White Tower Saga

Chapter 2 –

The last hour of the last day of our journey, we walked. The sight of the Tower, a gleaming white spire a thousand feet high, was visible from the gates of the city, miles and miles away. “That… that’s our destination?” Rena only smiled. I saw Lisandre again, but she was strangely withdrawn. Amanda avoided me, and I wondered if it had something to do with the night of which I was still trying to recall the details of. Worry chewed at my insides. The three of us from the village stayed apart, barely even talking to each other. As we went through the city of Tar Valon, Grenthal bid a quick good-bye to the group without warning. Lisandre gave us each a quick nod, then turned to leave. With a questioning look to the Aes Sedai, I asked what was happening. Rena explained that it was a personal request that Grenthal had made to the other Aes Sedai, that she be allowed to take Lisandre in separately. Trista bit her lip, seeming a bit displeased, and Rena only shrugged at her.

Tar Valon approached over the tops of the trees. The White Tower stood above everything else, its glorious spires bridging out to the walls. Amanda and I marveled as we walked through Tar Valon. I had never seen such a city. The bustle of the city streets outstripped my hometown on the highest festival day. Vendors hawked their wares, children played with sticks, and people shoved and pushed. Yet in this sea of humanity, there was always a calm pocket around the two Aes Sedai. We approached the gatehouse, and the guards clad in plate mail came out and bent knee, reciting each of our names.

“Rena Sedai, Trista Sedai, Warders and honored guests. Welcome to the White Tower. May the Light shine on you and your kin.” I found his blessings for my kin strangely appropriate, but I knew that it was only a formality, that he couldn’t know my family and what had happened. The gates were lifted, and I was taken into the central court of the White Tower. My breath nearly left my body as I looked around a place of such unearthly beauty. Yellow flowers ran in circling patterns around lush grasses, and trees with yellow buds dotted the court. Despite the fact that it was biting winter at home, and was still quite cold down south in Tar Valon, once I stepped through the gates it turned to balmy summer weather. We walked down a long path white marble path towards the entrance to the actual Tower itself. The massive walls of the Tower had no groves where the bricks were joined with mortar, instead it was as if the Gods themselves had carved this Tower of inconceivable size out of a single gargantuan slab of marble and set it down in this spot… and all of Nature rejoiced around it.

“Yes, Novices. It is a beautiful place, isn’t it?” The voice was Trista’s. “None of the other Ajah’s entrance gardens are quite so beautiful. The Grey’s is a pitiful thing. Even the Red’s is better than the Grey’s.”

Rena laughed. “’Tis beautiful, I must admit. The Green’s is almost as good as the one you Yellows tend to day in and day out. ‘Twould would be better, if we had as much time to dedicate, but we actually go out and hunt the Shadow, instead of staying inside and gardening.”

Trista gave her a mock glare, which seemed a fitting response to Rena\'s lighthearted taunt. I heard a call from down the path, to a spot where I saw another woman in a nearly identical dress as Trista’s, all puffy and yellow. I could see a huge grin on Trista’s face blossom. She yelled out “Sana! It’s been too long!”

“Indeed it has, my pillow friend. I thought you would never return.” Sana’s voice began to lower as we approached, and it became easier to hear her.

“I thought we would be out there forever as well, but look what we found.” Trista smiled broadly as she spoke, and I knew she was gesturing to us. \"There was a third as well, but she goes in through the Red\'s Gate.\"

“Grenthal claimed that one as her own? Ah well. Just as good that you are back, our friends are having a meeting.” She looked to her left, to where towering, thick bushes covered in yellow blossoms obstructed my view. “In fact, it looks like I’m missing it. Care to join us?”

Trista pursed her rosebud lips in a girlish pout. “No, I have to report to the Amyrlin after I get these ones into their orientation.” The Aes Sedai guided the two of us along the path further.

Sana shrugged. “Your loss, my pillow friend.” She then reached her arms up behind her back. It looked as though… it looked like she was unlacing her dress! I looked over at Amanda but she was just as puzzled as I. Rena had a look amusement as we continued down the path, and seemed to be watching for my reaction. We rounded the bushes, which had previously blocked my view. Behind Sana was the most indecent sight I had ever seen. Under the balmy leaves of a flowering blossom tree lay five women; their discarded yellow gala dresses and fallen yellow petals forming a disheveled kind of blanket. Their bodies writhed in lovemaking, and I felt a burning rush swell up in me. I tried to stop it... I wanted to feel repulsed. I heard Amanda’s sharp intake of breath. With a quick twist, Sana had shucked the dress down to her waist, and bent up from her attempts to remove it the rest of the way to receive a kiss from Trista on her lips.

