as Pet said, “They didn’t have these, though, Mother.  And my cutting of you will only be the beginning.  I have things to burn, shred, pull apart, and break.  But I also have Aivon to Heal all of it.  His Talent even exceeds yours, did you know that?”  Petreya chuckled merrily.  “Once he finishes Healing you, then I get to try the next one.  So, just try to recall what you can as fast as you can, because I really don’t like hurting you as much as I do other people.”  She laid the blade over Rio’s thigh and smiled softly at her.  “I love you, Mother,” she stated gently as she sliced into muscle slowly.

It took all of Rio’s willpower not to scream, but she bit her lip until it bled to keep from doing it.  The first Healing came a candlemark later, just before the poisons of the blade had become serious enough so that Rio lost consciousness.

And so passed the first of what would become many days and nights for Rio, although she had no idea of how many thanks to being kept inside.  She was allowed to eat and clean herself off and catch quick snatches of sleep whenever Aivon needed rest or Petreya did.  Otherwise, her world was agony and she couldn’t help but wonder sometimes if Dagor was feeling anything at all through the blocked bond.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Two days from Cairhien, Dagor realized the pain had stopped.

It had taken him about three weeks to arrive, especially once he’d realized running his horse to death would solve nothing.  He had almost done so anyway after the second night away from the Tower when he’d halted to let the mount rest and the pain had hit.  He’d sunk down to his knees clutching his head and groaning, the excruciating feelings intense even with the blocking out of the bond making them feel like simple echoes, and had known immediately what had been going on.  Those flaming goat-kissers are hurting her! he had wanted to yowl.  His rage and sorrow had leaped onto him in a flood as he had leaped onto the horse again and spurred it on.  I’ll bloody kill each and every one of them with my bare hands for this, he’d promised Rio in his mind.

The horse had stumbled and fallen a few candlemarks later, taking a long time to rise with its sides working like a blacksmith’s bellows as it tried to catch its breath, and Wind had been at Dagor’s side immediately in concern.  Dagor, himself, had landed on his shoulder quite hard and dislocated it.  It had taken all of his willpower to place it back into its socket on his own, and the pain of it had been almost as bad as what he could still feel every now and again through the bond.  The knowledge that he may have just hurt Rio even worse than what she had been washed him with cold guilt and cooled his thinking.  He hadn’t been happy with the idea that he would have to slow his pace, that he would have to feel his love’s agony for weeks to come and not be able to help her, but knew it had to be done that way if he were to arrive ready to fight.  Wind had helped him to see it was the right thing to do as well, though he seemed to be as worried about “Shade” as Dagor, even if the reasons were completely different.  Shade is strong, Wind had assured Dagor through the Wolfbrother way.  She will live until you are there to bring her back to the pack.  “The pack” was obviously the others at Tar Valon, from what Dagor had sensed.

Shade, he’d thought with faint curiosity.  That is their name for her?  He’d almost asked why when another bout of agony had hit him.  He’d been able to do nothing but howl along with Wind this time, though, and the horse had flicked its ears at them nervously.  It hadn’t liked the scent of wolf near it, and the sound of a wolf’s howl had nearly undone all of its training in war.

Such is how it has been for almost three weeks, Dagor brooded darkly to himself.  Pain, and then respite for a time, and then more pain.  He knew what he must look like, with his three week old facial hair and the look of a barely-leashed madman.  His first look into a stream not too long ago had caused him to laugh bitterly at himself, but it hadn’t caused him to fix any of it.  There’s no time, he had told himself angrily.  No time for such at all.  He hadn’t realized until that very morning that should there be people watching for him, the beard and moustache might just aid him in slipping by them.  The eyes, though, he pondered.  They will know me by the eyes, if they have taken from Rio the knowledge that I am a Wolfbrother.  Unless...  He trailed off as an idea struck him, and he halted the horse where it stood.  He dismounted swiftly and headed off into the nearby woods, his intense gaze searching the ground and lower branches for just the right size and shape of branch.

