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Light, she knew how stupid it was. Confronting Lanfear without access to Saidar was suicide, but the moment she figured the forsaken was trying to ensnare Rand in her web, she had to act. She hadn’t spent twenty years seeking the dragon reborn, leaving everything she loved behind just for Lanfear, out of everyone, to claim him. No. She would have to fight and surprise the woman. After all, Moiraine was resourceful, even if she knew it would anger the woman.
Clearly, she had not taken into consideration Lanfear would see her as weak now and take advantage of it - although she probably should have - for slitting her throat, piercing her with a sword and taking Rand when the forsaken saw him as ripe for the taking. She foiled plans from a forsaken she should not have been able to, but Daes Dae’mar taught her tricks she still used despite the painful way they had been instilled.
And now, Lanfear had not come to play. She wanted revenge, and Moiraine had not foreseen it or planned for such.
She realized, in that moment, this was her own doing, and that, most likely, no one was coming to save her. Because she had hidden Rand in the Sun Palace, and Lanfear had figured it out. The only question was whether Lanfear would kill her before going to retrieve the Dragon.
The answer’s obviousness rattled Moiraine.
Maybe it had been foolish to go take a stroll in the inner gardens, but she had felt restless in her old room, surrounded by memories she’d rather have forgotten. As foolish as the endeavor was, none was more than going alone, where she marked herself as easy prey.
She grasped it the moment her knees hit the ground with surprising force as if she’d been slammed down. Little pebbles embedded themselves in the skin of her palms and knees. With a strange detachment, Moiraine pondered that that meant her skirts had probably ripped. She managed to bite back the sound of surprise that tried to escape from her throat as she realized weaves were why she’d been slammed down, why she couldn’t move, and turned her head when she heard the rustling of fabric.
“Forsaken.” Moiraine hissed when she saw the form of Lanfear, graceful, hair as dark as ink move off the shadows, a mocking smile curling on her lips at the moniker.
“Hmm. You have given me quite the headache, Moiraine Sedai. Or should I say, Damodred.”
A sneer tried to curl on Moiraine’s lips, her hackles rising. “Good. The dark one’s… servants deserve nothing less.”
Something predatory glinted in Lanfear’s eyes. “Big words for a woman who is nothing more than a pretty doll left behind now that she lost access to her power.” She purred, her voice low and dangerous. “Pathetic, really.”
Moiraine’s face turned impassive, and her lips pursed, finally understanding the game Lanfear was trying to play – a psychological warfare before the kill. Trying to exploit weaknesses. The Aes Sedai was stuck in her position, kneeling in front of the other woman as if she was doing penance, or maybe like she was a pious worshipper of the dark one’s forces. This was a technique in humiliation, as Lanfear probably imagined it would break part of her resolve in some ways. She wanted information, and Moiraine was determined not to give any. She needed a plan. Or leeway and an escape route. She knew if Lanfear wished, she could use a form of the compulsion weave the Forsakens were known to have used over the years, but for now? Locked in the battle of will they were? Moiraine wouldn’t give an inch if she could.
Lanfear circled her, slowly, like a prey being stalked. “I could make you scream,” she whispered, and Moiraine believed her.
Still, she didn’t speak, determined not to give anything away to the other woman. Lanfear, a sneer on her beautiful features, twitched a weave and yanked her upright until they were face to face, before throwing her away with a twitch of her fingers.
Moiraine’s body flew through the air for a few seconds before she hit one of the hard, cold pillars around the courtyard. A woosh of air came out of her lungs at the impact, before she slid down without further sound despite the pain radiating through her back. The side of her head hit the uneven pavement as she landed down, not quick enough to protect herself, and she felt the warmth of her blood start to trickle where her skin had split. Light help her, she was weak and unable to defend herself, but she would not let Lanfear hear her beg for mercy or worse, give anything away. She wished, as she always did lately, she hadn’t been stilled. It might have given her a chance, albeit feeble, but now? She could feel the possible escape routes thinning considerably. The weave that immobilized her had not let up.
Lanfear crouched in front of her, too close, and slid a finger down Moiraine’s face, smearing the trickle of blood across her cheek with a sigh of pleasure before taking it back and curling her tongue around said finger. “I think I like you this way. Soft. Breakable.”
--
It might have been a couple of hours, if Moiraine had to guess. Or maybe it hadn’t been that long at all and only felt like it. Pain always stretched time thin until everything bled into each other. Her body ached in places she wasn’t aware could hurt, she could feel the rasp in her breathing, the blood drying on her skin, and she could not see anymore. Somewhere along the way, a piece of cloth had been tied around her head.
Lanfear had been thorough.
She had not relied on the One Power alone - although she could have - to make it easier to break Moiraine. But no. She had known exactly how to twist words, when to taunt and where to press for maximal impact, when to brush fingers across Moiraine’s skin as if to comfort, as if to seduce. Every cruel act had been deliberate, to wound, to tempt, to mess with her head.
“Well, Lady Damodred, color me surprised, I had not expected such resilience.” Lanfear murmured in her ear, the Aes Sedai jumping in surprise at the proximity, at the voice like silk hiding the malice behind. “Do tell, what would it take to loosen your tongue? What would it take to make you plead and beg?”
Moiraine refused to answer even through the press of fingers on her - clearly - broken leg was almost enough to break her resolve. She wanted to scream in pain. She wanted to curl around herself and lick her wounds. And yet, the Aes Sedai refused to give in, refused to give satisfaction to the forsaken. When Lanfear’s laughter had curled around her, kernels of strength rose in her anew.
