Moiraine stared at Rana for a moment, looking honestly shocked before she moved quickly, pulling Rana out of the seat, "We must leave now. Light but I never considered the possibility... no one ever has." she didn't question it though, a fact which Rana was grateful for. "We must get you to Tar Valon, it is more urgent now than it ever was. Who is Elan." she was pulling Rana through the door quickly as she spoke.
"He is..." Rana glanced around quickly to check if they were alone before whispering, "Ishmael." And Moiraine went deathly pale at that.
"I understand your panic. We must get you to safety as fast as we can." she practically broke into a run, heading straight to the stables, where Lan had already dragged the others, all milling around in confusion and fear. Moiraine shoved Rana towards Lan quickly, "Go now! We will catch up as quickly as we can but Lan you must get Rana as far away from this place as we can."
"But what about you?" Rana asked quickly.
"We will follow it will take us longer than we likely have to get organised. And you cannot be found."
Lan frowned, "I don't wish to le-"
"Lan do not be a fool! Eighteen years! Do not let it be wasted. You must get her as far away as you can."
Lan nodded stiffly and leapt onto Mandarb, the stallion staying still to let him, before he grabbed Rana's hand and hauled her up so that she was sat in front of him. "Do not tarry, follow as fast as you can Moiraine." and then they were leaving the stables, speeding up as they went until people had to dive out of the way of the horse, and when they reached the gate Lan slipped off, murmuring for her to stay on the horse as he hammered at the door, causing a watchman to come out, frowning. "Calm down sir, I shall open the gate for you now, Arin! Dar! Get out here and help me open the gate, these two want to leave!"
Two men emerged, but Rana didn't notice them, as her attention was drawn to a group of men in white cloaks and gleaming mail, their cloaks embroidered on the left breast with a golden sunburst.
"You!" one of them called out, "Where are you going in such a hurry that you would risk running over those who walk in the Light." and the three men paused in the middle of opening the gate, staring at the Whitecloaks wearily as Lan stepped forward.
"We are simply two travellers in a hurry to get home, having received word from family that there are troubles, can you blame us for not seeing you in the streets?" he asked smoothly, "Do you have a right to halt our travels because of such a trivial mistake?"
One of the stepped forward.
"We do, when we have been warned of a group of Darkfiends in town." he declared, causing Rana to shake her head.
"We are not darkfiends!" she blurted out, "Please let us pass, my father is injured and I must do what I can for him."
The Whitecloaks seemed to notice her then, and one of them drew his sword, "The informant told us one was a woman with long red hair." and Rana paled, "No! No I'm not a darkfiend! He was lying to you." Fain. It had to have been fain. She was the most distinctive of the group, especially to him, and was there a better way to delay their leaving than to tell the Whitecloaks they were darkfiends. And she spotted him, watching from behind a cart, and she slipped off the horse, rushing at him before Lan could stop her, grabbing and hauling him out. "He is the darkfiend! Why else would he be hiding to watch the chaos he caused! He probably hopes to slip out unseen in the distraction!" she gasped out before freezing. A strange feeling filling her. It was not the same as when she felt Moiraine using Saidar, it was more of a menacing feeling. And she rushed back to the horse and Lan, releasing Padan, "We must leave now!" Ishmael was here. He would find her if they did not leave, and fast. Especially with Fain there. And her terror surged through her, and the Whitecloaks went flying through the air as the gate burst open, and she felt as though she was freezing and burning at the same time. She sobbed in terror as Lan leapt on behind her and they raced through the gate. He would have felt it. He would have felt her use of Saidin. She hadn't even meant to use it.
Lan kept her steady on Mandarb as she swayed. And he only slowly when the sky had darkened and the sun disappeared completely. And then he spoke, "The others are coming, I can feel Moiraine, if anything had happened I would know of it. They got out of the town with much more ease than we did. They will catch up by tomorrow." he informed her, "We shall rest then and only then. I do not know the details but I could tell by Moiraine's fear that whatever was coming was dangerous and powerful, we cannot allow it to catch us up."
"Him." Rana stated suddenly, "It is a him, he may be powerful but he is a man. I know that much... though many seem to think otherwise the Forsaken were simply powerful Channellers who swore themselves to the Dark One."
Lan stiffered, "A Forsaken... and after you in particular. I would pretend not to know why but I believe you already know yourself, don't you?"
Rana nodded, "My father told me, he's known since I was a babe."
"And was it Saidar or Saidin that you used to get us out?"
Rana ducked her head, "I did not mean to. I could sense his arrival and... I lost control. I do not know why it is Saidin that I can touch but... it is."
"The Wheel weaves as it will, and the Pattern may not become clear for some time yet. But for now do not give into the fear that you feel from what you know of yourself."
"It is hard... I never chose this, I never wanted this.. and... and because of it my friends are in danger."
"Perhaps, but Moiraine believes you all have your own fates, and that each of you would have been hunted for different reasons. Blaming yourself for their fate is useless and shall only end badly for you all." Lan stated sternly. "Dragon Reborn you may be, but you cannot be responsible for everything. People's choices are their own, like your friend Egwene. With the path that lies ahead that is something you must learn before it is too late for you."
Rana was silent for a moment before she nodded slowly, "I must try I suppose."
"Not just suppose child. You have the potential to save us all. You must allow yourself the chance. And you cannot do that if you spend your life blaming yourself for others actions. Even when you are at fault you must accept responsibility and move on swiftly. Never allow such things to consume you or the darkness shall consume the world."
Rana shuddered at that, "And I shall be responsible." she stated softly, "Light but I'm just one girl Lan. To think that I thought that being a Royal would be a heavy responsibility!"
"You are no alone. Moiraine and I shall be with you whilst you fight for the Light. We will help."
"I know." Rana sighed, "I know." and she stared forward, into the distance.
The others did not catch up with them that night. The hunting horn of the Trollocs spurred Lan on faster, a grim look on his face as they rode through the night and into the morning, telling her that Moiraine and the others had gone a slightly different way, to draw at least some of the Trollocs away from them. When they rested at night it was only for a few scant hours each time before they were back at it again.
It was only when they reached an abandoned city, huge and dangerous, Rana could feel it in her bones, that they stopped.
And they waited just outside of the walls until eventually they could see figures on the horizon. Rana was slipping off of Mandarb to meet them the second they became clear enough, and she laughed when Mat and Perrin slipped off their horses too, both hugging her tightly and grumbling that they'd been worried. And then Nyaeve and Egwene were fussing over her too, and she laughed, letting them do what they would with a bright grin. They were alive, they were all alive and well."
Moiraine allowed them their moment of joy before she spoke up. "As much as it pleases me to see you all so happy I must warn you that we have no time to tarry." she shot Lan a worried glance, "We are still being pursued, and led to a trap. As much as I dislike the idea we shall have to go where none of them will tread." she glanced at Rana, "Hopefully not even Elan." for she clearly knew the panic his real name would cause in the others.
"Where are we?" Rana asked slowly.
"Shadar Logoth."
Rana shuddered as she turned to look at the abandoned city. It would not be a pleasant place, that she knew.