POV Moiraine

Moiraine came to herself slowly, her body felt like a thoroughly wrung dishrag, her limbs stiff, her spine creaky and her head cloudy, she did not remember ever feeling this exhausted, not after a hard fought battle, not after back breaking chores she did as punishment as a Novice at the White Tower, there was no pain, just a deep deep exhaustion, it took Lans support to even lean against the beds headpost. It took awhile for her to remember where exactly she is and what exactly she did to find herself in this position.

Once Moiraine has a grip of herself, she mentally acknowledged Siuans anxious presence in her mind and got, "Oh thank the Light, you are awake, you were out for three days Moiraine, THREE DAYS! I couldn't even reach you through Sending, I could feel you and your exhaustion but nothing else. If you tried to do what you did before our bond and without the Angreal I have, you would have Burned yourself Out, Moiraine! I thought you would heal her in sessions, not all of it at once. What were you THINKING!?" as reply

"I did not think it would take three days to recover, thought I would be knocked out for a day. Doing the Healing in sessions would not have worked Siuan, you did not know just how deep and how pervasive the Cancer was. I would have needed to do the Healing everyday for a month and she wasn't strong enough to endure the Healings in succession. And I needed that awe doing this in a single sitting would generate and the sympathy and gratitude that comes from doing this at such a cost to myself. These people are stubborn as old roots Siuan. Any other way, it would take too long to earn their respect", Moiraine replied, but failed to conceal the self loathing she felt at the emotional manipulation from Siuan.

"Oh, Moiraine, we do what we must. The World itself is at stake, not saying its wrong of you feel regretful and ashamed about it, the Light knows it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth too, but burning our souls for worlds salvation is a small price to pay. So you are sure the child, Rand, is Dragon Reborn then?", Siuan consoled.

"I saw a glow around the boy when I embraced the Source, Siuan, its faint but its undeniably there. I think you have a Talent for seeing Ta'veren Siuan, and while channeling I have the access to the Talent too, it seems your theory of One Soul Two Bodies is most probably right. I need to see the boy again to be sure, but I am almost certain", Moiraine Sent with budding confidence.

Siuans reply is a medley of emotions, a tangled mess of shock, panic, relief, glee and dread, "Light!"

Moiraine sent her agreement with Siuans reaction, "I am too exhausted to even break out in shivers, but Light, my skin damn near crawled off me when I saw that glow around the child. Wait a moment, I need to talk to Lan"

All of Moiraines conversation with Siuan took about the half a second that Lan need to adjust Moiraines blankets, due to their double bond, convenience of conversing at thought speed, Moiraine gave a nod and a pulse of eagerness through the bond to Lan, their own method of unspoken communication, Moiraine masks her bond and unmasks it in a instant and projects an emotion immediately after unmasking, asking him to give his own report.

Lan understanding Moiraines intent, started speaking quietly, "You have been out for three days, Moiraine. I fed you broth and boiled water and the Wisdom insisted on cleaning you with a wet towel even though I said I would do that myself too, but I was in the room during it, even though she insisted I turn my back during the cleaning process", here Moiraine could feel Lans amusement, they have seen each other and took care of each other in worse states than nakedness, once Moiraine had quite literally shoved Lans spilled guts inside his own body when two Myrdraal ganged upon Lan and one managed to split him from sternum to hip in a lucky strike and Lan had to bandage her entire torso and back when a Trolloc got lucky and made a deep slash across her back, he had to take care of Moiraine for a week while she suffered from fever and infection until they managed to find another Aes Sedai to Heal Moiraine, moreover they spent majority of their time together in Borderlands, where baths are often took in a public bathhouse and are traditionally shared by both genders, so being prudish about nakedness is a novelty, "Kari woke up the next morning after the Healing, and she woke up ravenous, as you said. Al'Thor and the Wisdom went all out and slaughtered a sow and a fat ram during the night itself to be well and ready for when she wakes. She started with a thin broth and cleaned out a feast enough for three grown men and immediately passed out, only to wake up in six hours to eat as much again. She has regained her strength enough to walk around on the second day and her appetite only diminished little. By the third day she still eats with gusto but not as much as before and she remained active through out the day, took a walk around the farm, helped out a little with dinner, but mostly spent the time playing with her son."

"Good, very good, I need to Delve her again to see if any remnants of Cancer remains, but I will get to that later, when I am not so exhausted. Did anything else of note happen while I was out? Does our presence remains a secret or is it blown?", Moiraine asked.

"Nothing remarkable happened, I scouted the area for a bit, nearest farm is hours away, so is the village of Emond's Field. The Wisdoms apprentice came by to visit and asked her to resume her duties, but she instead got grilled about the happenings of the village and sent on her way. We are now in a bedroom on the first floor, apparently its a new addition that Al'Thor built for when their child grows a little, a room of his own. Today is the fourth day after the healing, just before midday meal. The others are out in the field, but if what I observed holds true they will be coming in a bit. Better to get anything sensitive out of the way before they arrive", Lan replied leadingly.

"I think the boy is the one, I will have to see him again to be sure. Did you get anything out of them?", Moiraine enquired.

"Not much, the Wisdom is tight lipped with me, she only spoke to me regarding you and the care you should be given while unconscious. Kari al'Thor was told about us and how she was healed on the second day, she came to visit you and expressed her gratitude to me and asked to be told when you wake so that she can convey her gratitude to you in person. Tam al'Thor too was profuse in giving thanks, but cagey about his sword and how he got it, just generally reticent in talking about his past, I have seen that before. Soldiers usually don't really give up the profession, not the soldiers who made a career out of it, levies are a different matter, its hard putting down the sword once taken up, even retired soldiers just become guards. The ones who put down the sword though, they desperately want to put all of it behind them. The man must have been pretty panicked about his wife to even seek that old comfort of familiar weight at his hip. Anyway, after much prodding he admitted that he was at the Blood Snow", Lan reported

That brought another piece of the puzzle. Blood Snow, another name for the Battle of the Shining Walls, perhaps a truer one. The last battle of Aiel War, fought just outside the walls of Tar Valon, it snowed the night before, by the end of the battle, it seemed as though the once pristine white of snow before the battle was painted red, thousands died on that day alone, adding to the toll of death of thousands more of a war started by the pride and foolishness of one man. The battle fought on the same day of Gitaras last prophecy and death. The day that changed Moiraines life. And Lan knows the significance of Tams confirmation of being part of that particular battle.

Moiraine nodded to Lan, to show her understanding of what he sought to convey and he continued his report, "I am almost certain al'Thor knows who I am, he identified me as Malkieri by my Hadori. There are few Malkieri as well known as I am and none of them are named Lan except me."

Moiraine once again nodded and was about to speak when her warder enhanced ears caught the sound of footsteps on gravel and opening of a door and said, "It seems the others have returned."