“I will be back, my dear.” Trista said in a business-like tone. I was in shock. I couldn’t do anything but stare at the undulating bodies of the orgy not thirty feet from me. One of the women stood up, and arched her back against the trunk of the tree as her fiery-haired companion nuzzled her most intimate place with eager lips. I allowed myself to be guided by Rena once more down the path, and the green brush which formed the walls of the path quickly blocked my view. What in the Light was going on? What was this depraved place I was entering? I had no trouble admitting that I was scared now. Rena had seemed so… sweet, if having no idea what was proper for a lady. Now I didn’t know what I was going to do. I was terrified into complacency.

At the doors to the Tower itself, we endured the same naming process that we received at the gate, and again they seemed not to care for my name, or the name of the Warders. Only the Aes Sedai seemed to matter here, though I supposed that made sense. We went up what seemed like endless sets of stairs, which left my breath slightly ragged. I supposed that I was at least seventy or so levels up, which was a meager portion of the height of the Tower, to my best estimation. But seeing as how Master Ferrin’s four level inn was the pride of our town, and how I nearly got sick looking out the top windows, I was frightened enough to die. Not that I wasn’t already quite frightened. I was still cognizant enough, however, to notice the exquisite beauty of the tapestries on the wall, as well as the moulding on the edges of the ceiling.

We entered into a cavernous room, where men of all ages were practicing with bundles of stout reeds which I assumed functioned as practice swords. Their real swords lay close by. Many of them spotted bruises or cuts, and Trista stopped to brush a few nearby with her hands, and they shivered when she touched them. The small wounds all but disappeared. I watched a few of the men with an appraising eye, feeling guilty as I did. Most of the men in the room were too bulky in muscle mass to be the kind I liked, but some were the perfect sort of lean that I thought looked best. Back home I had scoped out a few prospects for the future, boys who I talked about when my friends and I talked about who we would like to marry when the Women’s Council decided we were old enough to braid our hair. It was against what I had been taught, but that didn’t stop me from imagining. I continued down the room, feeling eyes follow me. I felt my facing begin to blush. Soon, we reached the doorway and I tried to turn back and look, but Rena pushed me none too gently through the door with a wry grin.

After the training hall came another long hallway. Finally, we arrived at our room. Rena gently shook off my hand, and I realized that I must have been squeezing the hand that was guiding me quite hard. The fear of being up so high had returned without me even realizing it. Rena pushed open the door and motioned for us to shuck our shoes, and we complied. The room was breathtaking; dark red fabric wallpaper with gold gelding over organic patterns, and a matching warm carpet that formed around your feet and went between your toes, creating the most wonderful tickling feeling. There was a desk with a platter of light foods on it, and single bed. The bed was a quite large, big enough for three normal sized adults. It was beyond extravagant, with transparent silk hanging from the canopy top, and gilded gold lines streaming across the ivory white poles that held the canopy aloft. I watched in mute awe as Amanda sat down on the bed, and the surface of it seemed to flow with her. There was a quiet sloshing noise as she sat, and I realized the mattresses must have been hollow and filled with water. I had heard of such things for nobles, but certainly no one else. The Warders shut the door resolutely, leaving us alone.

Perplexed, I tried to figure out what we were meant to do. Aes Sedai had a way of evading questions that I did not particularly like. I moved the tray of fruit, breads and cheeses to the top of the bed, on top of the down comforter, and we nibbled at it a bit, but we mainly relaxed. My mind traced over the hazy memories from the previous night… a situation similar to this one. I watched Amanda’s face for a while as her mind went over a similar sea of memories. She eventually realized I was staring, so I averted my eyes and looked at the platter. I thought over what I had seen not long ago outside. My mind kept traveling back to it. The women… seemed to be enjoying themselves, if nothing else. But, enjoying yourself doesn’t make something right. I felt torn. My father always said I had been much too curious for my own good, and at the moment I was feeling very curious.

