The night was settling down, and the streets became emptier when Moiraine and Alanna decided that they should return to the tower. The two sisters walked side by side, while the three warders followed them.

One block from the entrance, Liandrin Guirale stepped out of the shadows with two of her red sisters. Half of her blonde hair was beautifully braided, while the rest of her blonde locks fell on her shoulders. Her blue eyes were cold as ice. "Look, who finally made it home."

"Liandrin, don't tell me you waited here all day." Moiraine stated amused.

The red sister glared at the blue one, then she stepped closer and hissed: "All sisters are searching for you all day, while you're having a good time. Let's see what the Amyrlin has to say about it."

Suddenly, Alanna tucked her arm into Moiraine's and faced Liandrin calmly. "Forgive me, Liandrin, but I was the one, who found Moiraine, so, I will be the one, who brings her to Maigan."

"You FOUND her?! And when exactly did you FOUND her, Alanna?!"

"If you would excuse us, Liandrin.", Alanna said sweetly and pulled Moiraine with her "I'm sure that Maigan is already waiting for us."

The blonde woman looked as if she wanted to strangle her green sister, but there was nothing she could do. Not with three warders, who were ready to fight for their bonded Aes Sedai.

Alanna released a relieved exhale when they entered the tower. "I don't understand why she likes it so much to bring other sisters to justice. Yes, she is from the Red Ajah and… Mother!"

Siuan and Maigan stepped out of the corridor, and both Moiraine and Alanna and the warders bowed in front of the Amyrlin. Meanwhile, Maigan was killing her blue sister with an evil eye.

"Alanna.", Siuan said calmly "I see you have been successful in finding Moiraine."

"Yes, Mother."

"What took you so long?! Did you have to fight against an army to get to her?!" Maigan was angry and she didn't care, who would have to deal with her anger.

But Alanna wasn't the kind of woman, who liked it to be criticized. Especially, not from someone, who belonged to a different Ajah. Proud she met Maigan's eyes and said coldly: "At least, I found her and brought her back, which is more than my blue sisters have accomplished."

Siuan smiled when she said: "I'm sure that Alanna did everything in her power to convince Moiraine to return. Isn't that right, Moiraine?"

The blue sister bowed her head in front of the Amyrlin, while she tried her best to keep her calm face. "Alanna informed me about Maigan's search and her order to bring us back."

"There shouldn't have been a need to inform you! You knew very well that you never should've left the tower!"

Now, it was Lan, who interrupted Maigan. "Moiraine Sedai did nothing wrong. It was me, who kidnapped her and ran away."

"And since when is she not strong enough to deal with her own warder?! Maybe, it is better if she stays in the tower permanently, and you bond a new Aes Sedai!"

Lan growled at Maigan's words and stepped behind Moiraine, who grabbed his hand to calm him. This wasn't the time to fight. "Try it and you'll see what will happen.", he threatened the woman from the Blue Ajah, and Maigan opened her mouth, but was interrupted when Siuan held up her hand.

"Enough. If I remember it correctly, I was told that Lan Gaidin carried Moiraine out of the tower, by throwing her over his shoulder."

"He did, but…!"

"Maigan, even you have to admit that it is really hard to channel when you are carried like this. Wouldn't you say?"

Maigan looked as if she was close to exploding, but she would never misbehave around the Amyrlin. Slowly, she released her breath, then she said through gritted teeth: "Yes, Mother."

"Well, in that case, I think we are done here. It is late, Moiraine is back in the tower, we all should go to bed now. Moiraine Sedai, walk with me."

Siuan turned around, but Maigan wasn't satisfied yet. "Forgive me, Mother, but are you really not punishing them for what they did? Moiraine…"

"You punished her this whole week, Maigan." Sighing, Siuan turned her head to the sister of the Blue Ajah. "Do you think I didn't notice that you two were barely leaving your room since she returned?"

"I was gathering information about…"

"What could she possibly tell you that she hasn't already told you in the first two days?"

Maigan was visibly struggling, but it was obvious that Siuan had found out about what she had been doing to Moiraine the last few days. Of course, Siuan didn't tell the woman that Lan had paid her a visit to inform her about Moiraine's absence days ago. Tired, the Amyrlin said: "Goodnight, Maigan."

She was able to do four steps when Maigan stopped her again. "What about the warder, Mother?"

This time, Siuan couldn't keep her calm. Frustrated, she wrung her hands, then she quickly returned to Maigan. "Daughter! You are testing my patience tonight! Didn't I say that it is enough?!"

"If we don't do anything, this will be a sign for the warders to do whatever they want."

