This is the chapter you've all been waiting for…even if you don't know it. Trust me, by the end you'll know why you've been waiting for it.
Chapter 13- Surrender
Nynaeve's head was throbbing when she woke. She was in a dimly lit chamber, with stone walls and a dirt floor. She put a hand to her temple. "Where am I?"
"Outside of Tar Valon is all I know," a comforting voice answered. Nynaeve looked up to see Lan standing against the wall, facing her.
"How did we get here?"
Lan did not waver. "I surrendered to the Trollocs."
"What?! Why would you do a thing like that? Do you know what's going to happen to us now?" She wanted to be angry, but she was too frightened.
"No, I don't. And neither do you. There were too many, Nynaeve. I would never have been able to get you back to Tar Valon." She took in the blood splattered on his clothes.
"Are you hurt?"
Lan looked down at his clothes. "Trolloc blood. I've got a few bruises, but nothing serious. You've got Trolloc remains all over your dress, as well."
So she did. Nynaeve sighed and vainly brushed at a spot of blood. "What do we do now?"
"Well, you could always channel our way out of the cell, but you'd never be able to get us past the Trollocs."
"I'm the one who has to do all the work now?"
"No. I've already looked out. See for yourself."
Nynaeve walked to the door, where the dim light was coming from, and peeked out of the small, iron-barred window. As far as she could see, there were Trollocs, gathered around fires. A few Fades strolled among them.
"I see your point," Nynaeve submitted. "And I still have my block, anyway. But we can't stay here. We cannot just accept our fate at the hands of Trollocs."
"I think 'at the hands of the Dark One' would be more accurate."
"This is no joking matter."
"I was not joking, Nynaeve. I think they are keeping us here for him."
She fell silent. If that was true, there was no telling how long they would be trapped here. *Wonderful. I'm imprisoned in a dirty room with the one man I would love to be miles away from.*
"You could have just left me behind."
"No I could not," Lan said firmly. "I could never do that."
"Your bond is to Myrelle. Your loyalties should be with her. You should never have followed me to begin with, where I was going was none of your business."
"I sensed that you would be in trouble. I had to follow you."
"What are you talking about? I can take care of myself."
"You are never going to admit that even you sometimes need help."
"I admit it already. But not from you."
"You are so stubborn, Nynaeve! Whether you will see it or not, you would not have lived were it not for me."
"I don't know about that. They probably would have just taken me. Not that that's any better. But that's not the point. Why can't you just leave me alone? Why can't everyone just leave me alone?"
"I will never leave you alone, Nynaeve. Even if you never really acknowledge me, I will forever be your shadow, your hidden protector."
"Why? Why should you care?"
"Because I love you, Nynaeve. I always have."
Nynaeve's eyes widened at Lan's honesty. He never said anything straight out. "Why haven't you said anything? If you love me, why have you let me suffer for so long?"
"The ter'angreal. You stayed, you did not come out, but you remained with whatever life you liked better than one with me. You left me, Nynaeve."
"No, I didn't!" she exclaimed. "I stayed because of you. *For* you. It's all your fault, al'Lan Mandragoran!"
"What is? What do you mean?"
"I stayed because in the ter'angreal, you were my husband. We were together, and happy. When *you* kissed me, I forgot about my life. Therefore I blame it all on *you*. When I came back out, I suffered so much from not being with you, and you just let me! How could you do that if you really loved me?"
"I was not sure you still loved me," he said simply. "How was I supposed to know what went on inside the ter'angreal?"
"You were supposed to know."
"Nynaeve, now we both know what happened-"
"There isn't time for that now, Lan. We have to find a way out of here, one that will keep us alive."
"Not time? If we die attempting to escape there won't be any time for *anything*. Why not talk about it now?"
"If we do, and then the Dark One shows up before we have time to come up with a plan, then we'll be doomed."
"We're all doomed anyway, Nynaeve. You might as well have one good thing in your life."
"I had one, until Moiraine showed up in Emond's Field."
"I did not have any. You could have one now. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. If *you* love me, why do you not want that?"
"I don't want to be hurt the way I was when I left the ter'angreal. You have no idea how much it hurt."
"You won't. I will never leave you."
"How do you know I won't leave you?"
"Nynaeve, stop this. Don't you see what you're doing? You're making excuses not to be with me. I have given you my promise never to hurt you. I will guarantee you will never have to leave me, for I would follow you anywhere. Where is the risk? I do not see it, if there is, is it not worth taking? Why don't you just give in, Nynaeve? You know you want to."
"I don't know!" she was hysterical, without knowing exactly why. Light, what was wrong with her? She was being offered love, a devoted Warder- it was plain that Lan did not intend to stay with Myrelle. Why didn't she accept it?
Lan was right behind her now. Her head was screaming for her to move, but her feet would not obey. "I love you, Nynaeve. That is all I can say."
