Born in Darkness

Disclaimer: I do not own Wheel of Time, any of the characters from the book, the world or the concepts. I just love the series and it lends itself particularly well to experimentation. The world is incredibly rich and detailed.
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To those obsessed with canon, you may wish to go elsewhere. I have a hard time keeping the time line straight in my mind and am bound to make some mistakes. For those with an open mind, ihis particular story revolves around an original character who could not possibly exist in canon, but I’m letting her come out to play anyway.

Chapter 1: Born in Darkness

She stepped into the blow, feeling the impact ring through her body. Her blade slipped from her fingers and skidded across the slick black stone beneath her feet. She stepped backwards, narrowly avoiding a second blow, felt her shoulder strike something solid. The wall sconce. She snatched the torch and dove between her opponents’ legs, thrusting the torch above her.

The startled creature howled in pain and swung its weapon clumsily towards its feet. She felt the air from it’s swing ripple her hair as she slid through the muck. Her fingers touched steel. She snatched her blade from the floor, came gracefully to her feet, executing a neat 180 degree turn, slicing neatly through flesh, and muscle.

The creature fell into the muck, howling in pain. She stepped backwards, listening to it thrash about in the muck, shrieking, trying to reach her.

She took hold of the Power, feeling it flood into her in a brilliant rush. She reached for silken lines of Fire and Air, tossing them almost lazily towards her fallen foe. She heard crackling as the creature’s fur caught, the screeching increased in time with the flows, then silence and the rank smell of burnt hair and flesh filled the corridor.

She reached up and wrenched the blindfold from her eyes, tossing it on top of the mess in front of her, and sheathed her sword.

From a dark corner of the room she heard scattered applause. She bowed slightly to a dark man leaning against the stone wall to her left. Other figures were barely visible scattered about the room.

Directly in front of her, an alcove in the wall seemed to shift, a void in the darkness. She walked to the foot of a small set of stairs below the alcove and knelt.

RISE CHILD.

“You are pleased, Great Father.”

I AM PLEASED. TURN AROUND.

She did so, slowly, clasping her hands behind her back. Shoulders straight, no expression in her blue eyes.

BEHOLD, MY CHOSEN, A WARRIOR WITHOUT EQUAL.

She was grateful for the shadows as color rushed to her face.

YOU MAY GO, WITH MY BLESSINGS, CHILD.

She turned, knelt once more, pressing her forehead to the cool stone, then rose smoothly and strode out the door. Her soft boots made no sound on the stone. She moved quietly as a Fade through the twisting passages beneath Shayol Ghul.

She reached her quarters a short time later, pushing the heavy door inward. She let the door slam shut behind her and stripped off her sword, caressing the hilt lovingly before hanging it in its place on the wall. She scowled at her reflection in the full length mirror. She had always considered herself too fair.

Light skin, made far paler by years spent beneath the mountain. Red hair, dark, as if stained with blood - her mother’s hair. Other than the hair, she was almost a carbon copy of her father. Funny that it had taken her so many years to see it.

She heard the door open, and felt invisible fingers run down her arms, raising the hair on the back of her neck.

“It would be nice if you could knock before barging into my private quarters.”

A low, masculine chuckle answered her. He let the door close behind him. “Quite a performance in there today. Whose idea was the blindfold?” He crossed the room to wrap his arms around her.

“Mine,” she answered, “I get bored. It was still only a waste of a Trolloc.”

“Aginor agrees with you, of course, but we must give our little warrior some practice, mustn’t we?”

She pushed him away from her and turned to face him. His smug expression and his sarcasm angered her. “You have no right to talk down to me, Ared. I’m not a child any more.”

“No,” he agreed, scowling slightly at her use of a name long since left in the dust. His dark eyes traveled slowly down her body. “No, Rhiannon, you are no child.”

She relaxed slightly and allowed him to pull her against him again. He reached up to massage her shoulders.

She let him work muscles sore from the day’s activities. As he worked, he leaned in to kiss the back of her neck. She arched her back like a cat and leaned into his touch. Shifting her hips a bit, she pressed against him and heard a sharp intake of breath. Smiling at the predictability of his response, she turned to face him, keeping their bodies pressed together.

He leaned down to kiss her, tightening his grip. She slipped her arms around his waist and returned the kiss eagerly.

