Hello readers. Enjoy my story. I'll post the last part some time soon. (I still want requests, for the whole zero of you that care). This takes place sometime before the last battle and before Lan gets to the blight, but after Elayne has her twins. If a time ever does exist.
Disclaimer: don't own. Not making money.
Nynaeve just barely caught herself from gaping. It had been a surprise in itself when a young man apparently part of Mat's army had shown up in Caemlyn. But a ridiculous rumour such as he'd just told...
He's been around Mat too much, she thought. Nynaeve had come to Caemlyn to help Elayne with her newborn twins. She was young, and needed a good hand to guide her into motherhood. Rand had not been even in Andor yet, something Nynaeve, and several other women, highly disapproved of.
The man still stood in front of her, looking uncomfortable. Suddenly she realized that she was tugging at her braid. Forcing her hand to return to her side, she addressed the man with an icy glare.
"You're saying to me that a young fool and an old gleeman rescued Moiraine from some tower that I've never heard of?" Nynaeve said.
"I'm not lying, Nynaeve sedai," he replied, with only a small glance at her shawl. Light, she had still not received the ageless look! "I saw her with my own two eyes. She sent me here to tell you that she's coming to visit."
Nynaeve sniffed. Commanding around Mat's army. It certainly sounded like Moiraine.
"This is some sort of joke made up by bored soldiers. You go straight back to Mat and tell him that I'll have none of it!" The man hesitated. "Go!" With that, he quickly stepped away, half bowing before leaving her room. Luckily Lan had gone to practice his sword forms. She had finally convinced him to stay in Caemlyn for a week before he continued his fight against the shadow. Word had travelled quickly, and his army had swelled to the point that their travel was slow. But he was so wound up that all he did was play with swords.
She sniffed. "There's no reason for him to know about such ridiculous rumours," she muttered to herself.
"What rumours?" Lan said from behind her. She nearly jumped out the window from surprise. It wasn't fair that he could sneak up on her like that!
"Ah, nothing," she said, looking away from him. Nynaeve became distracted whenever she looked at him for too long.
"Oh really? Because a man in the courtyard was just telling me that Mat, Thom and a man named Noal Charin had just rescued Moiraine sedai from the Tower of Ghenjei."
Nynaeve tugged at her braid. Burn that man and his blabbing mouth! "It's just a silly rumour. Nothing to worry about. You were there. Lanfear hasn't come back, there's no reason to believe that Moiraine could."
Lan grunted. "We don't know if Lanfear has come back or not."
Nynaeve turned to him, studying his face. Was that hope in his eyes? She wished for the millionth time that Myrelle could pass the bond to her. Where was that woman? "Lan, listen. She's not alive. Mat has always played jokes on people." She tried to speak gently. When she saw Mat again, she would box his ears, commander of an army or not.
Lan seemed to accept her reasoning. Nynaeve nodded to herself. She didn't want him galloping off in the middle of the night because of some rumour. Moiraine couldn't really be alive.
The days passed. Nynaeve quickly forgot of the joke played on her by Mat. She'd dealt with the boy all his life. It certainly was no different now. She continued to help Elayne with her twins and spend precious time with Lan. "The twins are starting to recognize you," Nynaeve said warmly to Elayne as she walked into the room. The tired queen was finally done her day, and the older woman smiled as she watched all three faces light up in joy. She knew the effects of children.
When this is all over, she thought, I'm going to have children. Burn Aes Sedai custom!
An unexpected visitor knocked at the door. "I'll get it," Nynaeve said, feeling a little irritated at the interruption. Upon opening the door, the feeling melted away. "Lan, come in!" Elayne smiled at the man.
"There's a commotion at the gate. Apparently there are some people who want to see the both of you right away." He did not return the smile.
"Who are they?" Elayne inquired.
"The guardsmen didn't say, only that it was important."
Nynaeve frowned. "Tell them to wait until morning. How rude, demanding such things at this time of night!"
"I think you should see them." The look in Lan's eye almost made her shiver. Suddenly she recalled the message that soldier had brought. She wondered for a moment...but no, surely it was coincidence. Mat's ruffians would notice if he suddenly disappeared to rescue an Aes Sedai!
Turning to Elayne, about to tell the woman her thoughts, she stared for a moment in shock. She was handing her children to a serving woman, letting another get her ready to meet these unknown people. "Elayne, don't be foolish –"
"You know it's important, Nynaeve. Lan wouldn't come here for no reason." She sniffed at that. The man was her husband! "You know what I mean, Nynaeve. Something could have happened to Rand, or Aviendha." She looked worried.
"Oh, if you have your mind set on it. You can be stubborn as a man sometimes." Lan grunted behind them, but made no comment.
Elayne flowed past her, once again the queen and not the mother. "In what room will we be meeting them, Lan?"
"The formal sitting room, Elayne," She had insisted on the use of her first name in private. Nynaeve thought it was best. Being queen would get to her head enough without needing a constant reminder.
Merely a step behind Elayne, with Lan trailing after her, along with the usual ring of Birgitte's women, they set off to meet whatever awaited them in the room.
It was only a short walk, and Nynaeve took the time to calm herself. She was certainly angry. Her last night with Lan spent meeting with strangers? She felt the irritation rising again, and she couldn't quite quash it before reaching the sitting room.
The shock she felt upon arriving quickly smothered any feeling of annoyance.