Crossing the Almoth Plain as quickly as they could, they had soon reached the borders of Arad Doman and from there they had sought out Bandar Eban. Once in Bandar Eban, he had gone directly to the King while Eden and Lillen went to their home in the city to prepare it. His reputation had been strongly established for months, long enough that he was granted the audience he had been after without having to resort to more crude methods.
The meeting had gone well, all things considered. He hadn't even had to use compulsion to gain the King's trust, the fact that he had fought the Seanchan and made his way north to submit his services to the King was enough. The scare that Arad Doman had endured from the first invasion was enough to make them welcome anyone, and Duram had established his alter ego's ability by helping quell banditry in the east of Tarabon and improving the safety of the highway for merchants, including those of Arad Doman.
By the time the meeting was done, he had emerged as Darian Rayasayn, a newly appointed Marshall with commission of half a thousand of the King's troops at his disposal, along with any others that he could raise to complement them. Small beginnings, but Duram knew he could do a lot of damage with a force like that to any Seanchan advance that was sure to make their way up the Almoth Plain. Besides, he could recruit from the free cities of Almoth let alone Arad Doman itself. There would be plenty that would want their chance against the Seanchan, and he would give them their chance.
But, he would have to talk to Lillen about that. Sighing, Duram made his way up the stairs, he hoped he had a bit of time to talk to Eden before that, maybe lie down with her for awhile and simply be. They'd pushed a hard pace the entire time they had made their way north, no cheating because that would have possibly revealed them for who they were. Plus he didn't want any channeling to attract attention, they were able to hide their channeling within the greater battle of Tanchico, but once that was done they had shown a good measure of discipline. Everything done by hand, not even a whisper of the power.
Letting himself in, Duram closed the door behind him. There was no guard because everyone was too tired, but he was certain that the wards had been put in place to make sure no one came in freely. Something that was confirmed when Damion made an appearance. Waving the man off to let him know was alright, Duram made his way to the second floor and found the reserved quarters for himself and 'Lady Celeste'.
Opening the door to find her inside sorting things, Duram was glad to see it was Eden. She didn't have the same sharp edge that Lillen maintained, about his only way to tell the difference between them. Closing the door behind him, as she asked how it went, Duram walked over to the bed and collapsed back on it, spreading his arms as he simply relaxed for a moment before responding.
"I have been given the position of Marshall under the direct authority of the King and granted five hundred of his lance. Its a test, he wants to see what I do with them and whoever else I manage to recruit. If I get good results, then I am certain he will allocate more resources to me. Given a few months, I may have his entire southern army. So, it looks like I know what I'll be up to for that period of time."
"Is everything alright here?"
Duram Laddel Cham
Be`lal, The Netweaver
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Oh, how she hated these games. Normally she liked hide and seek and any such game where she got to sit back and watch without anyone knowing where she was, but this was too much. Sometimes she just wanted her old body back and she thought she'd do just about anything to get it. Others, it seemed like it would just be easier to give in to the person in the back of her head and do what she wanted. And too many times lately what she and Eden had been thinking were to close to the same thing. As much as she hated sharing a body, she hated that even worse.
She smiled at Duram anyway, Eden's emotions floating far too close to the surface to keep it down. She had learned to use it, learned when to let Eden show through a little and when to push her back. Strangely enough, Eden seemed to have adjusted to it to a certain degree as well. Certainly the journey from Tarabon had done that as they were forced to deal with less privacy than they were used to. She wasn't sure she'd ever forgive Duram for that if nothing else. On their own, they could have made the way to Bandar Eban quickly. Taking all their followers had caused a delay in which Eden had to be used more and more to the point of familiarity and cooperation. Unsettling and disturbing to say the least.
"Everything is good." She said, leaving the shifting of items until later. She sat down on the bed at his side, looking down at him. Whether he was one of the Chosen or not, he had been graced with an attractive face. Even Lillen could appreciate that now that she had been working with him for so long. They said familiarity breeds contempt, but when you had started out with contempt, the two of them had proven you can only go up from there. "Everyone is getting settled in well. We'll have access to some of our agents in the next day or so though we'll be rebuilding a bit of our network here. It shouldn't take long to get a respectable net built here though, times being what they are."
