Elnore danced from one foot to the other on the stone floor. Winters in Malkier were cold enough to freeze a man to death in the day, let alone the middle of the night. With both hands the young girl clutched a blanket around herself. Even with the covering, she could not stop shaking, and her teeth chattered so much, she though they might fall right out.
She shuffled her bare feet over the rug outside her door, trying to warm up. When she reached the end of the rug, she darted across the icy floor until she reached the next island of relief. The hallway was lit by candles backed by mirrors, illuminating everything in a strange orange glow. It was just enough light to make out the scenes displayed on the tapestries hanging on the wall. Elnore's favorite showed a tall cherry tree covered in pink and white flowers. Two blue birds with long, flowing tails were perched in its branches. It was supposed to make one think about the cherry trees in the palace gardens that would come alive again in the spring. Elnore did not stop to look at it this time, but kept sprinting from one rug to the next.
Finally, she reached the door to her parents' rooms. She tried to reached the doorknob with her feet still planted on the rug, but her arms were not long enough. She was forced to step back onto the cold stone. Still clutching her blanket around her like a cloak with one hand, she used the other to pull down the knob and pushed her way in.
Her parents' sitting room had a rug that covered nearly the whole floor. It was also much softer than those in the hall. The fire in the big fireplace had died down to red coals. There was not enough light to see by, but enough to make all the shadows grow until they loomed over her. They scared her, but she did the trick that her da had taught her; she pretended that she was braver than the shadows were scary.
Elnore only stubbed her toes twice as she made her way across the room by memory. When she reached the bedroom door, she found the knob and entered as quickly as she could. Usually she supposed to knock and wait, but Da was not home, and when Da was not home Mama said that she could just come in. She ran to the big bed.
"Mama… Mama!" She whispered fiercely. She wanted her mama to be awake if the shadows started following Elnore in. Her mama was special – she was Aes Sedai – and could protect her from anything.
Elnore dropped her blanket to shake the sleeping form with both hands.
"Ma-maa!" Finally, Nynaeve ti al'Meara Mandragoran rolled over to look at her daughter through half-lidded eyes.
"What is it, Elnore?" She snapped, still half asleep.
"I'm cold!"
"Of course you're cold," She took in Elnore's shivering form, still waking up. "it's winter. Why didn't you ask Marla for more blankets?" She yawned. Elnore's nurse, Marla Sete, slept in a room attached to hers and her brother's rooms.
Elnore's lips tightened. "I wanted you! And…" She looked over her shoulder to see if any shadows had, in fact, followed her. "I'm scared…"
Nynaeve sighed, but her eyes became less grumpy. "It's alright. Here," she patted the empty space beside her. "you can sleep on your Da's side." Elnore ran around the bed and jumped in.
"Grab the blanket, sweetling – at the end of the bed. I'm too big to get it," Nynaeve sighed. Elnore put a hand on her mama's melon-sized stomach. "Baby is in the way." She explained. Nynaeve smiled slightly. "Yes," She said. "he is. Hopefully he comes soon so he will not be in the way anymore." Elnore pulled the fleece blanket over both of them and snuggled under it, and the other four that were already on the bed.
"Oh," Nynaeve gasped. "you are cold!"
"I know…" Elnore mumbled, already getting warmer and sleepier as her mother held her close under layers of wool and fleece. Nynaeve also began slipping into dreams.
"Hush… go to sleep…"