The Dark One’s own luck was with him, as he found exactly what he had been searching for and picked it up with a faint, tight smile.  Dagor headed back to the horse, already dragging out a small knife he had been using on firewood to rid the branch of the leaves and such hanging from it.  Once he’d remounted, he set the horse’s head back on the path towards Cairhien and proceeded to whittle as best he could.  From what he could tell, he was all of two days from Cairhien and thus had that long to make the nondescript looking branch in his hands and lap into a passing fair semblance of a walking cane.  I’ll also need to hide the heron on the sword, he realized as he rode.  He had put up his colour-shifting cloak quite some time back and wore one he had been given by an old farmer whose home he had stayed the night in a fortnight past.

He kept his mind from anything that neared the reason why Rio’s tortures had ceased so utterly.  As long as the bond was still there, it meant she was still alive, and that was the hope he had been clinging to feverishly even through their shared pain.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She wondered if the torment would ever end.  It had been almost an eternity of it, or so it seemed, and she wondered if she had perhaps died and found herself in the Pit of Doom after all.  She felt some measure of pride in knowing that her shrieks had come only few and far between.  Rio was weary unto death now, though she had long ago gotten used to the pain so that she expected it; and what Rio expected, she could handle with aplomb.  Petreya and Aivon had noticed, and though Aivon seemed distraught and angry at the fact the tortures were no longer having as great an effect on Rio, Petreya’s frustration was mixed with an absurd pride in Rio for the doing of it.

Sometimes during the pain, Rio had been overwhelmed with visions of such horror that she wondered if she were in a delirium.  As soon as she had recognized the logic that if she were coherent enough to wonder if it were a dream, and know she was awake during the whole thing and neither asleep nor sick, then it was more than likely something real from her past, Rio had discovered that she did not desire to learn more.  She had seemingly come to a wall, however, and was relieved by it.  She had just told Petreya of it in triumph, half mad from exhaustion from her ordeal, and had begun to laugh silently until tears leaked from her eyes that maybe now the woman would simply be ordered to kill her and end the process of pain/Healing.

She was wrong, though.  The pain stopped.  The Healing stopped.  But she still lay strapped to the cold stone slab, nude as the day she was born and almost as bloody, while Petreya washed her off with warm water and a cloth.  She sang to herself as she scrubbed at the tender flesh of Rio’s newly-Healed wounds and seemed to be waiting for something.  Rio’s gaze flicked over to where Aivon usually stood in stoic silence and came up empty for once.  Where did he go? she wondered dazedly.  What’s going on?

Time stretched on after a while and Rio dozed fitfully.  Petreya awakened Rio after a while and released her so that she could eat to her heart’s content.  The older woman did so ravenously, as she had every time she had been Healed, and then curled up on a blanket on the floor Petreya had laid out for her and slept as if she were unconscious.

She was roused at some point later from horrid dreams of the tortures she’d had visited upon her.  Tears leaked from her eyes which she quickly dashed away in anger.  Don’t let them see you weep, she demanded of herself, and obeyed the demand immediately by taking control of herself.  She looked up at Petreya, who had a slight frown on her face for the tears Rio had shed but which quickly smoothed out into a satisfied smile as the tears faded, and scrambled to her feet warily.  Aivon had returned with something wrapped in cloth.  He watched Rio in interest, an emotion he’d seemed to lose after the first couple of days of torment, and it immediately sent a blare of alarm through her.  She glanced at Petreya as the woman walked to the tall man and took the object from him almost like a child with a present to unbind.  “They did it!” Pet giggled delightedly.  “They took one!  The Great Lord will be very pleased.”  She hurried to the slab of stone and set the bundle down on it, then her body blocked Rio’s view of the contents.  “I’ve always wanted to play with one of these!”

“If it works,” Aivon replied quietly, never taking his eyes from Rio.  “Should I hold her with Air?  You female channelers seem to despise the very thought of those things even more than you do torture.”

