(OOC: :ph43r: )

Farina walked nervously to the Black Tower. She was an Accepted now, she was sure that she had permission to go wherever she wanted, but possibly breaking the rules was the least of her worries. She needed to talk to Asha'man Edeleas. She didn't know how he would react to her after their... uhm... night. She didn't even know how she should react to him! It had been great and all, but Farina was still mad at him for being so neglective in the morning, and she was ashamed how she had pushed herself at him. He had started it though, she remembered that much. They had been both drunk, so there was no use in blaming one or the other for what had happened. She had enjoyed it, and she really thought that she had deserved a moment of happiness. But why under the Light did she have to have that moment with an Asha'man?

At least she knew who it was. The knowledge didn't help her at all in any way, it probably made things even harder, but it was still a slightly comforting thought. Farina shook her head, trying to shake all the sillyness off. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. He deserved to know. She could not live on like nothing had happened between them, especially now. She would tell him before she left.

Farina reached the door that led to the Master of Soldiers' office. She took a deep breath and knocked firmly on the door. I have to tell him.

((ooc - AAAAGH! I'm sorry I didn't see this before! I'll have a reply soon! :ph43r: ))

"The angreal was the problem, I think." Gereveli muttered as the man gave his glasses a push up his nose. "When the boy channeled into it, the thing simply cracked in pieces. It was lucky that Matteo did not get harmed or even severed by his own actions. And I was around, too! It seems to me that we should double check all of our remaining [/i]angreal[/i] and make sure that they hadn't been addled by the explosion prior to Rei Sidivin's murder, may the Light grant his soul eternal peace."

Edeleas was only half-listening as the other Dieb Chas argued vividly behind him. Currently his eyes were half-closed, giving one the impression that he was sleep walking. But he wasn't. He was wide awake, focusing on the link that kept his soul bound with the Great Lord's touch. The Great Lord was growing impatient not only with his Dreads, but also his Chosen. It was quite true that the Shadow was quite these days. Not even Briallan's shadow could be seen, and Edeleas half wished that it continued to be so. The kid was more frightening than a horde of jumara sometimes. She was only one of the few things that still inspired fear in Edeleas.

The Master of Soldiers stopped in his tracks and turned to his brothers. "I fear I have to separate myself from you now. I have many work to do." Without any other word he swept away into the next corridor that led to his study. The problems of addled angreals were nowhere near his list of priorities. One of these days the Great Lord might summon them to Shayol Ghul, and he had to be ready. He would not want to be caught off-guard; that could mean your Death on the side of reality he was living in. His train of thoughts were broken as he saw Farina standing before his door, preparing to knock. She looked distressed. It was none of his business, but he could not and would not forget the fact that he had slept with the girl. Little things could grow into bigger mess if they were ignored or forgotten.

"What brings you here?" He inquired as he came to stand beside her. What happened that night had been a great blunder on his part. After that incident he took care to watch over how much spirit he drank.

Farina nearly jumped when she saw the Master of Soldiers. She took a calming breath when he walked to her, trying to get her nerves under control. I'm not the child he thinks I am. I am a grown woman, and I can act like one too! She wished that she could have been more convinced by her own thoughts. No matter what she did, she still felt like a six-year-old who was afraid someone would catch her stealing cookies. Oh, if someone found out... She would be surely kicked out of the Tower and she would never have the chance to become Aes Sedai. And she really wanted to become Aes Sedai. She would not let one night ruin her future.

"What brings you here?" Farina had to swallow in spite of herself before she could say a word. "I have something important I wish to tell you, Asha'man," she said, trying to keep her nervousness out of her voice with poor results. He must think I'm a fool! Well, I am, if you think about it. One stupid night. She had deserved the happiness, but she surely hadn't deserved the result. No one would find out. Farina closed her eyes and tried to calm down again and stop her wandering thoughts. I have never let a man and one night get to me this much. Why does this all have to be so complicated? Why am I such a wreck? It hadn't been this hard the first time, even when it had resulted in Farina being forced into a marriage that was so intolerable that she had had to escape. And she had thought that life couldn't get any worse than that. Well, it seemed that she had been wrong.

