Nightmares

Disclaimer: Vh vi poh qvpz. This is Nynaeve's code, which I spent ages coming up with. Okay, so five minutes. You remember, the code on the paper she was reading in the last chapter? I'll give you all a minute to look back. Found it? Good. But it does actually make sense, and it is logical.

A/N: Well, I'm back! I had a great holiday, and have now returned home! My blonde hair is now pink (I got bored in the vicinity of some hair dye. Oops) and will take several washes to get out. Clever me… But anyways, here is the next chapter. Hope you like.

Nynaeve:

Nynaeve sat with her feet dangling into a small stream she had found on one of her explorations of the tower grounds. She leafed absently through a book, pausing occasionally to idly swat away bees that were flying through the air next to her. It was peaceful and quiet, and Nynaeve liked it like that.

At that moment, the noise of someone approaching caught her attention. She stood up, and turned to face them. Her face lit up as she found herself facing her older sister.

"Anona!" She exclaimed, rushing forward to fling her arms around the other woman's neck. Her sister laughed, and hugged her back.

"Hello, stranger! What under the Light are you doing here?" She inquired, happily. Nynaeve's smile turned into a frown, and she glared at Anona.

"Don't you dare say a word!"

"I didn't!"

"Good."

"But if I were to…" Anona said slyly.

"No!" Nynaeve exclaimed, covering her ears, her sister laughed, and tried to pry her hands away. Nynaeve fought back, both of them laughing and joking all the while.

The spy at the end of the garden smiled. His master would be very pleased with this piece of information.

Moiraine:

Moiraine paced up and down, angrily, trying to piece together all of the information, while Lan watched her thoughtfully.

"We know she has something to do with Malkieri." He said finally.

"You mean because of the hadori?" Moiraine asked, continuing to pace.

"And the ki'sain." Moiraine halted abruptly.

"The ki'sain? What ki'sain?"

"The one in the picture she was drawing," Lan replied vaguely.

"What picture!" Moiraine almost yelled. Lan suddenly remembered that Moiraine didn't know about it.

"Just after Nynaeve joined us in Baerlon, I woke up to find her drawing a picture of a woman wearing a ki'sain. I forgot to mention it." Remembering his conversation with Nynaeve the previous day, he smiled slightly and added, "Whoops." Moiraine glared at him. It wasn't as effective as one of Nynaeve's glares, he noticed, but it came close.

"A ki'sain and a hadori." She mused. "Interesting. Very interesting."

Nynaeve:

Where was she? Wherever it was, it was definitely foggier than most places. It seemed distant, almost dreamlike. Oh ashes. Dreamlike. She was dreaming! How had she let herself fall asleep! This was not good. Not good at all. A figure began to materialise slowly in the mist in front of her. As it died away, she saw that the person was herself. A younger version of herself, of course. The real Nynaeve would never wear something like that.

"Hello," said Dream Nynaeve, "I'm Nynaeve."

"Me too," Real Nynaeve replied.

"What a coincidence!" Marvelled Dream Nynaeve, "Do you want to come with me?"

"Where are you going?" asked Real Nynaeve, but the air around them was already beginning to swirl, and the landscape was changing.

They were standing in front of a bustling market, people and animals running around, stall owners yelling, and children laughing. Suddenly a girl rounded the corner, laughing and skipping.

"That's us," Dream Nynaeve pointed out.

"Yes," responded Real Nynaeve, "It is." She found tears welling in her eyes; this was her back when she was carefree and innocent. Oh, how she wished nothing had changed.

A tall, handsome man rounded the corner after Child Nynaeve, and scooped her up into his arms. She gave a squeal of delight, and hugged him tightly.

Real Nynaeve smiled bitterly. Her father. Everything had been different, then. The air began to swirl once more, and then Real Nynaeve and Dream Nynaeve stood in the corner of a large bedchamber. She recognised the tall, regal woman sitting on a plush, elaborate char, embroidering something with tiny, neat, precise stitches. Another woman, smaller and with long golden blonde hair entered the room in floods of tears.

"Oh, Lena! My life is over!" She announced melodramatically, collapsing in a heap at the older woman's feet. Lena calmly put down her sewing. Her sister's life ended at least twice a week.

