Chapter Text
A few weeks after their test for Accepted, Moiraine came into Siuan's room, letter in hand.
Siuan looked up from her fishing net that she was tying together, smiling at the sight of Moiraine.
"Hello, love," she said, shifting to make room for her on the bed.
"Hello, Siuan," she said. "I got a letter from my sister. She said that during our free week next week, my father said I can bring you home with me if you want to."
"We have a free week?" Siuan asked. "I didn't know that. Is that for everyone?"
Moiraine shook her head. "Just us. Normally they don't have one, but since we were the fastest to reach Accepted since Elaida, they decided to give us one as a reward."
Siuan wrapped an arm around Moiraine. "Really? I'd love to come home with you if you'll have me. And it'll be interesting to see how the whole Daes Dae'mar thing works too."
Moiraine laughed. "Don't need to worry about that," she said. "I know it sounds ironic coming from one of the prominent houses in Cairhien, but my family doesn't care about any of that. So there's no need to worry about any of it."
"Wow," Siuan breathed. "That's even cooler, now that I think about it."
Moiraine nodded. "And if you come home with me, you'll get to live in a palace for a week, with the fancy cakes and golden chandeliers and all. If you want to, you can even have your own room, with a king-sized bed."
Siuan squeezed her arms around Moiraine. "And if I want to share with you?"
Moiraine snuggled closer to Siuan. "I wouldn't be opposed to that- there's more room for cuddling in a king-sized bed. So are you coming with me?"
"Sure!" Siuan said. "I'll go anywhere with you."
Moiraine squeezed Siuan in excitement. "Perfect! I'll reply right now and then my father will tell me when they'll pick us up."
The time until Moiraine's father sent a coach to pick them up seemed to drag forever, but soon enough, a coach pulled up outside the White Tower, with one of the Damodreds' many drivers at the wheel.
"Bye now, behave yourselves," Merean said, waving them off at the entrance of the Tower. "Don't forget to practise your weaves and don't be a menace to Moiraine's father."
Verin handed them each a bundle of sandwiches wrapped in wax paper. "Here's some food for the trip. Don't eat them all at once," she winked. "I also left some cakes in the coach for later."
The two Aes Sedai waved them off, before disappearing back into the Tower.
"Well," Moiraine said, lifting up the case with her belongings, "I guess this is it."
"Looks like it," Siuan said. "Light, I haven't seen anything like this before. You're telling me this is how you get around every day in Cairhien?"
"Something like that," Moiraine laughed, taking Siuan's arm in hers. "Come on, get in. You'll love the view by the lake near my family's house- in fact, I'll have to bring you down there one night. Then we can watch the sunset and make out under the stars."
They stepped down from the coach a few hours later, once it pulled up to the front of the Sun Palace.
"Light," Siuan breathed. "I knew you were minor royalty, but this is an actual palace! And you called it a house!"
Moiraine laughed. "Sorry to mislead," she said. "But yes, this is, in fact, the Sun Palace."
"I- wow."
Moiraine took Siuan's hand as the driver unloaded their travelling cases from the back of the coach. "Come on," she said. "My father's dying to meet you. And so are my sisters."
Moiraine led her up the front stairs, knocking on the door. Instantly, it sprang open to reveal a dark-haired man, who Siuan' figured must have been Moiraine's father.
"Moiraine!" Dalresin Damodred said, picking up his daughter and twirling her around. "I missed you! And this must be the famous Siuan."
Siuan smiled shyly, offering Dalresin her hand. "Good afternoon, sir. Thank you so much for having me."
To her surprise, Dalresin squeezed her to his chest in a crushing embrace. "I've heard so much about you," he said. "It's so good to finally meet you. Welcome to the family, Siuan. Any friend of my daughter's is a friend of mine."
Moiraine swatted her father on his arm. "Papa!" she laughed. "She's more than a friend, I told you!" And she pulled Siuan close and kissed her on her cheek.
Dalresin smiled. "That's even better," he said. "And are you happy? Both of you?"
"We definitely are," Siuan said. "Moiraine's the best thing that's happened to me."
Dalresin's grin nearly split his face in two. "As long as you're both happy, that's the most important thing," he said. "And don't call me sir, Siuan. You're to call me Papa, just like Moiraine and her sisters do. Now come along, you two must be starving. Moiraine, I have your room already made up for you- I figured you'd want to share with Siuan."
"Thank you, Papa," Moiraine said. "Thank you so much for looking after me and Siuan."
The next member of the Damodred family that they encountered was Anvaere, Moiraine's younger sister. She was tall for a Cairhienin, with the same delicate features and blue eyes as Moiraine, but with some noticeable differences- her hair was almost honey blonde, rare in Cairhien, her skin less pale than Moiraine's, with a sprinkling of freckles across her nose.
"Mo!" she said, almost tripping over her skirts in her haste, "You're finally home!" She squeezed her arms around Moiraine, then Siuan. "Is this Siuan? The one you were telling us about?"