Another calming breath, and Farina looked at the Asha'man again, panic in her eyes that she tried to hide. "Could we talk in private? It's very important," she added again, looking around nervously if someone saw them together.

"I have something important I wish to tell you, Asha'man," she said, trying to keep her nervousness out of her voice with poor results. "Could we talk in private? It's very important," She even looked around to see if anyone was watching. Edeleas found this behaviour peculiar, but then, Farina's movements told him that she had come to talk about that crazy night in the inn. Wordlessly he opened his office door and stepped aside so she could enter first. He followed her and closed the door gently, afterwards weaving a ward against eavesdropping.

He pulled up a chair for her before he sat down himself. He did not need to look her in the eye as he channeled Fire briefly to heat up the pot of tea on his desk. "Fire away," he said. Even though she was yet to speak, Edeleas thought he already knew what she came here for. He lifted his gaze to her, a light gesture that made other women swoon. He ran his eyes over her body. And then he realized he did not really need her to tell him.

"You're pregnant, then?" Edeleas said bluntly as he poured her some tea.

It came as a shock, that word. Edeleas eyed Farina again after he set down the teapot on his table. He had never imagined himself as a father. Besides, what kind of child deserved a father like himself? He was tainted, he was unclean, he was damned even though he'd be able to go back to the Light anyway. He was Dreadlord, but fortunately the Great Lord did not take so much away from him. A tiny spark of excitement lit up inside him at the thought of his child, although nothing showed on his face.

((ooc - gyah! sorry if it's short!)

(OOC: It's probably longer than any of my posts.)

Farina gladly stepped inside the Master of Soldiers’ study. She was not going to blurt her business in the middle of a corridor where anyone could hear them. No one would know. Asha’man Edeleas followed her and closed the door. Farina was grateful of that. She felt slightly more relaxed now that she knew that no one would hear them accidentally. Someone could come in though and interrupt them, but at least they wouldn’t hear anything they shouldn’t.

Farina sat on the chair Asha’man Edeleas set for her and just sat silently, taking more calming breaths and wondering how to approach the subject. She couldn’t just say it. There had to be a more civilized way of handling it than just saying ‘Hello Asha’man, just letting you know that you knocked me up when we slept together’.No… “Fire away,” the Asha’man said, making Farina even more nervous. How to say it… While Farina was still trying to figure out a good way to inform him, he suddenly looked up at her. Farina didn’t know if she should be offended by the way he studied her body. Yes, she probably should, but she was too nervous to get mad at the moment.

“You’re pregnant, then?” Farina opened her mouth but closed it again, not knowing what she had been planning to say. The man calmly poured tea as he said it, and no strong emotion was showing on his face. He surely can’t be that calm. Farina could not believe it. “Yes,” she answered, her voice suddenly calm again as nervousness fled and cold disapproval replaced it. “Don’t you understand what it means? You are a father. And I could bloody well be kicked out of the Tower if someone finds out.” Farina shut her mouth before she could follow that line of thought. No need to get angry at him. “I thought you deserve to know,” she added lamely.

“Yes,” she answered, her voice suddenly calm again as nervousness fled and cold disapproval replaced it. “Don’t you understand what it means? You are a father. And I could bloody well be kicked out of the Tower if someone finds out.” Farina shut her mouth before she could follow that line of thought. No need to get angry at him. “I thought you deserve to know,” she added lamely.

Edeleas tilted his head sidewards for a moment. "I understand." He said, still unnervingly calm. "You will have to get out of the Tower before your roundness shows. Or even before a Yellow or an N'Dore Delves you. We can't have that risk. Do you have a place you have in mind to go to? I can help you get out of the Tower. If you do not have a place in mind, I can suggest going to my estates in Cairhien. My sisters will help you there, and you will not need to work."

He took a sip of his own tea, although his mind was already buzzing with planning. It did not strike him that he was actually helping an Accepted escape from the Tower. She would have to deal with spies and the Aes Sedai who would eventually look for her. The same as he did all those years ago when he too, had escaped, just after earning his Dragon. He escaped and when he came back, he was already a Darkfriend. What a very lovely story.

"Well? What do you have in mind?" he asked her again.