Breaking off the kiss, he lifted her off her feet and carried her into the inner chamber, laying her on the bed. He slowly undressed her, teasing, tasting. When he had her completely naked, he paused to enjoy the sight of her spread out before him. A moment he had shed his own clothes and joined her on the bed, straddling her, dark hair framing his face.

“You are beautiful,” he murmured, reaching down to stroke her cheek.

She closed her eyes and shifted her hips impatiently, reaching for his cock. He caught both her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head leaning down to ravage her mouth. “In a hurry, love?” he murmured against her lips. She twisted in his grip, attempting to free her hands. He held her fast and moved his other hand down her body, between her legs.

She gasped as he slipped two fingers into her. A pleased smile danced across his sensual lips as she opened to him. His fingers worked her into a frenzy as his mouth moved across her throat and down to her breasts. She felt the liquid heat pooling in her belly ignite and heard his name on her lips as the world shattered.

Gasping, she collapsed back onto the sheets, now drenched in sweat. “Perfect...” she heard him say against her lips, as his cock replaced his fingers. He released her wrists and leaned back on his knees, sliding into her with long, slow strokes. His eyes were half closed as he fought his own desire.

She felt the heat rekindle, somewhere deep inside of her. A shudder tore through her body. He opened his eyes then, and smiled down at her, obviously enjoying the sight of her writhing body beneath him. He leaned forward and quickened the pace.

She struggled to meet each powerful thrust, thrashing beneath him. She heard his breath catch in his throat and knew he was close...so close...when the second peak hit her. Her fingers clenched around his shoulders. The pain set him hurtling over the edge and they collapsed onto the bed together.

He rolled off of her and lay on his back, eyes unfocused, savoring the moment. She snuggled against him, felt him reach up to stroke her hair. “That was incredible,” he told her. “You are incredible. You’re perfect.”

When their breathing had returned to normal, and the intensity of the moment had faded, she planted both palms on his chest and pushed away from him. “I need a bath. I smell like sex, sweat, and burnt Trolloc.”

He caught her wrist as she tried to get out of the bed, “I had hoped to spend some time with you before I return. I do miss you terribly.”

“Then tell Him to let me visit you in... wherever you’re holed up right now.”

He hesitated, only an instant, but hesitation nonetheless before answering, “Caemlyn, love. And I don’t ‘tell’ Him anything. I don’t think our Lord is quite ready to let you go yet.”

“I wish he’d send me somewhere. I’m going up the walls just sitting around here with nothing to do.”

“Patience, Rhiannon. You need to learn patience.”

She laughed. “Coming from you, that’s quite funny. Now let go of me, and get out so I can get cleaned up.”

“You want me to go?” he looked as though she had struck him.

“Yes, I do.”

Another sigh. “Very well.” He leaned down to kiss her gently before releasing her.

He left. She called one of the servants and ordered them to bring water. She was in the process of heating it when the door swung open again, and her father strode into the room.

“Does anyone around here ever knock?” she snarled.

“I only wished to discuss your performance earlier, but if I have interrupted something...”

“No, it’s fine. Have a seat,” she gestured at the chairs. He did so, stretching his legs out before him. She took a seat across from him. Except for her hair, they were mirror images of each other. The hair....and the scar.

“You were sloppy out there today. You dropped your weapon. If you had been paying attention, you would have known where that blow was coming from. You must pay attention to what you’re doing Rhiannon. In battle you have no room for mistakes. You were angry and I could see it in the way you moved. The torch was a nice recovery, but not one you can rely on.”

She stared at the floor between her feet as he lectured. “I need something to do.”

“Other than Rahvin, you mean,” he bit the words out.

“What he and I do is none of your business.”

“It is when it interferes with your training. He is not to be trusted, Rhiannon.”

She laughed. “And you are? Any of you? You tell me one person I can trust and I’ll call you insane or a liar. Everyone of you is by definition, untrustworthy. Hence the reason you have been oath bound and I have not. As for Ared, I know what he wants; whatever he may believe, he’s not exactly a master of subtlety.”

“And what do you want?”

“I want out from under this bloody mountain. I want something to test my skills, something real, something other than what I’ve dealt with for eighteen years. I have the skills I need. What I don’t have is experience.”

“Fine. I’ll see what I can do,” he rose smoothly and made as if to exit. He paused by the door. “Leave him alone, Rhiannon. That’s my final word on this matter.” Then he was gone.