He walked away, presumably to the other side of the room. Nynaeve felt the tears sting in her eyes, but she blinked them back. "I love you too, Lan," she said quietly.
In a split second he was by her side. He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply. She surrendered her heart and soul to him completely.
In that moment she felt something shatter. At first she began to panic, but the sudden presence of saidar- and saidin- calmed her. Lan stared at the shocked expression on her face. "Nynaeve, what happened?"
"The…the block," she said wonderingly. "It's gone."
Lan grinned sardonically. "Wouldn't you know it," he muttered.
An explosion sounded below. "What was that?" Nynaeve asked. More explosions followed.
Lan looked grimly out into the plethora of Trollocs. "I think our rescue party is here. I see Rand…Egwene…and Perrin. Some others are following, I cannot make them out yet. Oh, look at that, Myrelle is here." He did not sound thrilled to see her.
"Now is as good a time as any. Get us out of here, my love."
Nynaeve did not even bother with a doorknob. She blasted the entire wall away. Weaving saidar and saidin into the same flow, she cut down Trollocs left and right. The weave she made killed tens simultaneously. She had learned, in her study of healing, effective ways to cause injury and death.
Egwene saw them and called out, "They're over there! Hurry, Nynaeve, Lan, we can't kill them all! Let's get out of here!"
Nynaeve found her hand in Lan's as they ran after the others. In his other hand he held his sword, slicing occasionally at the Trollocs that would not quit. Nynaeve continued to kill as many as she could as long as they were still among the camp of the Shadow.
They had broken free of the main camp, but many pursued them. Egwene gestured to them from behind a tree. "What are you doing, Egwene, we have to keep running!" Nynaeve yelled.
"No, come here." Egwene and Rand pulled them to the tree.
"What are we doing here?"
"This area is protected. We will not be seen by any being of the Shadow for the remainder of the night. We can rest here until the camp is quiet, then make our way back to Tar Valon through the trees."
"Trees- wait, Egwene, where did these trees come from?"
"I'm sorry to say I do not know. If I did, I might be able to understand why this area is safe."
Soon after, Egwene, Rand, Perrin, Faolain, Elayne, Myrelle, and two others were all sound asleep. Lan and Nynaeve were too busy being in love for such trivial things as sleep.
End Chapter 13
I hope that was somewhat enjoyable. Next chapter Faile is going to show up. I have not yet *told* you whether she is alive, so don't assume she is. And don't assume she's not. Anyway, that is of no importance now.
Review please. It means much lots to me.
Chapter 13- Surrender
Nynaeve's head was throbbing when she woke. She was in a dimly lit chamber, with stone walls and a dirt floor. She put a hand to her temple. "Where am I?"
"Outside of Tar Valon is all I know," a comforting voice answered. Nynaeve looked up to see Lan standing against the wall, facing her.
"How did we get here?"
Lan did not waver. "I surrendered to the Trollocs."
"What?! Why would you do a thing like that? Do you know what's going to happen to us now?" She wanted to be angry, but she was too frightened.
"No, I don't. And neither do you. There were too many, Nynaeve. I would never have been able to get you back to Tar Valon." She took in the blood splattered on his clothes.
"Are you hurt?"
Lan looked down at his clothes. "Trolloc blood. I've got a few bruises, but nothing serious. You've got Trolloc remains all over your dress, as well."
So she did. Nynaeve sighed and vainly brushed at a spot of blood. "What do we do now?"
"Well, you could always channel our way out of the cell, but you'd never be able to get us past the Trollocs."
"I'm the one who has to do all the work now?"
"No. I've already looked out. See for yourself."
Nynaeve walked to the door, where the dim light was coming from, and peeked out of the small, iron-barred window. As far as she could see, there were Trollocs, gathered around fires. A few Fades strolled among them.
"I see your point," Nynaeve submitted. "And I still have my block, anyway. But we can't stay here. We cannot just accept our fate at the hands of Trollocs."
"I think 'at the hands of the Dark One' would be more accurate."
"This is no joking matter."
"I was not joking, Nynaeve. I think they are keeping us here for him."
She fell silent. If that was true, there was no telling how long they would be trapped here. *Wonderful. I'm imprisoned in a dirty room with the one man I would love to be miles away from.*
"You could have just left me behind."
"No I could not," Lan said firmly. "I could never do that."
"Your bond is to Myrelle. Your loyalties should be with her. You should never have followed me to begin with, where I was going was none of your business."
"I sensed that you would be in trouble. I had to follow you."
"What are you talking about? I can take care of myself."
"You are never going to admit that even you sometimes need help."
"I admit it already. But not from you."
"You are so stubborn, Nynaeve! Whether you will see it or not, you would not have lived were it not for me."
"I don't know about that. They probably would have just taken me. Not that that's any better. But that's not the point. Why can't you just leave me alone? Why can't everyone just leave me alone?"
