The wisdom caught up with Lan in front of Moiraine's door.

"No." The warder blocked her way immediately. "You're not going in there."

"I want answers."

"Not tonight. Let me talk to her."

"You won't get anything out of her. If she is not ready to talk, you don't push her."

"Well, she definitely will not tell YOU anything. Especially, since you slapped her."

Nynaeve crossed her arms in defense. "She deserved it and you know it. She is playing with us by giving us only a few bites to swallow, so, we will stay with her."

Lan sighed heavily. "Moiraine has her reasons."

"And again, you protect her doings."

"You don't know her, Nynaeve."

"I don't think that anyone really knows her. Not even you." The wisdom saw that Lan was pinching his nose again. This discussion was probably making his head ache. So, she quickly used his inattention to pass him and to open Moiraine's door.

"Nynaeve!"

He grabbed her arm to keep her from going in any further. But there was no need for staying out since the room was empty. Nynaeve looked angrily at Lan. "She left again."

The warder let go of the wisdom's arm and took a good look at the room. Nynaeve was right. The room of the Aes Sedai was empty. Again, Moiraine had left without him! Now, Lan was really angry.

"This stubborn woman!" He turned around and stormed out of the room. Nynaeve took a closer look at the room. She noticed that the bathtub was filled with water and she saw Moiraine's cloak and boots on the floor.

"Well, at least, we know that she had been in here.", the wisdom said, while she followed Lan outside "It looks like she had wanted to take a bath since she already put the water in and left her cloak and boots in here. Ow!"

Lan had stopped midway behind the door, and Nynaeve, who hadn't seen him, had bumped into him. Slowly, the warder faced her with a frozen look on his face. "What did you say?" His voice sounded cold.

Nynaeve realized that he wasn't as calm about Moiraine's actions as she thought he would be. She pointed back at the door. "The bathtub. She has filled it with water, but apparently, she isn't using it, which is a waste of water if I may say so. But I don't think that she went very far since she left her cloak and her boots behind." Nynaeve saw how Lan was thinking about her words. Something was bothering him, but she couldn't say what it was. What did she miss?

Suddenly, the eyes of the warder grew big, when he found the missing piece. He pushed Nynaeve out of the way and stormed back into Moiraine's room.

"Lan! What in lights name…?" But he wasn't listening. His focus was on the bathtub, which was indeed filled with water.

`Please, don't let me be too late.´, he thought to himself, before he put his arms into the cold water. His hands quickly found what he had been looking for. One hand closed around her neck, while the other one grabbed her upper arm, then he pulled her up. The water splashed when Moiraine's head appeared out of the water. Lan cupped her face in his hands, but she was already breathing and opening her eyes. Relieved, he laid his forehead against her wet one and released his breath. This woman was killing him.

"What are you doing?" She sounded confused as if she hadn't just tried to drown herself. Lan's anger took over again at her words. He grabbed her upper arms and pulled her up.

"Get out of there. Now." His voice was cold as ice.

Nynaeve, who noticed that Moiraine wasn't wearing anything except her bare skin, grabbed a towel quickly. After all, even Moiraine should have the privilege to cover herself in front of her warder. But Lan didn't wait for Nynaeve to arrive with the towel. Instead, he just put his hand under Moiraine's knees and carried her bridal style to her bed, where he dropped her. Then he took the towel from the wisdom and put it around his Aes Sedai, who was already starting to shiver from the cold.

"This was absolutely stupid!"

"I had to try.", Moiraine defended herself tiredly, which made Lan angrier.

"You talk to me first, when you try something like this ever again!"

"Since when do I need your permission?"

"Moiraine!" Angry, Lan cupped her face in his hands to get her attention, while he sat down beside her on the bed. "This is not a joke! I can't feel you anymore! I won't know if anything happens to you until it is too late!"

"And you think I don't know that?! I know exactly what it means that I can't unmask the bond! That I can't feel you! But I won't get my access back by doing nothing!"

Lan growled while he was thinking about his next words. He didn't like it either that their bond was gone for now. But how could he make this stubborn woman see that she wasn't alone? That he was still with her?

But Moiraine didn't want an answer from him. Instead, she brushed off his hands, then she waved her hand at him. "Go. I'll get dressed."

Lan stood up and motioned for her to get on her feet. Moiraine looked at him with her you-know-what-I-meant-look, and for a few seconds, the Aes Sedai and her warder were having a staring contest until Moiraine broke the silence because Lan wasn't moving. "Leave, Lan."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"This is ridiculous. You're not watching me, while I put on my clothes. Leave."

The stubborn warder waited a few more seconds, then he moved to the place, where Moiraine had left her cloak and her boots. Her clothes were covered by the cloak, which had been the reason why Nynaeve hadn't seen them. Lan took the clothes and returned to the bed, dropping them beside the owner. "It's your choice. Either you put them on by yourself, while I make sure that you don't do anything stupid, or I will put them on you."

"Lan!", Nynaeve hissed shocked, but Lan had only eyes for his Aes Sedai, who was looking at him with wide eyes as she realized what he had said.