I realized that during my thoughts a long, uncomfortable silence had reigned. We both seemed to want to talk about what we had seen in the garden outside, but neither of us could bring it up. I saw Amanda sniffing the air, and for the first time realized that this room smelled better than anything I had ever smelled before. I guess I had been so caught up in the visual aesthetics of the room that I hadn’t noticed the subtler things, like the olfactory elements. It smelled of sweet nutmeg. I felt warm all over, more than just feeling like the air around me was warm, more like a tingling feeling over my skin. I glanced over at Amanda. She was lying next to me still, but she seemed a little closer. Her crystal blue eyes were staring at something, and I followed her gaze down to my legs. The way I was positioned, my silken robe only covered to slightly above my knee and was bunched a bit at my waist. Amanda’s hand reached out tentatively, reaching for the place where my robe’s bottom trim met the skin of my thigh. Her fingers lightly touched me, and the touch was electric. Her fingers, two on the silk of my robe and two on my leg, slowly slid upwards. Her eyes trembled, like she didn’t know if she should stop or not, and though I ached for her caress, I was transfixed into inaction. The silk gently gliding across my leg sent sparks of pleasure up my spine. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Slowly, Amanda slipped her hand under the robe completely, rubbing up and down my leg. A soft moan escaped my lips. Her eyes snapped up to my face, as if she was just now realizing what she was doing. Her fist clenched up in the way I knew it did when she was angry, only this time I knew it was with herself.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so… so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, this place, it’s just… I’m so sorry.” She was blushing so furiously I thought she might die of embarrassment.

“No no, it’s fine, really.” I said quickly. “I… it felt good, I kind of liked it.” She looked at me doubtfully. I went on quickly with a nervous laugh. “I mean…” A long pause. “Yeah, I kind of liked it.”

Her face was almost back to normal, the blush quickly fading on her snow-white skin. She had always been good at controlling her emotions, I remembered, and now her face was unreadable. She pursed her lips slightly, as if in deep thought. I would have given a thousand golden crowns and everything I owned besides to know what was going through her mind at that moment.

She started hesitantly speaking. “Well… I…” she stopped.

I reached over and pushed a stray lock of her golden hair behind her ear, letting my fingers trace down her neck. She stopped in mid-word, shivering in delight. As she met my gaze, our eyes locked. We both slowly leaned forward, our lips brushing gently together. The light contact of our lips quickly turned into a kiss of passion, and I slid my hand up behind Amanda’s head, gently rubbing the nape of her neck, pushing aside her curls. The taste of her mouth was sweet, like strawberries. After what seemed like an eternity, she broke off the kiss and pulled back suddenly. Her eyes shifted rapidly back and fourth, not even looking at me.

“This cannot be happening! I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it, Amanda,” I giggled. I felt free, more free than I ever had in my life. I reached over and started tugging on her blouse, untucking it from inside the skirt. Her look of horror quickly faded, replaced by one of desire. I rolled up so that I was over her, and she stared up at me with a look of mixed pain and desire. I could tell she wasn’t entirely comfortable with this, but then neither was I.

“My father always told me to experiment and try new things.” I murmured with a sly grin. I let myself down on her, our breast crushing together through the material in a wonderful way that made my heart race. The arms that had been holding me above her came around her head and I ran my fingers through her hair gently. It smelled of bathing herbs even after many days going unwashed. I realized I must look a mess, but it was a distant realization as more primal instincts took over. I felt her hands roaming over my back, the silk feeling delicious as it slid across my skin. I pulled back a bit from the kiss, sliding my hands up Amanda’s shirt. Her skin felt so smooth. The shirt rode up my arms, peeling back to reveal her breasts. I left the shirt very nearly over Amanda’s face, and I heard her mumble something, distorted by the cloth. Her breasts were a bit smaller than mine, around the size of an orange. Her pink nipples stood out, and I descended upon them with my eager mouth. She let out a moan as I quickly began to flick the tip of my tongue across her nipple. With a quick look up, I realized that she had stopped her efforts to free herself of her shirt, and was simply lying back and enjoying the feeling. I redoubled my efforts, gently pinching her now wet nipple while giving the other attention. I set a rhythm, alternating between the two. After a long moment or two, she finally began to pull herself free of the blouse. She enjoyed her new unobstructed view of my attentions to her with a wicked gleam in her eyes. She ran her hands down my back, and began to pull at the fabric. I could feel it sliding up, leaving the upper parts of my legs bare, the tie around my waist coming loser with her manipulations. She finally shucked me off of her, and rolled over in the sloshing bed so that she was more on top of me. I smiled up into her eyes, slowly licking a single finger. She returned my smile with a look of predatory desire that made my heart race. Her expression morphed into one of careful concentration, the face of someone working to figure out something they do not know how to do. She parted the two halves of my robe, letting the shoulders pool on the bed and the front split open to my waist where it was still held by the tie. Drawing the trimmed edges apart, she exposed my chest fully. I was in a blind terror, yet the passion overwhelmed any rational thought. Closing her eyes, she began to lick small circles around my nipples. I arched backwards, delighting in the new sensations, pressing my breast into Amanda’s face. After a moment, she rose to her knees again, that look of determined concentration on her face again. I smiled up at her lazily. She turned away from me, reaching for my legs. She grabbed one, pulling it up into the air. I bent my knee, submitting to gravity. She planted kisses down one side of it. My smile began to fade as I worried about what I would do next. I could feel the fabric of my robe parting further, this time below the tie. She continued to bend my errant limb towards my chest as she stroked it. The silk was very nearly completely apart now. Amanda started back down my leg with her lips, and I realized her intent. I could feel myself getting lightheaded again as that feeling of red heat descended upon my brain again. I could barely think. This WAS really happening. Her hands pulled out the knot on the tie, and my silken robe slipped open entirely, the silken halves gliding over my skin and settling in a pile on either side of me, exposing the full of my being to her. She rearranged herself on the bed below me, settling her head between my legs.

