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"We need to figure out," Siuan said, wiping her mouth with a napkin, "How we're going to go through the Aes Sedai ceremony exactly together."
Moiraine laughed, stealing some dried apricots off Siuan's plate in exchange for a few pieces of fish. "I don't think it's possible to do that," she said, "But we can try our best. Do you know how the ceremony works? I only heard little details about it from Verin and Anaiya."
Siuan smiled as Moiraine gave her a spoonful of buttered peas, before reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind Moiraine's ear.
"I don't know much either myself," she admitted with a laugh, "But I think we go through some non Ter'angreal arch, then we go and swear the Oaths on the rod before we go choose our Ajahs and things. At least, that's what I've heard anyway."
That was a lie. Siuan knew exactly how the ceremony went, had secretly gone and asked some Aes Sedai friends about it, in fact. But she wanted to surprise Moiraine with something.
"Okay," Siuan said, after a thought. "If the arch is big enough to accommodate, we can go both go in at the same time. If not, one of us will go first, and the other will follow. But we have to be holding hands the entire time. It wouldn't be fair otherwise."
"You can go first if that's the case," Moiraine said. "I don't mind. Then I'll go next for whatever's after? Or maybe we can somehow convince Tamra to let us do whatever it is at the same time."
Siuan hid a smirk under the guise of wiping her mouth with her napkin again. This was going exactly how she wanted it to- she knew they'd have to take turns swearing on the Oath Rod, which came after the arch, and she knew in her bones that she wanted Moiraine to be the first one out of the two of them to become Aes Sedai.
"Sounds good," Siuan said. "Okay. I'll go first through the arch, and then you go first for whatever's next. Deal?"
Moiraine smiled back. "Okay, love," she said. "Deal."
Immediately after the sisters of the Blue finally left them alone, Moiraine turned to Siuan.
"Oh, Siuan, that was your deal? That you'd go first through the arch so I'd be the first to be Aes Sedai?"
Siuan giggled. "I can't believe you fell for it as easily as a fish falls for bait."
"I was going to get you to swear the Oaths first," Moiraine laughed. "But I didn't know how the ceremony worked, so I wasn't sure what to do. Siuan, you clever thing. But I wish you could've been first."
Siuan shook her head. "No, love," she said. "If anyone deserves to be first to become Aes Sedai, it should be you."
"Oh, Siuan." Moiraine threw her arms around Siuan, squeezing her. "I can't possibly describe how much I love you. I still think you should've gone first. But each and every day, I fall harder and harder for you."
Siuan squeezed her back, as though she couldn't get enough of Moiraine.
"You're always stealing the words out of my mouth," she said fondly, before leaning in to kiss Moiraine again.
"Because I'm just too good."
Siuan laughed, before readjusting Moiraine's shawl and kissing the tip of her nose.
"That, I can agree," she said, taking both of Moiraine's hands in hers. "The very best of everyone."