"I understand." Farina gave him a glare. Yeah, right. Why did he have to be so emotionless? This was Farina's life they were talking about. This could ruin everything. It most probably would. And even if she managed to run away now and then come back when she has had the baby, that still left that fact that she would have to leave the baby. It was Frenna all over again. Farina felt like crying, but she had enough anger in her not to let the Asha'man see her crush like that.

"You will have to get out of the Tower before your roundness shows." Yes, I do know that, you idiot. "Or even before a Yellow or an N'Dore Delves you. We can't have that risk." I'm sorry? We? At least he seemed to have enough sense to see that he could be in trouble too if someone found out about it. "Do you have a place you have in mind to go to? I can help you get out of the Tower. If you do not have a place in mind, I can suggest going to my estates in Cairhien. My sisters will help you there, and you will not need to work."

Farina opened her mouth and shut it again quickly, stunned. She hadn't expected the man to actually help her escape. She had just felt like he needed to know, that's all. She had planned to leave the Tower and then see where it went from there. She hadn't planned to stay somewhere, but to move all the time and hope that no one found her. But Asha'man Edeleas was offering her a much easier solution. "Well? What do you have in mind?"

"I planned to leave tonight. I was going to move all the time, so that they couldn't track me, but I suppose since no one can connect my disappearance to you, I could go to Cairhien." She might be stubborn, and she might be angry at the Asha'man, but she wasn't stupid enough to let a chance like this pass. And besides, he owed her that much. "If you don't have a problem with it, of course."

The novice's reaction was something that brought a rare amused smile on Edeleas' lips. What did she expect him to do, deny her? Yell at her and take her out of his office? Of course not. He'd been expecting something like this to happen the moment he woke up that morning. It had only been a matter of time.

"I planned to leave tonight. I was going to move all the time, so that they couldn't track me, but I suppose since no one can connect my disappearance to you, I could go to Cairhien." She answered rather stiffly. "If you don't have a problem with it, of course."

Edeleas spread his hands. "No. I don't." At least she saw the sense in that. He rose and rummaged through some boxes and unearthed what he needed. Of course. His boys were brilliant. If only they channeled their intelligence on the right sort of things...

He gave the parchment to Farina.

"Curious thing that is, it might help you." He stated. "A map drawn by some of my boys, five of them. One dead, two Dedicated, two Asha'man. A map of Tar Valon with all the possible escape routes in between. You'll need that." And he gave her a sealed letter. "If you decide to go to my estates, show these to my sisters."

He sat back down and took out a book.

"Well? Why are you still here?" he snapped.

"No. I don't." Good. Maybe that was the best solution. There was no other place she knew she would safe in. Asha'man Edeleas might not like him - Light, he probably hated her for putting him in such a mess - but he seemed like a trustworthy man in some way. Farina had met a lot of hay-brained men, and the Master of Soldiers was more sensible than most she had spent a night with.

Asha'man Edeleas rose and started searching for something. Farina waited impatiently, eager to leave. She just wanted him to know, and then be off. She would leave as soon as she reached her room and grabbed everything she needed. And no one would find out. She had a feeling that the man would keep his mouth shut. And then she would return... After leaving the baby. The thought was too painful, so she pushed it away. She would have plenty of time for grief, but this was not one of them.

Finally the Asha'man handed Farina a parchment. She looked at it curiously. "Curious thing that is, it might help you." Farina tore her eyes off it and looked at the man. "A map drawn by some of my boys, five of them. One dead, two Dedicated, two Asha'man. A map of Tar Valon with all the possible escape routes in between. You'll need that." Farina's eyes widened a bit, and she glanced at the parchment again. Very interesting. But the Asha'man gave her some more paper. "If you decide to go to my estates, show these to my sisters." Farina folded the parchment and studied the letters. Interesting indeed.

Farina hadn't expected so much help from the Master of Soldiers. But he did owe her. And then... he took out a book, as if she didn't exist anymore. I can't believe him. "Well? Why are you still here?" Farina flashed him a very angry glare. I'm waiting for you to stop being such an addle-brained lummox! "Thank you," she said icily and left his room.

An hour later, she was on her way to Cairhien.