Work Text:
The day was bright, the sun beaming down from the sky, only a few clouds drifting across the brilliant blue. Moiraine, Siuan, Sheriam and Alanna sat by the river, on one of their free days, picking flowers and twisting them into chains and crowns for each other.
"I say," Alanna said, picking another flower and adding it to her flower chain, "We should recreate that one scene from that story we were reading the other day. The one with the lily maid and the raft. There's a raft a little ways up, if you saw it when we came down here."
Siuan fastened the ends of the flower crown she was making together, before placing it on Moiraine's head. "That sounds like fun," she said. "One of us should float down with flowers and things. Then someone else can play the lord that this girl falls in love with, and the two others can be her friends."
Moiraine tucked a few flowers into Siuan's curls, smiling at the effect. "That sounds like fun," she said. "Sheriam, what do you reckon?"
Their flame haired friend was just as eager as they. "That'd be cool," she said. "But I don't want to be the lily maid. A redhead can't be a lily maid."
"Don't be silly," Alanna laughed. "You're just as pretty as anyone else. No one's going to force you to be a lily maid, but know that if you wanted to, I think you'd be absolutely lovely."
Sheriam laughed. "Thank you," she said. "But still, no thanks. Moiraine would make a good lily maid, though."
Siuan gasped. "She would," she said, grinning. "Moiraine, you wouldn't mind being the lily maid, would you? If you are, then I'll be the lord."
"If you want me to."
Alanna clapped her hands delightedly. "Perfect," she said. "Yes. Let's. Here, add in a couple more flowers to her crown- there we go. And here's some more flowers from when we picked them before. We can use my hair ribbon to tie them together to match with the novice dress." She held the bunch of flowers to Sheriam, who used the ribbon to tie the flowers together, finishing with a perfect bow.
"I'll grab the raft," Siuan said, as the other girls started rearranging Moiraine's hair to mimic the style of the lily maid.
Alanna looked up. "Need any help?"
"Nah," Siuan said, smiling. "I've got it. Years of fishing will do that to you. Keep doing whatever you're doing. I'll be back soon."
"How's this?" Sheriam turned Moiraine around so the back of her head was facing Siuan. Two sections from the sides of her head were braided and held together in the back with a white ribbon, the flower crown balanced on top of her dark brown waves.
"Perfect," Siuan said, setting the raft down and coming over. "Moiraine. You're so beautiful."
Moiraine grinned at Siuan. "Not as beautiful as you," she said. "Did you manage to get it? Ah, perfect."
Alanna laughed. "You're the smallest too," she pointed out. "I just realised that. Oooh, this is going to be fun. Should we go down to the river?"
"You bet," Sheriam said. "I'll grab the raft, if you want. You did all the work of bringing it down here."
"You sure?"
Sheriam laughed. "I'm from the Borderlands," she said, a twinkle in her clear green eyes. "We're strong, up there. See these?" she flexed her arms.
Alanna poked her in her ribs. "Siuan's still stronger."
Sheriam chuckled. "Oh well. Here, I'll grab that, and we can go to where there's a bit more of a current. Not too strong, but enough for some movement."
"Down there?" Moiraine pointed at a spot a little ways down.
Siuan looked where her finger was pointing. "Looks good."
"Okay," Siuan said. "Now, Moiraine, hold the flowers with two hands, place them about where your abdomen is and then close your eyes. Yes, like that. You're an absolute picture."
Alanna chuckled. "She really does look like the lily maid," she said. "With the porcelain doll features and all."
Moiraine cracked one eye open. "Only Siuan gets to call me a porcelain doll," she laughed. "We ready?"
Sheriam nodded. "Sure are. Siuan, you're the lord, aren't you? Here, lean down and kiss her and say your goodbyes. Doesn't matter if they're not the same as in the story- as long as they sound dramatic, it's fine."
Siuan leaned down and kissed Moiraine, gently readjusting a flower in her hair and saying a series of goodbyes that sounded more like they belonged in a tragic play than in a lyrical ballad. To be fair, the poem was tragic- though Siuan did love to be theatrical.
Alanna made a noise that sounded like a muffled snicker, then she and Sheriam and Siuan proceeded to start trying to re-enact the scene.
"I've got no idea how to do this, actually," Siuan laughed, after a bit. "I don't know how to make myself sound like someone from three ages ago."
Alanna and Sheriam burst into laughter. "Me either," Alanna said. "Oh well. At least Moiraine looks a picture."
Moiraine opened her eyes, shielding them from the sun and glaring at the others, trying not to laugh. "Only Siuan gets to say that!"
Sheriam tried to get her giggles under control. "Shoosh, Moiraine," she said. "You're supposed to be dead. Dead lily maids don't talk."
"This one does!" she said, then she and the others fully collapsed into giggles. They were so busy laughing that they didn't notice the strong winds starting to blow, which were slowly rocking the raft.
"What happens now?" Moiraine asked, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "Since we've pretty much finished the scene?"
Before any of them could answer, a particularly strong gust of wind cut through the air, sending the raft downstream a little.
"Woah," Siuan said. "Here, someone grab the other side, will you?"
Alanna and Sheriam grabbed the other side of the raft, keeping it in place.
"Should I sit up?" Moiraine asked. "Would you find it easier? Then I can climb off and I won't send you all into the water."
"If you want to, love," Siuan said. "Just be careful. In case you overbalance- I'd hate to have you fall in."
Moiraine slowly sat up, taking one of Siuan's hands for support. "There we go. Now if we can figure out how to- ooh!"
