Ridahne could feel Darin's eyes on her, searching her, though she was not looking into her eyes, but her face. She was so used to people doing that, being from Azurei, that she didn't even register it as something unusual. But Darin reached out and gently turned Ridahne's face towards her, and then she knew what was on her mind. The tattoo was long since healed, but Ridahne suddenly felt it, or seemed to be keenly aware of where it was on her face. When Darin's hand fell away, Ridahne touched it with her own hand. 

Amaiera-Sol felt like speaking would interrupt a moment, but there was something in this that she was missing. "Taja Torzinei, what is that mark? Will you speak of it to me?"
Ridahne nodded slowly. "When Darin and I first met, I was deeply plagued with shame. Not guilt, for I know why I did what I did and stand by it. But shame. I knew I'd done something terrible. I knew I'd betrayed my people, in a way. And I thought that no one could love me. I felt worthless. I was a murderer. One day, Darin finally pried the full story out of me, and I, in my shame, thought that there was no outcome that didn't end with her sending me away, and I would have no choice but to either remain in exile, or to return home and die. Bracing for what I thought would be a certainty, I offered to leave so that she might find a guardian of more worth, but Darin wouldn't have that." Ridahne chuckled. "She rebuked me for even considering the promise I'd made to her. She named me Seed-Chained, forever bound to the fate of the Seed and its bearer, until I'm relieved of duty. It's...not just a title. I am quite literally bound, my personage, my [I]soul[/I] is now chained to this entity and by extension, Darin. I could not turn away from this path even if I wanted to." 

A heavy silence filled the room as both Amaiera-Sol and her Taja processed that information. She knew Ridahne was dedicated to Darin, but she had not understood to what degree. "You had told me, Taja Torzinei, that you would never again be owned. That you were no longer the blade in someone else's hand. This...bond, then, must require a great deal of trust on your end. Trust that your bond would not be exploited." 
Ridahne lifted her chin proudly. "An immense amount of trust. Trust that has not been proven false."
Amaiera-Sol nodded. "Then you have a good Sol at last." She turned to Darin. "You do indeed take care of what belongs to you, Astra-Sol. That is the mark of a good leader. Be encouraged, for while I do not know your full tale of all your deeds, I believe you are doing the previous Gardener proud." Amaiera-Sol had met the Gardener more than once in her centuries as Sota-Sol. 

Ridahne offered a small smile to Darin, but then brought her attention back to the subject at hand. "If you Chained him, well...what happens next is up to you. You charged me with holding to my promise of protection and guardianship, a charge I accept with pride. What would you charge him with? In which direction would you send him?" She had a thought and couldn't help a dark chuckle. "If you really wanted to sow some chaos, you could charge him with attacking the Red Hand in whatever way he could--physically or logistically. Or you could bind him to a life of work. Honest work, not slavery, and something that would earn him an honest living. You could bind him to silence regarding your identity and movements. But where it goes from there...? I don't know. I don't think anyone knows what becomes of a Seed-Chained person, not even me. Though it's worth considering that by Chaining him, he would likely have some sense of...of..." she wasn't sure what to call it. "You have powers, a command of Astra's very bones. And while I do not have such command, I am sensitive to it. He would likely gain that as well."