Moiraine and Lan meet a familiar face in the Sun Palace.

Moiraine's hands were shaking when she tried to secure a hairpin while standing before the mirror. She would see Siuan again. But this time, she was a different woman. She didn't have Saidar, she had lost the Dragon Reborn, she… she was broken. What would her lover say? It was one thing to hear about the loss of her powers, but to actually see the damage was a different thing.

Lan stepped behind the woman of the Blue Ajah, and she noticed him placing her belt around her belly. She had chosen a beautiful blue dress. Would Siuan like it?

Lan's gentle hands covered hers, helping her with the hairpin.

"I can do it!" Her words were sharp, and she regretted them immediately. Her Warder just tried to help her, and she rewarded him by snapping at him.

"I know," Lan replied calmly, then reached for the next hairpin.

Sighing, Moiraine gave up trying to do it by herself. It wasn't the first time Lan helped her with her clothes and hair. Over the past twenty years, he had done it countless times. He knew which clothes she preferred and how she liked her hair.

But the woman of the Blue Ajah had a bad conscience because of her reaction. "Lan, I-"

"Stop moving."

Automatically, she had turned her head to look at him, but Lan gave her cheek a gentle push so he could continue. "I want-"

"Moiraine." Determined, the uncrowned king of Malkier turned her head back to the mirror when she moved it again.

The Aes Sedai searched his eyes in the reflection, but her Warder was too focused on finishing her hair. If he would only look at her! Lan rarely showed emotion, and now, there were only his eyes left since the bond was gone. His eyes could tell her how deeply she had hurt him by snapping at him, but he avoided her eyes.

"Done."

Moiraine felt Lan stepping back. In the reflection, she saw him reaching for his belt and sword. He actually didn't plan on talking to her!

She faced him and touched his arm gently. Relief washed over her when he didn't pull away from her or winced at her touch. Instead, the uncrowned king of Malkier allowed the Cairhien woman to turn him around.

Calmly, Moiraine stepped into his personal space, finally able to look him in the eye. There was pain in his eyes but also exhaustion and fatigue. This stubborn man needed sleep!

"I didn't mean to snap at you," she whispered softly, letting her hands move over his chest. "Forgive me."

Lan cupped her cheek with his free hand and smiled at her. "She will be blown away by your beauty."

Tears filled Moiraine's eyes. Of course, he knew what worried her – how insecure she was about meeting Siuan again. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

The uncrowned king of Malkier pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about me."

Automatically, Moiraine's arms moved around Lan, and she felt her body relaxing against him. She pressed her nose into his tunic and inhaled his unique scent, letting it calm her nerves. For a moment, she wished she could freeze time to stay like this forever.

Lan embraced her tightly, then pushed her off him. "Come on. Let's see Siuan so we can leave this place."

Moiraine opened her mouth to tell him she didn't believe they would leave so soon, but Lan cut her off. "We leave. Whatever you two have to talk about, you do it today, and then we'll leave."

"Lan-"

"Today, Moiraine."

The Aes Sedai realized fighting with Lan about this topic was useless. Instead, she took a deep breath, then said, "We should go."

"Promise we'll leave after talking to Siuan."

"Like Maksim mentioned earlier, we shouldn't be late." Ignoring Lan's question, Moiraine crossed the room. She wouldn't promise anything, knowing very well she could never keep such a promise.

"Moiraine. Promise me."

The woman felt his glare in her back. "Are you coming?" Moiraine didn't wait for an answer. She opened the door and left the room, knowing very well Lan would follow her.

One heartbeat later, she heard him cursing out loud, followed by his footsteps, trying to catch up with her.

Since the Sun Palace was the place Moiraine had grown up in, she didn't need anyone to show her the way to the throne room. She knew the shortest path, yet took a detour a few times whenever she saw she was close to running into one of her sisters who had accompanied the Amyrlin Seat.

But Moiraine didn't look close enough to see who of her sisters was in Cairhien. It was better when she didn't know who of her few friends were current guests of King Galldrian and couldn't talk to her.

Lan had been quick in catching up with her, though Moiraine had to admit she had slowed her steps after leaving her room. She still didn't want to walk through those corridors alone. Lan's presence helped her to place one foot in front of the other.

