The Gathering Storm

They were coming to accept her. Unfortunately, that was only a small part of the battle. The larger part was making certain the White Tower survived the strains Elaida was placing upon it.

Meidani's quarters were surprisingly comfortable and homey. Egwene had always viewed the Grays as similar to the Whites, lacking passion, perfect diplomats who didn't have time for personal emotions or frivolities.

These rooms, however, hinted at a woman who loved to travel. Maps hung within delicate frames, centered on the walls like prized pieces of art. A pair of Aiel spears hung on either side of one map; another was a map of the Sea Folk islands. While many might have opted for the porcelain keepsakes that were so commonly associated with the Sea Folk, Meidani had a small collection of earrings and painted shells, carefully framed and displayed, along with a small plaque beneath listing dates of collection.

The sitting room was like a museum dedicated to one person's journeys. An Altaran marriage knife, set with four twinkling rubies, hung beside a small Cairhienin banner and a Shienar sword. Each had a small plaque explaining its significance. The marriage knife, for instance, had been presented to Meidani for her help in settling a dispute between two houses over the death of a particularly important landowner. His wife had given her the knife as a token of thanks.

Who would have thought that the cowering woman of the dinner a few weeks back would have such a proud collection? The rug itself was labeled, the gift of a trader who had purchased it on the closed docks of Shara, then bestowed it on Meidani in thanks for healing his daughter. It was of strange design, woven from what seemed to be tiny, dyed reeds, with tufts of an exotic gray fur trimming the edges. The pattern depicted exotic creatures with long necks.

Meidani herself sat on a curious chair made from woven wicker boughs, crafted to look like a growing thicket of branches that just happened to take the shape of a chair. It would have been horribly out of place in any other room in the Tower, but it fit within these quarters, where each item was different, none of them related yet somehow all connected with the common theme of gifts received during travels.

The Gray's appearance was surprisingly different from what it had been during the dinner with Elaida. Instead of the low-cut colorful dress, she wore a high-necked gown of plain white, long and tapering, cut as if to deemphasize her bosom. Her deep golden hair was up in a bun, and she didn't wear a single glimmer of jewelry. Was the contrast intentional?

"You took your time summoning me," Egwene said.

"I didn't want to appear suspicious before the Amyrlin," Meidani said as Egwene crossed the exotic Shara rug. "Besides, I'm still not certain how I regard you."

"I don't care how you regard me," Egwene said evenly, seating herself on an oversized oak chair, bearing a plaque that identified it as a gift from a moneylender in Tear. "An Amyrlin needs not the regard of those who follow her, so long as she is obeyed."

"You've been captured and overthrown."

Egwene raised an eyebrow, meeting Meidani's gaze. "Captured, true."

"The Hall among the rebels will have chosen a new Amyrlin by now."

"I happen to know that they have not."

Meidani hesitated. Revealing the existence of contact with the rebel Aes Sedai was a gamble, but if she couldn't secure the loyalty of Meidani and the spies, then she was on shaky ground indeed. Egwene had assumed that it would be easy to gain the woman's support, considering how frightened Meidani had been at supper. But it seemed that the woman was not as easily cowed as it had appeared.

"Well," Meidani said. "Even if that is true, you must know that they picked you to be a figurehead. A puppet to be manipulated."

Egwene held the woman's gaze.

"You have no real authority," Meidani said, voice wavering slightly.

Egwene did not look away. Meidani studied her, brow wrinkling slowly, step by step, furrows appearing across her smooth, ageless Aes Sedai face. She searched Egwene's eyes, like a mason searching a piece of stone for flaws before setting it in place. What she found seemed to confuse her further.

"Now," Egwene said, as if she had not just been questioned, "you will tell me precisely why you have not fled the Tower. While I do believe that your spying on Elaida is valuable, you must know how much danger you are in now that Elaida is aware of your true allegiance. Why not leave?"

"I ... cannot say," Meidani said, glancing away.

"I'm commanding you as your Amyrlin."

"I still cannot say." Meidani looked down at the floor, as if ashamed.

;Then the best way to handle the situation would be twofold," Eg-wene said, taking another sip of tea. It tasted terrible. "First, the leaders of the Ajah would have to be reassured. They need to know that it wasn't their fault that the information leaked. If I were the hypothetical sister in trouble—and if I'd done nothing wrong—I'd go to them and explain. That way they could stop searching for the one who let information slip."

"But," Bennae said, "that probably won't help the sister—the hypothetical one in trouble—get out of her punishments."

"It couldn't hurt," Egwene said. "Likely, she's being 'punished' to keep her out of the way while the Ajah leaders search for a traitor. When they know there isn't one, they'll be more likely to look at the fallen sister's situation with empathy—particularly after she's offered them a solution."

"Solution?" Bennae asked. Her teacup sat in her fingers, as if forgotten. "And which solution would you offer?"

"The best one: competence. Obviously, some people among the Ajah know these secrets. Well, if this sister were to prove her trustworthiness and her capability, perhaps the leaders of her Ajah would realize the best place for her is as one of the caretakers of the secrets. An easy solution, if you consider it."

Bennae sat thoughtfully, a small mummified finch spinning slowly on its cord directly above her. "Yes, but will it work?"

"It is certainly better than serving in some forgotten storeroom cataloguing scrolls," Egwene said. "Unjust punishment sometimes cannot be avoided, but it is best never to let others forget that it is unjust. If she simply accepts the way people treat her, then it won't be long before they assume she deserves the position they've placed her in." And thank you, Silviana, for that little bit of advice.