"This is she," Moiraine said, wrapping an arm around Siuan. "Siuan, this is my little sister, Anvaere. She practically worships you, even though she didn't know what you looked like until just now."
"I don't worship her," Anvaere protested. "And I'm not little. I'm sixteen, remember?"
Moiraine laughed. "We're nineteen," she said. "So you're still little to me."
"It's lovely to meet you," Siuan said to Anvaere. "Moiraine loves telling me about you. And your other sister? Innloine?"
"Oh, Innloine," Anvaere said. "Wherever is she? Ugh, she must be studying again. Mo, it's been so boring without you, all Innloine does is study! Innloine is our older sister," she added, for Siuan's benefit, before going on. "But who's going to play pranks on Papa with me otherwise? Speaking of, Siuan, do you like pranks?"
"I do," Siuan said. "Your sister taught me all the best ones."
Anvaere raised an eyebrow. "Did she?"
"She did," Siuan said. "And I taught her some of the good ones too. Have you ever put fish in the baths?"
Anvaere gasped. "Did you do that in the White Tower?"
Moiraine smirked. "We might have," she said. "If Siuan doesn't mind, we can teach you to fish."
"I'll teach you to ride if you do," Anvaere begged. "Please?"
Siuan laughed. "I'm awful at riding," she said. "But I trust you're a better instructor than Moiraine, given how much she tells me about you and your horses."
Moiraine smacked Siuan lightly on her arm. "I thought you liked me teaching you how to ride?"
Siuan smirked. "Maybe I just like seeing you on a horse," she said to Moiraine. "And spending time with you."
Anvaere laughed. "I'll teach you," she said. "You can use one of my horses- I have three. Nutmeg is the best for beginners, though if you prefer, you can try Moonlight instead."
"You two don't look much alike," Siuan commented, as the three of them brought the horses back into the stables. "Your features are similar, but other than that, that's about it. Your hair's a lot different, and compared to you, Moiraine is as pale as a sheet of paper."
"That's because she has the ability to tan, unlike me," Moiraine pouted. "What wouldn't I give not to burn to a crisp every time I spend five minutes in the sun. And also, her hair's the rare sort and she's really, really tall for some reason. Tall for a Cairhienin, anyway."
"But you got all the pretty genes," Anvaere countered. "And the ability to channel. So it's only fair."
"Do you ever wish you could channel?" Siuan asked, curiously. "Because some women can be taught to do it, even if they weren't born with the spark. And if someone in your family can channel, then you're more likely to be able to as well."
Anvaere looked a little surprised. "Me? No," she laughed. "I just like to use that whenever she complains about something. I mean, it'd be cool to be able to channel, but then I'd have to go to the White Tower and spend who knows how long there. It wouldn't be worth it to spend so much time away from home- I don't know how Moiraine handles it, poor thing. And don't listen to her when she protests that she didn't, in fact, get all the pretty genes. Which I bet you she's going to do right now."
"But I didn't," Moiraine protested. "That's all you and Innloine."
Anvaere inclined her head to one side as though to say there you go. "She's lying," she said. "Mo is easily the prettiest out of all of us. She must be, if she managed to get someone like you." She winked at Siuan, then laughed. "I'm joking. But she really did get all the good genes. Must be from our mother, or some distant female relative from three hundred million generations ago. Not that I mind- I'm the best at riding. Even Mo has to admit it."
"Where is your mother?" Siuan asked. "I thought I saw Innloine earlier- she looked a tiny bit like Moiraine from behind. And of course, we met your papa, and some of the servants, but I haven't seen your mother anywhere."
"She's dead," Anvaere said, as though she was telling Siuan it was going to be cloudy later that day. "Died about a year after I was born."
"Oh," Siuan said. "I'm so sorry."
Anvaere shrugged, with an easy smile. "Don't be," she said. "It's not your fault. And I hardly remember her anyway, so it's alright."
"Still though."
Anvaere placed a hand on Siuan's arm. "You're just like Moiraine," she laughed. "Always feeling what others feel. Don't worry, that's one of the best traits anyone can have."
"She's just like you," Siuan said to Moiraine, as they sat on their bed together, Siuan brushing out Moiraine's hair after their bath. "A more talkative, taller version of you."
"Is she really?" Moiraine asked. "Everyone thinks we're nothing alike."
"Well, at first sight, maybe," Siuan mused. "But after you talk a bit, you're really not so different. Though, to me, you're much cuter."
Moiraine blushed. "Cute?"
"Very cute," Siuan agreed. "Look at you, you're so adorable when you blush! Like a little porcelain doll with rosy cheeks. If I ever played with dolls as a child, I would've wanted one that looked like you."
"Really?" Moiraine asked. "Even when you didn't know I existed?"
"Yes," Siuan said. "You're the most beautiful thing to me, Moiraine, and I hope you know that."
Moiraine shuffled close so that their bodies were flush against each other. "I love you, Siuan," she said. "Thank you for coming home with me. It wouldn't have been the same without you."
"Of course," Siuan said, stroking Moiraine's hair. "I'd go anywhere with you, my love."