Yet she did not know how long she could last. Her strength was breaking down in splinters, focus fracturing under the utter mental and physical agony she was in, the humiliation from it all rising under her skin. How had she lost it so quickly? There had been moments, albeit brief, yet terrifying, when she thought she could believe and let herself fall into Lanfear’s words, when she considered that yielding would bring relief.
And then, through the haze came a voice.
“Enough.”
The pronouncement cut through the air like a whip, sharp and commanding, filled with power, with strength, with a unique taste of Saidar Moiraine had no idea she could still feel. It rippled in the distance, familiar, the voice tucked deep in her heart.
Siuan.
Lanfear stilled, head tilting slightly before a slow smile spread on her lips as the Amyrlin stepped into view, golden regalia perched on her frame, giving the woman an air of grandeur while every inch of her radiated controlled fury.
“Leave her,” Siuan said, a weave of Spirit surrounding her, strong enough to radiate energy through the air, enough for Moiraine to recognize her even with her eyes covered.
“Oh,” Lanfear purred, mock delight glinting in her eyes as she turned toward the newcomer, “now, this is interesting.”
Her gaze flickered from one woman to the other, and Siuan could see a gleam of realization appearing in the eyes of the forsaken, sharp and cruel.
“The Amyrlin Seat herself, in my humble presence,” Lanfear said, voice dripping with amusement. “Come to rescue her little… pet.”
Siuan stayed rooted in place, her staff hitting the floor next to her, making the stone around them shake. “Get away from her, Forsaken.”
It only made Lanfear’s smile widen. She crouched beside Moiraine again, fingers brushing almost tenderly over the rapidly darkening hand-shaped bruise at her throat. “Oh, this is too good,” she whispered, soft enough that only Moiraine could hear. “Imagine what I could do with this little secret.”
Moiraine breathed in sharply as she realized Lanfear had seen through them so quick, had understood the depth of their forbidden relationship. And that she, now, had leverage against them both.
The forsaken laughed at the reaction, low, amused. “Are you afraid I’ll hurt your fisher-girl while you are helpless? Oh, all the ideas this gave me! Should I tell her I can make you moan for me?” She taunted.
Panic rose sharply in Moiraine. “Don’t. It’s between us, not her.” She managed to croak out, her voice ragged and broken, but having seen the only play she could make right now that had a chance to save them both. The ego of the forsaken was something she could manipulate, and, knowing that Lanfear thought she had not been fair during their first encounter was playing in her favor right now.
Lanfear hummed, almost as if considering. “Fine. But you can never say the dark doesn’t play fair.” She finally agreed, contempt in her voice, before turning to Siuan and saying, louder, “I’ll let you have her. For now.”
Siuan frowned, having expected more of a fight to save her, before faltering as Lanfear tilted Moiraine’s chin up with a hand slick with her blood.
“I’ll see you soon,” Lanfear murmured, too low for Siuan to understand, with a sharp smile curling on her lips. “My feisty little Aes Sedai.”
Moiraine flinched, but before she could answer, Lanfear was gone, the air disturbed in her wake. The moment she left, the weaves holding Moiraine still vanished and she finally regained control over her movements.
The second the courtyard became tranquil, Siuan moved to her lover and dropped to her knees, cupping Moiraine’s face in her hands. Her voice was filled with fear. “Moiraine. Light, you’re hurt. May I heal you, my love?”
Moiraine could only nod faintly, still feeling Lanfear’s fingers like a brand on her jaw, still feeling the pain of the ordeal coursing through her.. She jumped when she felt Siuan’s hands settle on her damaged skin, poised to heal, before relaxing in the coolness she felt washing over her and mending the injuries all over. Her head fell forward, onto Siuan’s shoulder.
“Thank you,” Moiraine murmured, voice still hoarse despite the healing she was receiving. “I didn’t know how long I would have lasted still.” She admitted.
Siuan didn’t speak. She simply pressed her forehead to Moiraine’s the moment she finished healing her, and Moiraine realized she was crying.
“You are so strong, my love. But don’t ever scare me like that again,” Siuan said at last.
Moiraine should have apologized, she should have untied the blindfold that kept her from seeing. Instead, she reached up blindly, and with unsteady fingers traced Siuan’s cheekbones. “You came for me.” She murmured.
“Always.”
Siuan kissed her, her lips fierce and possessive, tasting of the fear and close call they had gone through.
“You leave this on,” Siuan ordered when Moiraine reached for the blindfold to untie it. “You trust me?”
“Yes,” Moiraine whispered, the word catching like a prayer.
“I need to feel you. To feel you’re safe and still alive in my arms. You frightened me so much, Moiraine.” Siuan rasped out as an explanation, the tremolo in her voice giving away the emotions she had tried to conceal. “Let me?” She added
The “Yes, love,” Siuan received from her lover was more of a breath on her skin, but she still understood it. Her hands were careful at first, then firmer, grounding with every touch. Moiraine whined, once, a sound torn out of her, and Siuan swallowed it with a kiss, before sliding two fingers into her, deep and sure. The heat, the little sounds that escaped Moiraine were all proof and reassurances in one that Moiraine was alive, was safe, now.
“Come for me,” Siuan finally whispered, fingers pumping into her until Moiraine’s back arched and she shattered, helpless and blindfolded.
When she came down from the high, Siuan untied the cloth and kissed Moiraine, slow and lovingly.
“You’re safe now,” she said softly.”
It was a beautiful sentiment. They both knew how untrue it would be soon enough, but for now, they basked in it. Moiraine sagged into her lover’s arms and let herself be held in strong arms and the reassuring presence of Siuan.