Siuan quickly dropped Moiraine's hand to hold the raft in place. "Sorry, love," she said. "Just got to keep this in place. Then you can climb off "
Moiraine nodded. "Okay," she said. "Take as long as you need."
"Try climbing now," Alanna said. "While the winds have stopped. Light, this is such a sudden change in the weather! Can you stand? Then it's a step to the shore."
"I'll try," Moiraine said, slowly rising to her feet. She managed to stand upright, but the wind chose that moment to send another gust, stronger than the one before.
Sheriam and Alanna each took one hand off the raft to grab onto Moiraine. "We've got you," Sheriam said. "Just got to wait for this wind to pass. It shouldn't be too much longer now- shit!"
That last word was almost shouted, as Moiraine had overbalanced and tumbled straight into the water, and was slowly being dragged downstream by the water before she could call out.
"Shit indeed!" Siuan shouted. "Dang it! We should've known better than to do this!"
"Can Moiraine swim?" Alanna gasped, hands over her mouth. "Can she?"
"She can," Siuan said grimly, taking one of each of their hands and dragging them down the side of the river. "I taught her myself. But if she's in a panic, she might not be able to. Hopefully she'll at least be able to channel or do something to get herself up. We should've done it earlier, Burn me. Here, keep watch. I'm going after her." She looked as though she really meant to strip down to her shift and jump into the water.
"Siuan, no," Sheriam said firmly. "We won't have you risking drowning, as good a swimmer you are."
"But Moiraine-"
"Moiraine will be fine," Sheriam said. "I know it's scary, Siuan. But this is Moiraine. And you've taught her well. Trust me, Siuan."
"I shouldn't have suggested it," Alanna said, her lower lip trembling. "Light, I'm so sorry, Siuan. It's all my fault."
Siuan shook her head. "It was mine," she said. "Moiraine is my lover, and therefore my responsibility. So anything that happens to her is on me, regardless of who suggested it."
Alanna looked unconvinced, but Siuan placed an arm around her. "She'll push through and find her way back," she said, firmly. "Sheriam is right. This is Moiraine we're talking about. And she will be fine. I know she will." She hoped the conviction in her voice was enough to hide the fear that was rapidly growing inside her. Light, her Moiraine. What had made Siuan think it was a good idea to do something so stupid in the first place?
Sheriam went over and wrapped her arms around Siuan. "She will be," she said. "For now, we'll have to sit and wait."
Siuan nodded. "Just... a second," she said. "I need to do something first."
And with that, she slowly walked over to the riverbank, and very neatly threw up in the reeds.
Moiraine had never been one for swimming, but now she was grateful for Siuan's lessons. She moved her arms and her legs, trying to keep her head above the water. Right arm, left arm, right arm, left arm, kicking under the water the whole time. It always took a little practise for her to find her rhythm, but once she did, almost nothing could sway her.
She couldn't possibly imagine how scared Siuan must've been. She knew that if Siuan had been the one in the water, her heart would've been in her mouth, despite knowing that Siuan was the strongest swimmer she knew. Soon she'd get to the shore. Soon she'd find dry land, and soon she'd be able to find Siuan.
For now, her priority was to swim away from this current and to get out of the river. She didn't dare to check how deep the water was- after all, even though she hated admitting it, she was small and slight, and stopping for even a second could cause her to lose control.
Right arm, left arm, right arm again. Just keep swimming. Though she was starting to get tired.
Still, she kept going until it felt like her lungs were on fire and her arms were about to fall off. Right when she felt like giving up, she felt something wrap around her and lift her up, before a pair of hands- no, two pairs of hands- pulled her from the water and wrapped her in a cloak.
"Why, Moiraine!" Ellid said in surprise. "What're you doing down here?"
Myrelle channeled to dry her, before re-wrapping the cloak around her. "Light, you must be freezing! And I agree with Ellid. What were you doing?"
"Reenacting this scene from a story," Moiraine said, feeling her cheeks turn red. How embarrassing! Letting the others see her bedraggled like this!
From beside her, Liandrin, the third member of the group, chuckled. "Well. I suppose this makes up for that time I called you a tomato during our first year?"
Moiraine glared at her. It was bad enough that Liandrin was seeing her like this, despite having been channeled dry, without being reminded of that incident from their first year. Before she could open her mouth to speak, she heard several voices call out her name, before she was crushed in a bear hug by Siuan, who was closely followed by Alanna and Sheriam.
"Light, I'm so sorry, Moiraine," Siuan wailed. "I thought I lost you. I'll understand if you never want to speak to me again."
Moiraine hugged her back, as tightly as she could. "It's alright, Siuan. I'm here. I'm safe thanks to these three, and now you're all here too, so I'm happy."
Siuan sniffed, clinging to Moiraine. "I'm not letting you out of my sight again," she declared. "You're to stay with me, where I can keep you safe."
Moiraine giggled. "And I'll stay by your side, always. Because it's you."
Siuan fussed with the cloak that was still wrapped around Moiraine, before hugging Moiraine once more. "I'm so happy we've got you," she said. To the three girls, she said, "Thank you so much. You have no idea what it means to me. I owe you forever."
Ellid shrugged. "It's okay," she said. "Moiraine needed help, so we gave it to her. It was the least we could do."
"I suppose I do have the three of you to thank," Moiraine said, begrudgingly. "So thank you all. But Liandrin, this still doesn't excuse you calling me a tomato."
Liandrin pouted, and Myrelle laughed. "It's okay," she said. "She does appreciate it."
"I can assure you, she does," Siuan said, still holding Moiraine. "Well, that's more than enough excitement for today. And Moiraine is dry, but she's still cold. What say we all go back to the Tower and ask the kitchens for some tea or hot chocolate?"