Petreya looked over her shoulder as if just realizing he were there.  “Oh, yes, please do, Aivon.  Apologies, Mother,” she tossed Rio’s way almost flippantly, absorbed with whatever it was she had just received.

Rio was suddenly unable to move.  “Hurry,” Aivon grumbled.  “I need to rest soon before my strength fails.”

Petreya made a sound and turned around, moving towards Rio with a brilliant smile.  Rio’s eyes went from that deceptively innocent face to what the woman held, fastened on it, and went round as two saucers at seeing what it was.  “You can’t!” she shrieked, struggling in vain to move in the bonds of Air and not caring what either of them thought of her terror.  “Torture me again, for Light’s sake, but not that!”  She couldn’t move as Petreya reached up with what she held, and instead just closed her eyes and trembled even if there was no movement to see that she did it.

The cold steel a’dam slid around Rio’s neck as if it had been made just for her, the sound of the click as it fastened echoing in her head like a trumpet of doom.  Rio’s teeth grit together as she was suddenly feeling as if she were being stroked in comfort.  “This should help that wall give way, Mother,” Petreya stated warmly.  “Because now I can help you with it.”

Rio was released from the bonds of Air and sank to the floor sobbing, oblivious to Aivon’s departure or Pet’s entreaties for her to rise and dress so that they could actually go upstairs for once, lost as she was in her own misery.  She cared nothing for Petreya’s thoughts on the crying, nor anything else for that matter.  Light, why don’t you just kill me and end this? Rio wondered to herself.  Just kill me, please!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dagor entered the city leading his horse, feigning blindness.  His eyes were covered by a cloth, a strip of material he had taken from a shirt on a line at a farm a day back down the road.  The branch he used as a cane, in true blind man’s style, and utilized his heightened senses from being a Wolfbrother to know where he was going and when he was near people and things.  The horse’s saddle he had hidden in the woods with Wind nearby to guard it.  Wind may have followed Dagor into Cairhien had he been really pushed, but a wolf was always a wolf and large cities did not appeal to the creature.  Dagor felt decidedly uncomfortable entering into a dangerous city without his brother wolf to watch his back for him, but knew it was the only way to go.  The guards hassled him a bit before allowing him to pass through, mostly because they were bored and he was apparently blind, and he tried not to growl at them as he passed.  I have to find a suitable inn, he decided.  Perhaps one of the ones for commoners is nearby.  He wasn’t adept at the Game of Houses and hoped he could play it well enough to find out where Rio was relatively quickly.

The instant his thoughts went to her, they also went to the unsettling feeling of pain that he had begun to feel again infrequently.  It was a different pain, somehow, and it baffled him to feel it.  It was almost as if the wounds weren’t real, and he couldn’t quite feel them being made as he had been able to do before, but the pain was real as if they had been.  It unsettled him to think about and he resolved once again to find her and leave Cairhien as quickly as possible.

He finally received instructions to a small inn where he could make himself comfortable.  He kept his money out of sight so that he looked the part of a blind commoner and entered the establishment carefully.  The common room had the scent of tabac smoke and sweat and the usual odors he had found common to any inn.  The sounds of conversation were hushed, and from what he could tell there weren’t too many people in the place, but his presence caused a pall to briefly hang over the voices before they again started up.  He made his tapping way towards the origin of the smell of ale and such and ordered a room as well as a mug of drink.  Most of the conversation was grouped in one area, so he went directly opposite it and hoped to find an empty seat.  He sat in the first one he came to and sighed, then smelled that the table was indeed occupied.  “My apologies,” he began as he rose, but the negation of his leaving stopped him and he sat back down.

“No need, sir,” a man’s voice said politely.  “I would have joined you anyway.  You look as if you have a tale to tell, and tales are my business.”

Dagor was instantly curious.  “How so?” he asked.  Perhaps he has heard something about Rio, he thought with a flood of excitement.  Or he could find out the information for me.  If he’s trustworthy, that is.

