Thank you, Soreidy27, for your review. I'm glad that you liked it.

I agree that Moiraine and Lan deserve a very long holiday, but I'm afraid that things get worse before they get better. After all, we want Moiraine to be able to channel again, right? But I promise that there will be a chapter where the two of them will be able to breathe again.

And I can promise you that you haven't heard of the Black Ajah for the last time. They will appear again.

This time, it is just a short chapter. The next one will be almost twice that long. I hope you guys enjoy it anyway.

They survived the night without facing the Black Ajah or any other danger. But Moiraine was still battling against the influence of the poison. Lan placed her in front of him on his horse again, while they rode towards Tar Valon.

The Aes Sedai felt better with every mile, they put between themselves and the poison. But when the night fell, Lan wanted to be careful and slept with his Aes Sedai in his arms again. In the morning, she was able to ride on her own, although the warder was observing her from the corner of his eye. Nynaeve, Egwene, and Rand hadn't shown any new signs of feeling the poison, and since no one was complaining about feeling weird or a pull of some kind, Lan started to relax slowly.

Since they were getting closer to Tar Valon, Moiraine urged Lan to enter the next village for their next break. She needed to inform Siuan about their unexpected arrival and that the Amyrlin needed to meet them outside the city with some trustworthy sisters.

Lan agreed and led them to the next tavern. While the Emond's fielder were enjoying their soup, the Aes Sedai wrote a letter to her best friend:

To Siuan Sanche, the Amyrlin Seat of Tar Valon

Dear Mother,

Please allow me to start with that I want to deeply apologize to you.

I know that I have angered you with my terrible behavior and my indiscipline, and I had quite some time to think about the mistakes I have made.

Right now, I'm traveling with some companions. We are heading to Tar Valon and I honestly hope that I will get the chance to have a word with you.

The White Tower is my home, and I would like to see it again. Especially, since I have to apologize to some of my fellow sisters – like Leane and Alanna – for my terrible behavior as well.

Yours sincerely,

Moiraine Damodred, Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah

Since Moiraine didn't know, who would get this letter first and probably would read it, she had to keep the important information hidden. This way, only Siuan would be able to find the true message. Back in the day, when they had been novices, they had written each other letters, which no one else except themselves had been able to read.

Moiraine read her letter one last time, then she folded and sealed it. Lan appeared by her side. "Do you think she will be there?"

"She will have her people looking out for us. She will be there."

Nodding, Lan took the letter, then he left to find the innkeeper. The letter had to be delivered as quickly as possible.

After their lunch, they bought supplies for the rest of their journey, then they were back on their horses and moved on until it was time to find a place for the night. Lan decided to camp at the edge of a forest, while the trees would hide their campfire.

While everyone was preparing their blankets, the campfire, and their dinner, Moiraine left the camp and stepped out of the forest. Lan noticed her absence immediately and followed her. She finally stopped at a hill, which was almost a mile away from the camp.

"What are you doing?" Satisfied, he saw that she shrugged, although she didn't turn around. She knew better than to run off without notifying anyone.

"I just need a moment to myself."

"And you have to walk that far to hear your own thoughts? You know how dangerous it is out here. You shouldn't walk around alone."

"I can take care of myself." Lan raised an eyebrow. She had been able to take care of herself, but that was before the Dark One had blocked her connection to the source. Now, she was as helpless as a child. Finally, she sighed heavily, which showed him that she just realized it as well. "Fine, I had been able to take care of myself. What do you wanna hear? I wasn't thinking about any kind of danger."

Lan closed the distance between them and laid his hand on her back. She turned her head to him, then she fully turned around and put her arms around his waist. Without hesitation, the warder embraced her. His one hand found her long hair and stroked it softly. "What is bothering you?"

"I will have to tell Siuan that the Black Ajah is getting stronger. We all have to be more careful when we are traveling through the world. Not everyone has a warder they can rely on."

"We will warn them."

They turned silent, then Moiraine said quietly: "Thank you, for saving me from the poison of the Black Ajah."

"Anytime."

"I couldn't resist the pull, no matter how hard I tried. This poison is really dangerous."

"Well, in that case, how about you promise me to stay away from this poison?"

Moiraine chuckled, but before she was able to answer, they heard screams, followed by Nynaeve's panicked voice: "LAN!"

The warder reacted immediately by releasing Moiraine and running towards the camp. "Stay here!" He was only a few feet away from the first trees when he saw Nynaeve, who was running out of the forest. "Nynaeve!"

The young woman looked up and her eyes widen in shock. "Watch out!"

Men on horses appeared beside them, and when Lan saw the white color of their clothes, he knew exactly who they were. Whitecloaks! Two men emerged out of the woods and grabbed Nynaeve before Lan was able to stop them. "Let go of her!" He pulled his sword, but then he saw Nynaeve's shocked eyes, which were focused on something behind him. The warder risked a glance backward and saw that Moiraine was surrounded by the riding Whitecloaks. She tried to find a gap to escape, but it was useless.

Two Whitecloaks dismounted their horses and moved closer to her. They already had Nynaeve, but he could still protect Moiraine from those men. Quickly, he ran to his Aes Sedai. "Don't touch her!"

One of the men pointed at Moiraine's hand, where she wore the serpent ring. "She is an Aes Sedai. This means…" His eyes turned to Lan, who still had his sword in his hands. "…that he is her warder."

Moiraine knew that they were trapped. There was no way that they could escape them. She swirled around and ran towards Lan, but the two men of the whitecloaks had only waited for her to turn her back on them. They grabbed her arms and pulled them painfully on her back. In the next moment, she felt the cold blade of a dagger pressed against her throat.

"Drop the sword!" The order was for Lan, who had to stop only a few feet away from her. Moiraine saw how he was fighting with himself. A part of him wanted to slaughter these men, who had dared to touch her and were now threatening her life, but the other part knew that they weren't joking. They would slit her throat if Lan would attack them.

Finally, after what felt like forever, her brave warder gave up and put his sword back where it belonged. Then three whitecloaks were by his side and pushed him hard to the ground.

"Don't hurt him!", Moiraine yelled and didn't care that the blade was slicing her skin until a few drops of blood ran down her throat. "Please!"

She saw how Lan tried to fight against his attackers – he couldn't give up without a fight – until one of them used the hilt of his sword and smashed it against the back of Lan's head. "NO!" The warder didn't move anymore.

Immediately, the blade against her throat disappeared, and Moiraine started to struggle. She had to get to Lan! She needed to check on him! She…! A hard object came in contact with the back of her own head, then she was surrounded by darkness.