Real Nynaeve watched as her Aunt Lena comforted her mother. This had obviously been before she was born, as her Aunt didn't yet have the ageless face that was the trademark of Aes Sedai, nor did her mother wear a wedding ring. Why was she visiting these scenes?

Dream Nynaeve turned to face Nynaeve, but suddenly the room went dark, the background changing to that of a crowded theatre house. Nynaeve's eyes widened. It was going to come to this, at some time. This was the dream she dreaded, the reason she did not sleep.

Moiraine:

Moiraine strode in the direction of Nynaeve's room. It was the middle of the night, but it didn't matter; the girl, after all, did not sleep. Lan followed close behind her. It had taken her far too long, and far too much sneaking around to come to this decision. She was the Aes Sedai, and Nynaeve was just an Accepted. She was in charge, and she would get an answer out of that light-forsaken girl, if she had to shake them out.

She should have just demanded them outright from the beginning, but she hadn't She had been far too soft on the Wisdom. Ex Wisdom. Like it or not, the girl would be Aes Sedai.

They reached the room, and Moiraine flung open the door without bothering to knock.

Nynaeve lay in her bed, quite obviously asleep.

"Well that's new." Moiraine and Lan crossed over the wooden floor to Nynaeve's bed. Nynaeve turned over in her sleep, murmuring softly. She began to thrash more, her speech becoming louder.

"No," she mumbled, "No. No no no no no. Don't do that. No! Darkfriend! Traitor! Liar!" She flinched as though hit, and then continued to toss and mutter. Moiraine felt concern through the bond, and nodded to Lan.

He bent over to gently shake Nynaeve. She pulled back sharply as her touched her.

"No!" She cried, "No!" Lan shook her again, and this time when she pulled back, he continued to grip her, shaking her. Her eyes flew open suddenly, and there was more fear in them than Lan had ever seen in his life.

The fear seemed to die down as she looked back up at him. She quickly jerked herself free, seeming to realise where she was. She pushed herself up, and glared at Moiraine and Lan.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded angrily.

"We wanted to talk to you," Moiraine replied, coolly.

"In the middle of the night!" Nynaeve exclaimed, incredulously.

"You don't usually sleep. We thought that tonight would not be an exception."

"Well you thought wrong! Now leave me in peace!"

"We need some answers." Moiraine persisted.

"And I need some sleep!"

"And the Amyrlin needs to see you." Nynaeve and Moiraine blinked. Neither of them had said anything. They turned to see a frightened looking Novice standing in the doorway, holding a summons.

Nynaeve rose quickly, and Lan turned around as she hastily pulled on a dress. She shot Moiraine one last glare as she hurried out the door after the Novice.

Moiraine sighed in frustration as the door closed behind them.

Beale:

He drove his horse faster and faster, desperate in his insanity to get to the White Tower faster. She was there. He could picture her now. She was so close…

xxx

Ru'n snorted as she sensed someone draw closer to his stall. She heard the grate of the door on the stall next to hers being opened. She heard the tired sigh of a horse which has been driven to fast for too long. And then she heard the soft laughter of the rider of the horse. Her ears flattened. She knew that laugh. She had never trusted its owner, right from the start. She knew that he meant nothing but harm to her owner. And now he was here, and there was no way to warn Nynaeve. Ru'n snorted once more, as the man exited the stables.

Nynaeve:

She sat at the foot of a flight of stairs, absently watching the bustle of Tower life. A messenger approached her anxiously.

"There is a problem with your horse," He informed her. "You are required to go down to the stables immediately. You…" But Nynaeve was already gone, running towards the nearest door. The quickest way to get a reaction out of anyone who had even the smallest drop of Dessa blood was to tell them that their mount was distressed.

As she ran, Moiraine appeared at her side, with Lan not far off.

"I need to…"

"Not now." Nynaeve interrupted her brusquely. She continued to run down to the stables. Moiraine exchanged a look with Lan, and they too began to sprint.

When Nynaeve arrived, the stable master pointed her in the direction of Ru'n's stable, and she hurried to it. Ru'n was snorting, and stamping, and making a huge fuss. Nynaeve put out a hand to stroke her muzzle.

"What's wrong?" She inquired worriedly. Ru'n butted her hand, pushing her away as if warning her about something.