Moiraine, who had started to follow Siuan, quickly stepped back in front of Lan, and even Alanna moved closer to her sister's side. "Lan was just worried about me. He…"

"He overstepped his boundaries! He was supposed to obey your orders, but instead, he kidnapped an Aes Sedai!"

"He is my warder!"

"A warder, whose collar hangs too loose!"

"How dare you…?!"

"ENOUGH!" Siuan's voice echoed through the corridor, and everyone turned silent. Slowly, they bowed their heads, while Siuan rubbed her temples. She was getting a headache from this stress. Finally, she looked at Lan, who was angry at Maigan but couldn't do anything. "Lan Mandragoran, since you 'kidnapped' your Aes Sedai against her will, …" Everyone noticed what the Amyrlin really thought about Lan's definition of 'kidnapping'. "… you will help the other warders to work with the new recruits. You will take the morning shifts."

Lan bowed his head deeper to hide his smile from Maigan. It wasn't really a punishment, and everyone knew it, but he answered nonetheless: "Yes, Mother."

"And you will apologize to Maigan Sedai for interrupting her 'meeting' with your Aes Sedai." Again, it was clear that Siuan wasn't content with calling Moiraine's punishment an actual meeting. Lan threw her an angry look, which she countered with a warning one. She wanted this discussion to be over.

"Maigan Sedai, I deeply apologize for my terrible behavior when I interrupted your interrogation. I hope you can forgive me."

The blue Aes Sedai looked as if she wanted to decline, but she felt the Amyrlin's burning look on her back, so, she tilted her head before she bowed in front of Siuan. "Thank you, Mother. Have a good night."

"You too, Daughter." Siuan replied with a tired smile on her lips, then they all watched how Maigan left them. The Amyrlin waited a moment, then she turned her head to Alanna. "You should go to bed as well, Daughter."

"Yes, Mother." Alanna was relieved that she was finally allowed to leave this heated situation. But when she turned to her warders, Siuan called her once more.

"And Alanna?"

"Yes, Mother?"

"The next time, you decide to join a sister for tea, you should make sure to clean your clothes from the smell. This way, it is easier to hide what you actually have been doing instead of 'searching' for someone."

The young woman was shocked, but when she saw the mischievous sparkle in Siuan's eyes, she smiled wildly and bowed again. "I will remember it."

Alanna squeezed Moiraine's hand reassuringly, then she left with Ihvon and Maksim. When they were gone as well, Siuan turned to Moiraine and Lan with a raised eyebrow. "Don't you two have done enough in the last few weeks? Do you need to anger everyone in this tower?"

"She was holding Moiraine as a prisoner.", Lan started, but Siuan stopped him by holding up her hand.

"You know better than to interfere with the business of Aes Sedai, Lan. And I remember that I had told you to stay out of it."

Confused, Moiraine looked from her best friend to her warder and back. "Wait, when did you tell him to stay out of it?" But neither one of them was paying attention to her.

Lan put on his unreadable mask when he said: "And I did stay out of it." Siuan raised an eyebrow again, then she moved her hands, so, he would understand that she was referring to this situation. "I waited two more days until I got her out of there."

"You went to Siuan?" Moiraine was shocked that Lan had taken things into his own hands before today.

"Maigan didn't allow me to see you, and so did no other Aes Sedai."

"We have our bond back, Lan. You can feel me again. You knew…"

"All I felt was your exhaustion and your tiredness. And this was increasing from day to day!", Lan interrupted her angrily. He knew that it wasn't Moiraine's fault that she hadn't contacted him, but he was frustrated. "Maigan barely let you sleep and no one was doing anything."

A sad smile appeared on Moiraine's lips when she finally felt Lan's suppressed feelings. He had been worried about her. The Aes Sedai closed the distance between them and put her arms around him. Lan didn't hesitate to embrace her. "Thank you for saving me."

"Anytime."

Siuan gave them another minute, then she interrupted them. "As much as I hate it to tear you two apart, it is late and I would really like to go to bed. So, I'm taking Moiraine with me and you, Lan, go back to your room and get some sleep on your own."

Lan looked at the Amyrlin but didn't let go of his Aes Sedai. "And why do you think she's going with you?"

"Careful, Gaidin. I'm the Amyrlin Seat. When I say that she comes with me, then she comes with me." Siuan grabbed Moiraine's elbow and pulled her gently towards herself. Growling, Lan had no choice but to release his Aes Sedai. "Besides, I know her longer than you do, which means that I have the older rights."

"That's not a reason to me."

"How about, you had her for two years, while I was waiting for your return?"