"I will never leave you alone, Nynaeve. Even if you never really acknowledge me, I will forever be your shadow, your hidden protector."
"Why? Why should you care?"
"Because I love you, Nynaeve. I always have."
Nynaeve's eyes widened at Lan's honesty. He never said anything straight out. "Why haven't you said anything? If you love me, why have you let me suffer for so long?"
"The ter'angreal. You stayed, you did not come out, but you remained with whatever life you liked better than one with me. You left me, Nynaeve."
"No, I didn't!" she exclaimed. "I stayed because of you. *For* you. It's all your fault, al'Lan Mandragoran!"
"What is? What do you mean?"
"I stayed because in the ter'angreal, you were my husband. We were together, and happy. When *you* kissed me, I forgot about my life. Therefore I blame it all on *you*. When I came back out, I suffered so much from not being with you, and you just let me! How could you do that if you really loved me?"
"I was not sure you still loved me," he said simply. "How was I supposed to know what went on inside the ter'angreal?"
"You were supposed to know."
"Nynaeve, now we both know what happened-"
"There isn't time for that now, Lan. We have to find a way out of here, one that will keep us alive."
"Not time? If we die attempting to escape there won't be any time for *anything*. Why not talk about it now?"
"If we do, and then the Dark One shows up before we have time to come up with a plan, then we'll be doomed."
"We're all doomed anyway, Nynaeve. You might as well have one good thing in your life."
"I had one, until Moiraine showed up in Emond's Field."
"I did not have any. You could have one now. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. If *you* love me, why do you not want that?"
"I don't want to be hurt the way I was when I left the ter'angreal. You have no idea how much it hurt."
"You won't. I will never leave you."
"How do you know I won't leave you?"
"Nynaeve, stop this. Don't you see what you're doing? You're making excuses not to be with me. I have given you my promise never to hurt you. I will guarantee you will never have to leave me, for I would follow you anywhere. Where is the risk? I do not see it, if there is, is it not worth taking? Why don't you just give in, Nynaeve? You know you want to."
"I don't know!" she was hysterical, without knowing exactly why. Light, what was wrong with her? She was being offered love, a devoted Warder- it was plain that Lan did not intend to stay with Myrelle. Why didn't she accept it?
Lan was right behind her now. Her head was screaming for her to move, but her feet would not obey. "I love you, Nynaeve. That is all I can say."
He walked away, presumably to the other side of the room. Nynaeve felt the tears sting in her eyes, but she blinked them back. "I love you too, Lan," she said quietly.
In a split second he was by her side. He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply. She surrendered her heart and soul to him completely.
In that moment she felt something shatter. At first she began to panic, but the sudden presence of saidar- and saidin- calmed her. Lan stared at the shocked expression on her face. "Nynaeve, what happened?"
"The…the block," she said wonderingly. "It's gone."
Lan grinned sardonically. "Wouldn't you know it," he muttered.
An explosion sounded below. "What was that?" Nynaeve asked. More explosions followed.
Lan looked grimly out into the plethora of Trollocs. "I think our rescue party is here. I see Rand…Egwene…and Perrin. Some others are following, I cannot make them out yet. Oh, look at that, Myrelle is here." He did not sound thrilled to see her.
"Now is as good a time as any. Get us out of here, my love."
Nynaeve did not even bother with a doorknob. She blasted the entire wall away. Weaving saidar and saidin into the same flow, she cut down Trollocs left and right. The weave she made killed tens simultaneously. She had learned, in her study of healing, effective ways to cause injury and death.
Egwene saw them and called out, "They're over there! Hurry, Nynaeve, Lan, we can't kill them all! Let's get out of here!"
Nynaeve found her hand in Lan's as they ran after the others. In his other hand he held his sword, slicing occasionally at the Trollocs that would not quit. Nynaeve continued to kill as many as she could as long as they were still among the camp of the Shadow.
They had broken free of the main camp, but many pursued them. Egwene gestured to them from behind a tree. "What are you doing, Egwene, we have to keep running!" Nynaeve yelled.
"No, come here." Egwene and Rand pulled them to the tree.
"What are we doing here?"
"This area is protected. We will not be seen by any being of the Shadow for the remainder of the night. We can rest here until the camp is quiet, then make our way back to Tar Valon through the trees."
"Trees- wait, Egwene, where did these trees come from?"
"I'm sorry to say I do not know. If I did, I might be able to understand why this area is safe."
Soon after, Egwene, Rand, Perrin, Faolain, Elayne, Myrelle, and two others were all sound asleep. Lan and Nynaeve were too busy being in love for such trivial things as sleep.
End Chapter 13
I hope that was somewhat enjoyable. Next chapter Faile is going to show up. I have not yet *told* you whether she is alive, so don't assume she is. And don't assume she's not. Anyway, that is of no importance now.
Review please. It means much lots to me.