Ru'n wasn't an unintelligent horse. In fact, she was one of the cleverer members of her species, so she had picked up, over the years, that if she acted upset, Nynaeve would drop everything, and not rest until she was all right again. So she had begun a commotion, loudly stamping and upsetting the other horses. She knew Nynaeve would come.

"What's wrong?" Nynaeve repeated. She knew that Ru'n was trying to communicate something; Dessa had very strong ties with their horses.

Ru'n tossed her head in the direction of the next stable, and Nynaeve looked into it curiously. An exhausted horse lay on the ground, panting and foaming at the mouth. Outrage flowed through her: How dare anyone treat a horse like that!

"Excuse me!" she called a stableman who was passing by, "Could you tell me who brought this horse in?" The stableman turned to her with a smile.

"Yes, of course, ma'am." He drawled. "I remember him. The fella was mighty tall, and looked like he was awful happy about something. He had dark brown hair, and almost black eyes. Like I was a-sayin', he looked mighty fine pleased, but also kinda scary. As if he were possessed like." Nynaeve's face paled.

"He- he didn't happen to have a large scar, did he? Just here?" She traced a line down from her temple to her jaw on the right side of her face.

"Now that you mention it, ma'am, he did have a scar right there on his face like. How ever did you know that? There isn't a muchly of men wandering around-like with a scar on them cheek."

"I… I know him. Thank you for helping me." The stableman grinned and nodded, and walked away whistling. Just then, Moiraine and Lan burst into the stable.

"What on earth are you doing, Nynaeve!" Moiraine demanded, but stopped short, seeing Nynaeve's ashen face.

"He's here. Oh Light help me, he's here. I think…I think I'm going to be sick." She swayed slightly, clutching onto the door of Ru'n's stable. She was shaking all over, and couldn't see or hear properly. Her heart began to beat faster, and she began gasping for breath.

"He's here. He's here." She repeated over and over again. Moiraine and Lan shared worried looks. Neither of them had ever seen Nynaeve like this before.

"Lan, we should take her to be healed. She doesn't look well." Moiraine said softly. Lan nodded, and scooped the girl up into his arms. She tried to struggle, but Moiraine laid a hand on her forehead, and channelled a small amount of Spirit.

"She will sleep for a while." She informed Lan. He grunted in agreement, and they made their way up to the tower.

Ru'n snorted happily. She had done her part. Now she could eat some oats, and maybe get some sleep. Horses are notoriously easy to please.

When they arrived, a Yellow sister found a bed, and busied herself trying t heal Nynaeve. Moiraine frowned.

"Is there anyone we should fetch?" The Yellow sister inquired. Moiraine shook her head, but Lan nodded.

"Anona Sedai," he said. Moiraine turned to him with a frown, but the Yellow sister hurried off to send a messenger.

A few minutes later, Anona Sedai swept into the room, closely followed by Kendel.

"Is she all right?" She asked the Yellow sister, urgently.

"She will be fine," the Yellow assured her. Then she turned to Lan and Moiraine.

"What exactly caused this?" She inquired. Moiraine shook her head.

"I have no idea," she admitted. "A messenger came to tell her that her horse had some sort of problem, and she began running down to the stables. When we got there she was like this." The Yellow nodded.

"We will send someone down to the stables to ask if anyone saw what happened." She hastily left the room, muttering something about needing a messenger.

Anona Sedai sat down in a chair near Nynaeve's bed, and Kendel leaned against the wall, relaxed, but still constantly aware of everything. At that moment, Verin burst through the door.

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking around the room, like a confused bird. "I heard something happened to the al'Meara girl. Is she all right? Have they healed her yet? She's not going to die is she? That would be an awful waste of good talent." Moiraine sighed.

"No, Verin. She's not going to die. The healer said that she just needs some rest, and not to exert herself, and she will be just fine." Verin nodded her head up and down. Moiraine suppressed a smile. Verin did look remarkably like a bird. But what type…? She trailed off into thought.

Lan went to stand next to Kendel, and for a while the room was completely silent, until the door opened, and the healer reappeared with a stableboy in tow.

"Now," she said, "You mentioned that you saw this girl in the stables." She gestured toward Nynaeve's sleeping form. The boy nodded nervously.