"What is this?" the Warder wanted to know.

The Aes Sedai followed her Warder's gaze while they continued their path, and a slight smile appeared on her lips when she saw what he had found. "One of the inner courtyards. This is the most beautiful one – at least in my eyes."

"It seems peaceful."

Someone had brought a piece of nature behind the stone walls of the Sun Palace. There was a small tree in the middle of the courtyard, along with some raised beds filled with bushes, flowers, and all kinds of plants. A few benches invited visitors to sit and enjoy the sunbeams falling onto their faces.

"This was my second favorite place to read – after the library, of course."

Lan smiled knowingly and threw a tender look at her. Moiraine looked longingly at the tree. She wished she was just there to read a good book. The real world was always so far away once she had opened a book. But they were on their way to the Amyrlin Seat. They had no time for delay.

"Come on." The uncrowned king of Malkier grabbed her arm and pulled her to the inner courtyard.

"What are you doing?! The Amyrlin is waiting!"

"The Amyrlin is busy eating her breakfast, and I've never been here before. You need to show me around, Aes Sedai."

Moiraine chuckled but allowed Lan to pull her to the small garden. Even the air smelled better once they stepped out of the corridor.

"I can imagine you reading here very well." Lan let his eyes wander over the scenery. "Where did you usually sit?"

"Lan-"

"Here?" He pointed at a bench to his right. "Or there?" This time, he pointed at the bench on the left.

Moiraine smiled at his cute attempt to distract her from her fears. Finally, she sighed theatrically. "On the other side of the tree."

Curious, Lan left her side and walked to the other side of the tree. It was a big one with a thick trunk and many branches and leaves. It was beautiful.

Instead of following the uncrowned king of Malkier, the woman of the Blue Ajah watched him taking in all the beauty. She liked seeing him smile.

But suddenly, the smile faded, and a frown appeared on Lan's forehead. Alarmed, the Aes Sedai walked over. "Lan? What is it?"

"Rand?"

Moiraine's heart almost stopped when she heard the name of the Dragon Reborn out of Lan's mouth. That was impossible! The boy couldn't be there, could he?!

But when she stepped beside Lan, her eyes fell on two men sitting on a bench. One of them had a bowl and spoon in his hands. The other one had cut off his curly red hair, yet there was no denying who he was – Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn.

"Moiraine." First, there was shock on the boy's face, which was quickly replaced by anger. "Are you following me?!"

"I'm not. I didn't know you were here, boy. I was summoned by the Amyrlin Seat."

Rand watched her warily, then said, "She arrived two days ago."

"How did you get in here?"

The redhead grimaced. He didn't like her asking questions. A mad laughter pulled their attention to the man with the bowl, and Moiraine flinched when she recognized him – Logain Ablar, the False Dragon. She had helped gentling him.

Apparently, Lan hadn't recognized him either at first since he suddenly grabbed Moiraine's arm and pulled her behind him. Logain didn't even notice it. "He heard I was coming here and sneaked into the kitchen just to get close to me."

Rand growled. "That's not what…!" Angrily, he faced Moiraine and Lan again. "I didn't sneak in – I started to work for the kitchen. After… everything, I went to Tar Valon, hoping I could talk to him about the One Power. But it was hopeless. He was always surrounded by Aes Sedai. One day, I heard the Amyrlin would bring the False Dragon to Cairhien, so I followed them. When they came here, I pretended I needed a job."

"Clever," Moiraine acknowledged.

"Yes, that was smart," Lan agreed through gritted teeth. "Can we now please go back to the part where Rand is alive?!" Angrily, he turned his face to Moiraine. "You said he is dead."

"I said he is gone. You filled the blanks on your own."

"You never corrected me – not once. Not when I told the Emond's Fielder or in the past month. Why, Moiraine?!"

"The others think I'm dead?" Rand asked hopefully.

Moiraine gave the boy a quick nod, then threw an apologetic look at Lan. "I didn't mean to use you, Lan." She reached out to touch his arm, but her Warder moved away from her.

Panic rushed through the Aes Sedai's veins. She couldn't lose her Warder – not now, not here in Cairhien in the Sun Palace, not ever. "Lan, please. Let me explain."