She let one hand trace his jawline, Eden coming close to the surface again. She leaned over, kissing him lightly. "A Marshall? You do know how to work fast my love."
Eden or Lillen?
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Responding to the kiss with the casual ease of a close lover, Duram smiled up at Eden as he reached up with a hand, cupping her face gently. She had been so timid and innocent once, but she had grown more into herself as time had passed. Perhaps Lillen had even had a hand in that, but regardless of the cause, she was more sure of herself now and she could talk about such things with confidence where before she might have stumbled or been unsure. He was glad of it, not because he had disliked Eden as she was before, but because she seemed happier with herself.
There were times where he contemplated doing something further, but there was that single looming problem. Lillen was in there with her, and while he was certain that Eden would agree to him, she was another matter. Not that there was the same space between them as there had been before, that gulf had been bridged with time and tentative trust. It didn't mean that he wasn't careful, but he didn't simply mistrust her or cast spite at her. Such a thing would have been pointless, and as time had passed she had begun to warm to him a little too. Enough that they exchanged relatively few barbs if at all, he'd even be tempted to think they might one day become friends.
But, he could not ask while she was there, that was not something she would want. She did not even like him touching the body she inhabited, but she had made the sacrifice of not standing between him and Eden. Something for which he was grateful. Unlike Rahvin, he took no pleasure in taking a woman against her will, and thankfully that was not the case. As far as he could tell, Lillen simply hid herself deeply within so she was unaware of what happened while he and Eden were together.
"The King needs leaders, better yet, leaders that will be loyal to him as opposed to possible rivals. I'm an outsider, and while he cannot give me a greater command, a small one allows me to prove myself and legitimise his decisions to increase my command as time passes. I did not even have to tamper with him to gain the outcome, which is good. The less we have to actively change things, the more seamless our presence here is. Better to let our surrounds obscure us then stand forth and allow ourselves to be targetted."
Pulling her down for another kiss, Duram smiled again as their lips parted. "And what of you? Do you feel ready to handle things in my stead here while I am gone? I shall come back whenever I can but there will be absences."
Duram Laddel Cham
Be`lal, The Netweaver
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She nodded at his words, but laid her head on his chest as she spoke. "Yes, i'll be able to handle things while you're gone. I won't like you being gone, but as long as you come home eventually, i'll manage."
Her eyes widened as soon as the words were out of her mouth and she was glad he wasn't able to see her face at that moment. It was nothing Eden hadn't said before and she was certain the woman would say it again, but she knew that it wasn't Eden who'd spoken this time. She had, and she'd meant it. As long as she'd been with Duram, hiding behind Lillen and the way the two doted on one another, she'd never really questioned her own thoughts and feelings about the man.
Not man. Chosen. Something she had to keep in mind no matter what else was running through her head. But what was so bad about wanting him around, really? He was a good ally. He had proven loyal and honest, even friendly at times. He'd been kind to her when this body had not known what it held and he'd still been kind when Eden had control and he could have killed her and made the way a little less complicated for himself. But he hadn't.
In the end, she respected him and would even venture enough to say he was ... well ... a friend might be too strong a word just yet, and her trust was not so easily won over, but Eden's was and no matter how she wanted to deny that affected her, the words too easily spoken had proven that they did.
She took a deep breath and did something then that she rarely did without reason. She pulled away from consciousness and let Eden have free reign. She didn't want to think, didn't want to lay there with Duram and wonder if he might name her as a friend as well.
Eden looked up for a second, momentarily distracted by the turn of events. That Lillen had pushed her to the front had been almost unheard of really. There was always a fair amount of push and pull when Lillen let go of control and always she felt her in hiding, watching her. She was gone now though. Looking up at Duram she could only guess why.
Lillen/Eden
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