"Yes, Lady Aes Sedai, ma'am." He bobbed his head. "I remember on accounta the fact that I thought to myself, I thought well she's mighty fine pretty, I did." Lan glared at the boy, and he gave a frightened yelp. Moiraine gave Lan a warning look.

"An what did you see her do?" the healer asked. "Did you talk to her?"

"That I did, Lady Aes Sedai, ma'am. She came in looking upset, and her horse way making a real big commotion. She looked all worried like, and stroked it. Mighty fine beast that, mighty fine. Anyhows, she was a-lookin' at the horse in the next stall, and she looked awful upset. I do not blame her for that, no I do not. Dreadful shame, that horse is. The man who came in with it had been over workin' it-like, and the poor beast was lookin' all dreadful. But I'm a-gettin' ahead of myself heres.

"Y'see, Lady Aes Sedai, ma'am, she asked me, she said, 'Who brought that there horse in?' and I happened to have been on the night watch, so I knew, and I told her. I described the man that brought that there horse in, and she went all dreadful pale-like, and said that she was in the knowin' of him. And then she said thanky, and I went on my way. Then this here Lady Aes Sedai came in with this here man with all the glarin', and that's the all of what I know, ma'am." He took a breath after the speech, and gave her a nervous smile. Moiraine gave him a thoughtful look.

"And could you describe the man who came in for us, boy?" She asked.

"Oh yes, Lady Aes Sedai, ma'am. I wont be forgettin' hisself for a real long time like. He was the scariest dang man, oh, uh, pardon my language, Lady Aes Sedai ma'am. Like I was a-sayin', he is the scariest man I have ever seen. Even scarier than your man with all the glarin'. He was terrible tall, and had brown hair and deep brown eyes. Like I said to the lady, them eyes was almost black. He looked horrible happy, but also real terrifying. As though," The boy lowered his voice, as if afraid that the man would hear him, "As though he were possessed-like." He straightened up, and carried on talking normally.

"Not that I believe them stories, but when you see someone like him, you start thinkin'… Anyhows, he scared the pants offa me, if you'll pardon me sayin' so, Lady Aes Sedai ma'am. But the mostly thing which was a-scarin' me, was the horrible scar he had. All the way down his right side of his own face, it was, and made him look dreadful menacin' like. An' that's him, Lady Aes Sedai, ma'am, at least all that I'm knowin' about him. Like I said, it was night, and awful dark, but I saw him as he was passin' under the torches, like. I hope that helps you, Lady Aes Sedai, ma'am, I truly do." Moiraine smiled at him.

"Thank you, child. That was very helpful. You may go now." The boy bowed to Moiraine and the other Aes Sedai, and exited the room.

"Oh dear…" Anona said softly. Moiraine turned to face her.

"Do you know what all this means? And why did Lan say we should fetch you?"

"Lan said that?" Anona said softly and absently. "Oh. Yes. It does make sense. It. We. Nynaeve and I both know the man the boy described. We…well we go back a long way. I know why Nynaeve reacted like that though. Now I know." Moiraine rolled her eyes irritably.

"Could you not give me a straight answer?" She exclaimed, exasperated. Anona looked up, her eyes troubled.

"This man is bad news. Very bad news. He is completely insane. Under no circumstances should he be allowed near the tower. But he is here." Moiraine arched an eyebrow.

"Why is he so dangerous?" She asked. "And why did Nynaeve react the way she did?"

"I-I can't tell you. I can't." She looked distressed. Kendel moved forward and put a hand on her arm. She smiled faintly at him.

"I should go." She said. She left the room quietly, with Kendel's hand still guiding her.

"Well." Moiraine said shortly. "That was interesting." Lan grunted. Nynaeve stirred slightly in her sleep, and Moiraine glanced her way. "We should continue talking outside. We don't want to disturb her. Land nodded his agreement, and they left the room softly, so as not to wake the sleeping girl.

Before they left the wing, Moiraine asked a group of guards to watch the door. Better safe than sorry, she thought to herself. It never hurt to be too careful.

Wow! This is the longest chapter I've written yet! And yes, I know that some words in the stableboy's dialogue are misspelled, but this is purposeful. I have just written it how he would actually speak. Please review, I have to go and wash the pink out of my hair now…