The cold rushed out of Jarik and in its place was a feeling of…completeness. The wound in his stomach had stopped aching, and his head felt clearer. Beside him, Marella smiled. She had his hand in hers, squeezing tenderly.

Jarik sat up in the bed. For the first time since waking up he actually felt awake. The small room seemed brighter, as if someone had pulled open a shade that had been over his eyes. Looking around the room, questions began to fill his head.

"Marella," he started slowly, "how did you get me here? And where did those Aes Sedai come from?"

"I stopped the blood as best I could," Marella began, "then rode north like you said. I had to hold onto you to keep you from falling out of the saddle, but finally the trees cleared and I saw the town. The inn where we are now was the first building I came to.

"The innkeeper and his wife helped carry you to this room, and brought water and cloth for bandages. They never asked what happened, but said there was a woman who may be able to help. I watched over you until they came back. You were so pale." Marella sniffled briefly before continuing.

"Then, a knock came at the door and in walked Saerane Sedai and right behind her was Esenia Sedai. They had been in the group of Sisters I was with when the Seanchan invaded and…took me. Saerane Sedai told me they had been waiting, trying to come up with a plan to find me. In the end, it was I who found them."

Jarik realized with a twinge of guilt that he had unwittingly put them all at risk. The Seanchan would soon send out another patrol and discover the bodies of the soldiers in the woods. That would lead them here.

"Then the woman in the red shawl is right," Jarik admitted. "You have to leave here as quickly as possible. When the Seanchan come, you have to be gone."

Marella looked deeply at Jarik. "You can come with us."

"No, I don't have the strength to ride. That Aes Sedai was right; I would only slow you down." Jarik knew it was true. If he could somehow convince the Seanchan that he acted alone maybe they would give up their search for the escaped damane.

"There is a way," Marella looked at Jarik. "A warder is able to heal much faster through the bond he shares with his Aes Sedai. I have not been raised yet, but I know the green shawl is for me. If you were bonded to me the Sisters would have to let you come with us."

Jarik knew the stories of Aes Sedai and their warders. Most were tales of heroics in battle, warders saving the lives of their Aes Sedai. They told of how the men were willing to lay their lives down for the women they protected. He thought back to that morning in Ebou Dar, freeing Marella from the Seanchan, then the fight in the woods. He had been willing to do anything to keep her safe.

"I don't ever want to leave you Marella." Jarik knew he could never go back to Ebou Dar, his home. He knew only that he wanted to be by Marella's side, always.

The party left the inn that afternoon. Saerane Sedai rode at the front of the column, her warder scouting half a mile ahead. Beside her was Esenia, scowling and ready to bite the head off anyone that so much as looked her way. She had not been pleased with the situation, but in the end she was forced to give in. Behind the two leading Aes Sedai came three more sisters; one with a white shawl around her shoulders, and two with green. The green sisters' warders rode on either side of the group, watching the side of the road. Bringing up the rear of the column rode a girl in a plain green dress accompanied by a young man, bandages still around his midsection.

The bonding had been intense for Jarik, but afterwards he was amazed at how energized he felt. It had been as if he had rested for a week or more. His limbs were no longer heavy and tired, and his wounds were healing quickly. However, the strangest part of the bonding was the sense of Marella in the back of his mind. Jarik could almost "feel" her presence, even when she had left the room to allow him to dress for the ride. She had returned with Saerane, whom Jarik was sure would not approve of an Accepted bonding a warder. Yet, somehow, the grey-haired Aes Sedai seemed to have almost been expecting it, from her lack of surprise when she was told.

Jarik twisted a bit in the saddle to get more comfortable; the wound ached slightly at the jostling of the horse. He looked at Marella, her dark hair hung down passed her shoulders and shone in the afternoon sunlight. She still wore the green dress he had given to her three days prior in Ebou Dar and looked every bit as beautiful as she had when she first put it on.

The road to Tar Valon was long, but Jarik had no doubt they would reach the city safely. What would happen once they arrived, he had no idea. All he cared about was being with Marella, and making sure she would always be safe.