"You're doing nothing like that. You take Nynaeve, and then you two…"

"Wrong answer." Lan didn't wait for Moiraine to finish her sentence. His fingers leaned forward to grab the towel, but Moiraine swatted his hand away.

"Don't you dare, Lan Mandragoran! You are my warder, but it doesn't mean that you… DON'T!" Again, Lan tried to grab the towel, so this time, Moiraine leaned back and crawled away from him, while holding the towel around herself. But Lan was faster. His fingers moved around her left ankle, then he pulled her back to him with one strong pull.

A surprised shriek escaped Moiraine's lips, then she had to fight off her warder's hands again. "LAN! Stop this!"

"I'm not going to leave this room!"

"How about I help her?"

Moiraine and Lan stopped immediately when they heard Nynaeve's question. Slowly, Lan turned his head to the wisdom, while he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You. You want to help her?"

"After all, I'm a woman."

"You two can't stand each other."

"Well, right now, it doesn't look as if you are happy to see her, either."

"I'm angry because she nearly killed herself. But I still care about her. That's a difference, Nynaeve. You would like to slap her until she answers all of your questions.", Lan objected and Nynaeve crossed her arms "So, I think it is better if you leave this room now, and ask your questions later when she is dressed again."

"Fine, if you don't want my help, then keep up with your little fight."

Lan watched how Nynaeve left the room and closed the door behind her. Did she really expect that he would leave her alone with his Aes Sedai? Of course, they both were women, but they both had trouble being around each other. When Nynaeve had found them outside of Shadar Lagoth, she wasn't even willing to help Moiraine without getting something in return.

Moiraine was slowly backing away from him, so, he grabbed her ankle again and hold her in place, while he turned his attention back on her. "Let me go, Lan." He noticed immediately that she sounded exhausted. Maybe it was time to reason with her, now that Nynaeve had left the room. He sat down beside her, but his hand didn't leave her ankle.

"Talk to me, Moiraine."

"I told you to leave."

"What were you thinking?"

"I really hate it to repeat myself." The Aes Sedai sat upright and tried to free her ankle, but instead of letting go, Lan pulled her leg over his lap to make it uncomfortable for her. "Lan!"

"Did you think about me? Just for one second? Or was this just another one of your moments, where you make a decision without telling me? Just like you did with your trip to the eye of the world."

"You know why I left you behind." Lan saw the hurt in her eyes, which was caused by his words. Of course, he knew why she had left him in Fal Dara, but this didn't mean that he had liked her decision. "The prophecy said that everyone would die, who would come between the Dragon and the Dark One. I couldn't let you near this fight."

"But you went with him. Although you knew that you could die there as well."

"Alone, he never would have found the eye of the world. I had to show him the way."

"And what's your explanation for going down with him? Did you have to hold his hand, while he was fighting the Dark One?" This time, she turned her head away from him. Although he couldn't feel it, he knew that she didn't like this conversation. She didn't want to explain her every move. And she didn't have to. Lan knew Moiraine for over twenty years now. He knew the reasons behind her actions. "You would have killed him."

Her eyes met his again and were widen in shock, which made him chuckle. How was it possible that she still believed she could have secrets from him? "How do you…?"

"Do you remember when we had entered the Ways and I had asked you about the possibility that Mat could be the Dragon?"

"Yes. What does that…?"

"What did you say to me?" Moiraine furrowed her forehead in confusion, while she tried to remember their conversation.

"I… said that I couldn't let him within hundred leagues of the Dark One."

Lan nodded, then he said: "You were afraid that the Dragon could turn over to the Dark One. You would've never let that happen."

The Aes Sedai sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead as if she was fighting a headache. "You know me too well."

Lan chuckled again, then he laid his fingers under her chin and turned her head gently back to him. "Promise me that you won't do anything on your own again."

"Lan…" His fingers shifted quickly until he grabbed her chin and held her in place.

"I want you to talk to me first before you do anything stupid like drowning yourself in a bathtub." This time, his voice sounded strict and his eyes glared at her. "I know that you don't talk much, but as long as you don't have your powers back and you're not able to unmask our bond, I want you to come to me. No matter what it is that's bothering you."

He saw how tears were building up in her eyes, but she quickly closed her eyes and turned away her head. Lan released her ankle. Instead, he moved closer to her, so, he was able to pull her small figure in his arms. "Light, you're cold as ice." Quickly, he rubbed over her arm to warm her up, while she laid her head against his chest. Her wet hair was still dripping and was now making his tunic wet too, but Lan didn't care. He felt how her fingers grabbed his tunic. Moiraine would never ask him to comfort her, but he knew that she needed this as much as he did.

Carefully, he pulled the blanket from under them, before he put it over the freezing Aes Sedai. Her grip on his tunic became tighter as if she was afraid he would leave. So, he pressed a soft kiss on her hair, while he continued to rub over her arm and her back. She needed to warm up again. Later, he would ask more questions, but for now, he just wanted to hold her close to him.