She felt Moiraine melt against her, and she smiled. They sat together for the longest time, breathing in and out in time with each other, both taking comfort in the sound of the other's heartbeat against her ear.
A knock on the door interrupted their moment of peace. They slowly shifted apart, not wanting to separate from each other.
"Come in," Moiraine said, reluctantly.
"It's just me," Anvaere said. "Are you fully dressed?"
"Pretty much," Moiraine said, pulling her robe around herself. She wrapped one around Siuan, tying it for her.
"Thank you, love," Siuan said.
Moiraine smiled at her, then went to the door.
"We should pull a prank at dinner," Anvaere said, going over to Moiraine's closet. "I hid some sweets here, by the way. For you and Siuan- the head cook gave them to me for you. Siuan, the head cook is the one that looks like this Verin Aes Sedai Moiraine told me about, without the ageless face. Go to her whenever you want anything, and you'll leave with your belly and arms full of sweets."
"Thanks for the valuable information," Siuan said. "I'll keep that in mind. Does she make honey cakes?"
"You bet she does," Anvaere said. "I don't think they're as good as the ones Verin makes, based on what Moiraine's told me, but I hope they'll do."
"They will," Siuan promised. "Thank you so much. Are we meeting any more of your family?"
"Uncle Laman will be back from his trip to Altara tomorrow," Anvaere said. "Some of Innloine's friends are staying too, and a lot more of the actual royal family, that is, Uncle Laman's relatives. They're all super lovely, and he's been dying to meet you too, Siuan."
Moiraine looped an arm through Siuan's. "He loves pranks, just like us," she said. "And he's super clever, and knows everything there is to know about anything. He also loves fishing, so we can go sometime. He has a fancy fishing boat, and in his last letter, he told me to hurry up and bring you home so he could bring you out in it. And that he wants to learn to fish with his bare hands, the way you like to do it."
"Why does everyone know about fishing?" Anvaere asked. "You're really going to need to bring me sometime."
"You can come too," Moiraine promised.
"I'd love to teach you," Siuan added. "Especially after you taught me how to ride without bouncing up and down the whole time."
"Thanks for a perfect first day," Siuan said, leaning her head on Moiraine's shoulder as they sat on the swing bench outside, watching the stars.
Moiraine lazily reached a delicate finger towards the tattoos on Siuan's chest, tracing them gently. "Any day with you is perfect. Though we never did end up pulling a prank at dinner."
"Tomorrow?" Siuan asked.
"Sure," Moiraine said. "We could put fish in the baths, if we manage to catch any."
"Sounds perfect," Siuan said sleepily. "By the way, when you mentioned Uncle Laman, do you mean King Laman? Like, the King Laman?"
Moiraine smiled sheepishly. "Maybe?"
Siuan gasped. "Moiraine. Your uncle is the king? You're a literal princess!"
"Which means you're a princess too," Moiraine pointed out. "You heard Papa at dinner. He's delighted he has another daughter now."
Siuan wrapped her arms around Moiraine. "I love your family," she said. "They're so sweet."
"Not as sweet as you," Moiraine laughed. "Don't tell them I said that. Oh look, there's Papa coming over."
"Hello, girls," Dalresin smiled. "Don't stay out too late, will you? You need to get some rest- you must be exhausted. I've gotten one of the servants to leave you milk and cookies on your bedside tables. No rush to wake up tomorrow morning either, you can wake up any time and you'll have breakfast in bed. Freshly made, of course."
"Thank you, Papa," Moiraine and Siuan said at the same time. "We'll see you tomorrow?"
"I'm going to have an early night," Dalresin said. "I was a bit busy today. But head in whenever you're ready. Sweet dreams, both of you." He went over and kissed the top of Moiraine's head, then Siuan's. "Goodnight."
One final smile, and he went back in through the little door near their bench, shutting it quietly.
"I guess we better head in," Siuan said.
"Not moving," Moiraine said, snuggling closer to Siuan.
"Okay, love," Siuan said. "I'll carry you to our bed, if you want me to."
"Mmm," was all Moiraine said. Siuan carefully lifted her off the swing bench and cradled the smaller girl in her arms, positioning her head on her shoulder.
"Good?" she asked.
"Perfect," Moiraine said, a little sleepily. "I'm perfect, you're perfect, everything's perfect. But especially you."
Siuan carefully pushed open the door with one foot, stepping through, still holding Moiraine. "Still comfy, love?"
Moiraine wrapped her arms around Siuan's neck. "Very comfy," she said. "Your arms are so comfortable."
Siuan laughed. "Nearly there," she said. "Third room on the left?"
"Exactly right," Moiraine said into Siuan's chest.
Siuan entered the room, setting Moiraine onto the bed. "There we go," she said.
Almost immediately, Moiraine reached out for Siuan.
"Come here," she almost whined. "I want to fall asleep holding you.
And of course, Siuan went over to her- because how could she ever deny Moiraine anything? Within minutes, both of them were sound asleep, tangled in the sheets and each other.