I could feel her slowly placing kisses on the insides of both my legs. Her mouth worked its way down my thigh, and I could feel her breath on my needy lips each time she turned from leg to leg. She was deliberately inflaming me. Her tongue snaked out of her mouth, licking the insides of my legs, then the crease where my leg met the waist. I was quivering with anticipation, I could tell. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked down at her. Her crystal blue eyes looked up at me with a lavish grin. Pursing her lips carefully, she blew a small stream of hot breath up my aching loins, never breaking eye contact with me. I was too far gone for rational though or conversation, so I just looked at her and said “Please…”, my voice thick with lust. I don’t know if she was waiting for encouragement or permission, but my words stirred her to action. Still watching me, she stuck her tongue out long and pointed, and drew it up between my most intimate lips. The sensation washed over me, and without thinking, I brought my hands to my head, closing my eyes and collapsing back onto the pillow with a moan. I felt her fingers pull my lips apart gently, drawing her pointed tongue up again, sending electric jolts through me. She was lapping her tongue up and down, licking farther inside me each time. Her tongue caressed my swollen clitoris, and the electric jolts turned to a white hot fire. I arched my back, trying to force her face against me harder, beginning to buck against her. I cried out, grasping her tumbling curls and pushing her head down. Her tongue burrowed into my inner folds as I moaned harder, making unhurried circuits. I squirmed, but her arms held me firmly in place. I was not sure if I was in the arms of the Creator or the Dark One. The intense feelings of pleasure shook my being to its very core. A lifetime of internal defenses and barriers crumbled under her gentle assault like chaff before the winds. Deep inside, the spark that had been smoldering inside me for my whole life ignited into a raging fire that was all consuming. I could feel my juices flowing out of me, running and being lapped up as fast as Amanda could. Her tongue was everywhere at once, inside of me, along the lips, tracing delicate patterns, flicking against my nub. Pleasure assailed my sanity in red waves that rose ever higher. Muscles that I was barely aware I had spasmed deep inside my body. I could not control the rhythmic clenching and relaxing, nor could I hope to contain the tension that was building. Amanda\'s tongue was working on a spot I hardly knew existed before this hour, a spot that seemed to be connected directly to my spine. Each flick of her tongue caused a spasm now, each caress sent a new wave crashing into my overloaded brain. My body was rigid and I felt certain I would die if I did not put a stop to it, but I was powerless to resist the onslaught. When I had reached the end of my rope, when it felt so good I felt certain I would die with another caress, something happened that I was altogether unprepared for. A shock ran through me, starting in my inflamed lips and spreading through my body. It brought with it euphoric pleasure and a delicious rippling sensation. In its wake I felt my body relax, but only for a split second before another wave tore through me. I gasped for air like a fish out of water as the waves, some weaker, some stronger ripped though my slight frame. The pleasure was unbearable and with the next powerful contraction I fell into a black abyss. My hands flying against my face, I arched my back so hard I thought it might break, crying out so loud that everyone in the whole Tower must have heard.

I collapsed back down to the sloshing bed, gasping for air in pleasure as Amanda tenderly brought me back down with her tender ministrations. She crawled up next to me, and we lay shivering on the down comforter in each other’s arms, wordless. My mind swam in a sea of mindless pleasure, and I rotated myself towards her, kissing her roughly, as she pulled me close to her. She tasted different, a kind of sweet, in a way much different than sugar or melon. A sort of tangy thrill. My breath caught in my throat. I was tasting myself I realized. As much as that should have horrified me, I found it quite arousing. Our naked breasts crushed together again. My senses were returning to me, I thought over what we had done. I had no regrets at all. More kisses, and our saliva and fluids mixing. We both crawled under the lush blankets in a spoon position.

My fingers moved down Amanda\'s body, but she shook her head. \"In the morning...\" She made a great yawn, then closed her eyes. \"Stay here with me, please?\" she whispered. Her chest fell slowly. I felt sleep again trying to overtake me, yet I had so much to say to Amanda. Did I love her? Was that even possible? I absently fondled her breast, but I could tell she was already asleep. I sighed as sleep took me.