Prompt #7 - Accelerate
They had been staying at the inn of a small village when the Trollocs struck. They'd both wondered how the village had survived the Borderlands for so long; most people grouped together in towns and even cities to defend themselves against the attacking Trollocs and Myrddraal. The village people hadn't been untouched by the nature of the Borderlands; they'd been quiet and cowed by the harsh land, but Moiraine had ascertained through careful questioning that the village had never been attacked.
Moiraine had offered to ward the village against the Dark One's creatures, but the mayor and the council quickly declined. Use of the Power would draw the Trollocs' attention as quickly as walking straight into a camp of the foul creatures. Moiraine knew it was true; it was the reason she'd offered – she'd used the Power near to the village to wash away the horses' tiredness, too close for comfort.
All Moiraine and Lan could do was hope that the Trollocs hadn't noticed. They stayed at the village for three nights, sheltered in the house of the mayor, before the Trollocs struck. Lan slew as many as he could and the villagers did too – living in the Borderlands, all children were taught to defend themselves as soon as they were big enough to be able to swing a sword – but Moiraine avoided the central fight. The Trollocs were unusually coordinated in their attack, which meant there had to be two or three or maybe even four Myrddraal present, lurking in the shadow.
She observed the scene carefully, taking note of the way the Trollocs tilted their heads before striking down a villager. She could have used the Power to blast the things into pieces, but that would have meant drawing the attention of the Myrddraal. So she watched and waited until she'd read enough of the Trollocs' body language to ascertain the location of two Myrddraal.
She didn't see the third one until it was too late. The first two writhed on the ground, struck down by balefire – Moiraine had decided that none of the villagers would notice the difference between the fire burning the Fades right out of the Pattern and the fire raging through the village, and balefire did the job much more efficiently, if in a more dangerous way – but the third one sprung out of the shadow that concealed it and struck.
Nearby, Lan felt a shock through his bond with Moiraine and ran to where she lay unconscious on the ground, the Myrddraal standing above her with its sword raised in preparation to strike a killing blow. The cloaked Fade never stood a chance when Lan hurled his sword at it.
Myrddraal didn't die easily, but this one was weak and stopped moving within a minute, by which time Lan had already fashioned a crude bandage around the wound in Moiraine's side and lifted her onto his horse. He paused on his wild ride out of the village only to throw a handful of gold at the mayor in repayment and apology before he spurred the horse on once more.
"Come on," Lan growled when the horse began to flag. He'd ridden it fast, non-stop, and it was beginning to protest without Moiraine's command of saidar to energise it. "Just a little further… come on…"
An hour later, the horse had succumbed to its exhaustion and gone to meet its maker. Lan cursed the beast for dying of exhaustion less than two miles before it reached the town ahead, where he could have bought or taken a horse as yet energetic, but he could do nothing but pick Moiraine up and run as fast as he could towards the village.
Lan breathed out in relief when he saw an Aes Sedai in the town. He didn't know her by name, but he vaguely recognised her as being a Brown sister from Tar Valon. As it turned out, she was unskilled in healing, but she was able enough to cleanse Lan of tiredness. He'd barely finished thanking her when he was running again, taking a strong-looking horse from the stable and throwing enough gold to cover the price into the stall and riding out towards Tar Valon.
Lan could see Tar Valon in the distance now. Moiraine's face had paled and her breathing was shallower; Lan spurred the horse on faster and hoped to hell he'd get her there in time. "Hurry up," he begged the horse, his pleading words contrasting with the firm hand he used in spurring the horse on to faster speeds.
Moiraine didn't wake for three full days after the Aes Sedai in Tar Valon healed her. On the third day, the Amyrlin Seat made the visit that was customary to any ill Aes Sedai. When she reached out and felt Moiraine's forehead, Lan remembered that the two women were close friends – the Amyrlin's necessary distance made it easy to forget.
"Blood and ashes, will you stop pacing?" the Amyrlin hissed crossly after a few moments. "It's not going to make her wake up any faster. I'm well aware you love her, but all that pacing is just going to wear a hole in the floor!"
"How – how did you – "Lan asked. Not even Moiraine had guessed his secret, and she was the only one able to read his stone face.
"No Warder trained to take care of horses like you were runs one to death to get the Aes Sedai they're bonded to here. Not when they should know full well that that wound wouldn't have killed her for a good six days yet," the Amyrlin said. "You just saw the woman you love wounded and panicked, and you are not a man who panics often."
"Lan?" Both Lan and the Amyrlin turned towards the bed. Moiraine looked up at them, her gaze clear even though her voice was thick from sleep.
"How are you feeling?" Lan asked. He hoped she hadn't heard his conversation with the Amyrlin.
"Fine, I hope I'm allowed to get up," she said. Lan smiled slightly. She'd never liked staying in bed; she considered it a waste of time.
"Not a chance," he said firmly. "Not until you're allowed by one of your sisters." Moiraine scowled.
"Siuan…" she started. Siuan glared at her.
"Don't ask me!" she said, holding her hands up in front of her. "I'm no healer. And now that you're awake, I have to go." The Amyrlin swept out of the room.
Moiraine held her hand out to Lan. Lan walked towards her, but didn't take her hand. He wasn't going to be caught aiding her getting up.
"If I'm not allowed to get out of this bed, you aren't either, gaidin," Moiraine told him decisively. Lan sighed and sat down. He was sure she'd heard him talking to the Amyrlin, and he was also sure that she was prepared to mess with his heart as she had done with so many other men. With Moiraine there was no forever-type love. She was happy to indulge in a relationship while it suited her, but as soon as something came up she was gone with not a word of explanation.
He knew she'd break off any intimacy between them whenever she felt that there was something more important, something more important than his heart. But he still sat down beside her.