"It was necessary. You can't…"

Suddenly, Siuan took a step forward and whispered: "I'm planning to make up for Maigan's punishment. Over and over again. Unless you haven't finally decided to see more in her than just your Aes Sedai, I'm pretty sure that this is something you can't do for her."

"Siuan." Quickly, Moiraine pushed herself between the Amyrlin and her warder. The last thing she needed was for them to start a fight over her. "Wasn't it you who said that it was already late?"

The Amyrlin smiled sweetly at Lan, who was trying really hard not to do anything stupid. Then she turned around and waved at him. "Goodnight, Lan."

Moiraine sighed tiredly. She felt like this day would never end. Smiling, she laid one hand on Lan's cheek when she saw that he was still shooting daggers at Siuan's back with his eyes.

"Don't worry about her."

Finally, his eyes met hers and they softened immediately. "Are you alright?"

"How could I not be? You saved me from Maigan, we were able to spend a day outside of the tower… this was the best day in what felt like forever."

Lan nodded, then he kissed her forehead. "Then I don't want to be the one, who ruins it for you. Go. Don't let her wait."

"Are you alright?" She wanted to follow Siuan, but first, she needed to check on him.

"I'm tired. I will go straight to bed. After all, I have to get up early tomorrow to train with our new recruits."

"I'm sorry that you…"

Lan shook his head, then he pushed Moiraine gently in Siuan's direction. The Amyrlin was waiting at the corner to give the two of them some privacy. "Goodnight, Moiraine."

"Goodnight, Lan."

The warder waited until the two women vanished behind the corner, then he went to the warders quarter.

When Lan opened his door, he was surprised to see Nynaeve sitting on his bed. Quickly, he closed the door behind him, so, no one would see her.

"What are you doing here?"

"I've been waiting for you."

"Don't tell me you've been here the whole day."

"Don't be silly. Of course, not." She got to her feet and walked over to him. "I just wanted to check on you."

"Is there a reason that you…?"

Nynaeve blushed and her eyes turned to her shoes, while her fingers played with her braided hair. "I heard a little bit about what had happened today. Liandrin had informed Egwene and me that Moiraine had caused some trouble and that she had dragged you into it."

Lan put his finger under the wisdom's chin and made her look up again. "Don't believe what Liandrin says. She would do anything to…"

"I know. This snake wanted to use us to find you two. I have to admit that she knows how to reach her goals."

"I didn't see Liandrin until we returned to the tower."

"That's because we led her right back to the tower before she was able to see you."

Lan narrowed his eyes at her words. Before Liandrin had been able to see them? This would mean that Nynaeve had been on the street. But he hadn't noticed her. Was it possible that not even she but Egwene as well had found them and had decided not to tell a sister?

"Where did you see us?"

"We found you at the teahouse. Alanna and her warders found you only a few minutes later."

"And it never occurred to you to talk to us?"

Nynaeve crossed her arms, while she thought about her next words. "At first, I wanted to storm the teahouse." Lan smiled at the thought of an angry Nynaeve coming into the teahouse and ordering them to return to the White Tower. "I was worried that you would be punished because Moiraine had angered a sister. The last time, she was exiled from the White Tower."

"That's not what happened."

"But then I watched you two. The whole tower was looking for you, and you didn't look worried at all. Instead, you seemed… free. And when Alanna and her warders joined you…" Finally, the young woman was able to look into his eyes and smiled. "… you seemed happy. I couldn't allow Liandrin to take that away from you."

Lan encircled her neck with his hand, then he pulled her in and kissed her softly. Although she hated Moiraine and the Aes Sedai, she had helped him to enjoy a day off with his Aes Sedai.

"Thank you for distracting Liandrin."

"Will you tell me what happened that Moiraine was hunted by her sisters?", Nynaeve whispered, while she was trying to catch her breath.

Lan smiled, then he kissed her again and slowly pushed her back to the bed. When he allowed her to breathe again, he said: "Would you believe me if I would tell you that she didn't do anything at all?"

"Normally, I would say no. But this time, I really don't think that she was responsible for what had happened today."

"Good, because I was the one, who caused all this trouble when I kidnapped her."

Nynaeve furrowed her forehead in confusion. "You kidnapped Moiraine?"

"The Blue Ajah was keeping her a prisoner, and she needed a break. So, I grabbed her and left."

"And no one stopped you?"

"I didn't give them a chance. And Moiraine had no say in this either."

"She…?" Lan didn't let Nynaeve finish her question. Now was not the time for words. He closed her lips with his own, then he gently pushed her onto his bed. Tomorrow, he still would be able to explain everything.