“I, good sir, am Rolaino Ellwood, a gleeman to amuse the masses,” the man said in a tone of pride.  “Tales are what I do best.”

Dagor’s excitement grew.  “Then, perhaps you could indeed help me, once you hear my tale,” he responded in a hushed tone as he leaned towards where he had heard the other man’s voice originate from.  “I am Dagor Raurok.”  His senses told him that this Rolaino held no darkness or hidden violence in him, as he had scented on others, only a genuine interest and feeling of goodwill.

“A name fit for any hero in a story,” Rolaino proclaimed gladly, even if his tone remained subdued.  “I would be up singing right now but for those curs over in the corner there.  They asked me to stand down so that they could converse, and as they were the only patrons the innkeeper had nothing to say in the matter.  What the guests want, the guests must have.”  He shifted a bit.  “If you would like, we may retire to my quarters so that you can speak your tale in privacy.  Any man with a hero’s name who desires help is obviously not one to sit in the open and talk about it.”

Dagor smiled and chuckled a little.  “I would fain finish my drink first, Rolaino, as my road has been long and difficult, and may yet seem simple in comparison to what I will face soon.”  He took a long swallow of the ale, very pleased at the way it felt trickling down his throat even if it was a tad too bitter for his tastes.

Rolaino was unavoidably interested.  “And now I must know this story of yours, Dagor, for you have intrigued me as I have not been intrigued in quite some time.”  Dagor could almost hear the man’s smile.  “That is quite an honour, by the way, and to heap more on you would be to say that I am fair impatient to hear it.”

He is trustworthy, Dagor decided.  Light knows I will need the help he would bring, should he agree to aid me in this.  “Then hear it, you shall,” he replied seriously.  “And by the Light, I do hope you will agree to help me once you have heard it, otherwise the tale may not have a happy ending in the least.”  He decided the ale was really too bitter for him to enjoy and stood.  “Shall we?”

The sound of Rolaino’s chair scraping on the floor was loud and caused the men at the other table to hush again.  Dagor could almost feel their irritated gazes on the two of them.  “It’s upstairs, my friend.  Shall I help you?”  There was a touch on his arm, tenuous and questioning as the voice.

“Please,” Dagor answered quickly, thinking that the more he played at being blind the better off it would look.  “And my thanks for the aid, Rolaino.”  The grip on his arm became firm, and the scent of sudden curiosity came to Dagor’s nose as Rolaino felt the hard muscles therein.  He could almost hear the gleeman asking himself, How did a blind man get arms like steel bands?  He had to chuckle inside at the way he phrased the other man’s unspoken question, though, since it was the way Rio would have said it had it been her.  Light, let her be all right, he prayed fervently as they began mounting the stairs.

He was led to a room and the door was closed behind them both.  “Let me get you a seat,” Rolaino said as he moved past Dagor.  “It will help if you sit, I think, and rest your feet while your tongue does all the work.”  He sounded bemused as Dagor’s ears caught the sound of a chair’s creaking.

Well, might as well begin right now, Dagor mused to himself.  “No need, Rolaino.”  He lifted his hands to the blindfold and carefully removed it, revealing his golden eyes and perfect sight, and the gleeman halted with the chair in his hands as if he’d just been frozen in ice.  Dagor took his first real look at the other man, noting that he was tall and lanky, with dark brown hair and eyes that were as gray as the sky in a storm.  He wasn’t unattractive, in a chiseled sort of way, and his thin moustache and beard were both long and well taken care of.  The tell-tale gleeman’s cloak fell from his shoulders almost to the floor, and the clothes under it were what one would expect a man to wear if he were traveling constantly:  comfortable and not flashy; well-worn and yet clean.  Dagor nodded solemnly to him.

Rolaino set the chair down and leaned on the back of it, giving Dagor a half-smile.  “I knew this story would be a good one,” was all he said in response.