He's seen her before (Wheel Of Time fanfiction)

Chapter 1 of 1 :)

"He's seen her before"

Thom Merrillin sat at the table and drank the ale he has been given a while before. He liked the taste and so watched to keep the amount only to what he could hold. Tomorrow, maybe, he would be able to let himself drink more, but for now he needed to observe and decide how best to charm the locals. A good place he was given as well, close to the fireplace. He could warm his old bones after travel in the still chilly air. It was still early in the year. Other advantage of this place was being able to observe both the current patrons and the new arrivals.

One of the second group caught his attention. She came in with her companion, a woman dressed in blues, small and lithe, which he could see even under the heavy cloak she wore. The jewel on her head clearly belonged to a Carhienin, but her man certainly was not. The innkeeper's wife smiled at her and refrained from approaching, while they moved towards the stairs. So those two were there before him. They must have taken up rooms upstairs and were now just going up. The woman stopped for a step and looked at him for a moment, but averted her eyes soon to go upstairs.

There was something really familiar about her that made him go through his memories. The way she carried herself should have been a dead giveaway, considering it almost physically tickled him... She walked like if she danced and he wished she would join the festivities, but the jewelery she wore made that rather unlikely. The blue stone on her forehead was a kesiera, a delicate one with a blue jewel, a clear marking of Cairhien nobility and the ring on her hand was a clear sign of an Aes Sedai. He bristled when he saw that one. Those women...

They were out of his sight when he remembered a similar pair he saw once, long ago. He should have known his past would catch up to him at some point. This seemed to be it.

„Gleeman!" one of the young boys shouted from across the room. "Will you sing a tale for us?"

His calling was, well, calling for him. He had a job to do to pay for his stay. As soon as he prepared and touched the strings he smiled. He loved what he did and he was good at it. This was going to be the best introduction od a gleeman those people had ever seen.

Thom sang. A ballad about a wool merchants that he had learnt pretty lately. Sheep and people, little villages and their everyday life. Something he was happy to be able to sing now that his life kept to the low. It was easy and playful. His love for more sophisticated pieces didn't diminish the fun he had sometimes with this. The rowdy song managed to get people in a great mood, probably because they saw themselves in it. The young girl serving drinks offered him another, but he declined and asked for water when a short break in the narration was a good spot to be extended. It was then the people that had caught his attention stepped down into the main room and, eventually, settled in an alcove at the back. The best place to observe, he noted, something a witch like herself was sure to want. He played on and sung again, grateful it was not a high chant after all, with which he would have needed to concentrate. Here some mistakes didn't jar as long as words rhymed and were at least lightly connected to each other.

He would have liked to stop right there and then, to be honest, for the woman drew his attention like none other. It was strange, for he was not used to that feeling. Especially since his days in Caemlyn came to their end. Well, he must have been left with an eye for nobles despite all that warned him against them. He needed to find himself a place to stay for a few months and someone to warm his bed for longer than the few nights.

"I need a moment" he said, ending after the next song, when his distraction with the arrivals. "And something to drink, if you could?" he turned to the girl serving and emptied his cup. His decision to keep drinking to minimum had to be rethought. He needed something to dull his senses after all.