"I asked her to lie."

Lan's eyes moved on to the shepherd. "Aes Sedai can't lie."

"I know. But she is excellent in manipulating words, so I hoped she would find a way to tell my friends I died."

"Why? They mourned you."

Rand lowered his head, ashamed. "I didn't mean to cause them pain. But men who can channel… they turn mad. It is known that we start hurting those we love at some point. I didn't want to hurt my friends, so I ran. They will forget me soon."

"Lan." Moiraine grabbed Lan's arm gently, but he freed himself immediately.

"So, Rand had a reason for his actions. But what is your reason, Moiraine? I'm not one of the Emond's Fielder. There was no need to lie to me."

Logain's crazy laughter pulled everyone's attention. The False Dragon had stood up and moved closer to Moiraine.

Immediately, the Warder was back in place between the madman and his Aes Sedai. "Stay away from her."

Moiraine used the opportunity to wrap her arms around Lan and pressed herself close against him. "I'm sorry," she whispered in his back.

The uncrowned king of Malkier was stiff but didn't shy away from her touch. The Aes Sedai hoped he would listen to her after her meeting with Siuan. She needed to fix that. But now, she had more questions for Rand. At least she could touch Lan again without him pulling away.

"You did all this just to talk to this man?"

"I would've asked you, but you don't know what it's like to channel as a man. I heard how you talked to Egwene about the One Power – when you taught her to channel. You mentioned to her how it felt and how amazing it was. But when I channel? – It feels different. So, no Aes Sedai can help me. I need a man who has channeled before, and those who did don't talk or have killed themselves."

Moiraine nodded. In every book she had read about the female and male Aes Sedai had mentioned how different the use of the One Power was for the other gender.

"So many questions." Logain yawned. "Everyone always comes with questions to me. How did you do this? How did you do that? What does it feel like to channel? How does it feel to be cut off from the One Power?" Moiraine winced at his last words, and Lan squeezed her arm, comforting. "When will everyone stop asking questions?"

"I have another question," Lan said. "When the Aes Sedai didn't take their eyes off this man while they were still in the White Tower, how can he walk freely in the Sun Palace without an Aes Sedai close by?"

The eyes of the woman of the Blue Ajah widened when she realized her Warder was right. They hadn't crossed a protection shield. Otherwise, the Aes Sedai would have come running by now. And they would never let that man walk around on his own.

"That's because I brought him here," Rand confessed sheepishly.

"You did that?" Moiraine's voice broke.

"Like I said. I needed to talk to him without an Aes Sedai being present."

"What about the Aes Sedai who had him secured? How did you pass them?"

"I put something in their drinks. They sleep for a few hours but will be fine."

Moiraine couldn't breathe. Rand put something in her sisters' drinks? Was he trying to get killed? She heard Lan cursing.

"Are you out of your mind, sheepherder?! Those women will tell everyone who drugged them when they wake up! Every Aes Sedai in this building will be searching for you! Do you have any idea what they will do to you?!"

"But they never saw me."

The woman of the Blue Ajah furrowed her forehead. No one saw him? How was that possible? "What do you mean no one saw you? How did you put something in their drinks if you weren't there? You didn't use… you didn't use it, right?"

Rand shook his head. "I prepared the drinks in the kitchen, but another servant brought them up. No one knows it was me except for you now."

Moiraine relaxed and felt Lan doing the same. Apparently, Rand wasn't that stupid after all.

"That was smart, sheepherder."

Rand grinned. "Thank you."

"Yet, you play a dangerous game here. If someone else than Moiraine and I would have found you-"

"Moiraine!"

The woman of the Blue Ajah saw how the young man from the Two Rivers flinched at Alanna's voice, and his fingers moved subconsciously. Would he use Saidin against Alanna?

Quickly, Moiraine let go of Lan and stepped before Rand. She needed to calm the situation if they wanted to keep Rand's identity a secret. "That would be all, boy. Thank you for staying with this man until an Aes Sedai arrived. We'll take it from here." She raised her voice for that, ensuring Alanna and her Warders would hear her.

At first, the Dragon furrowed his forehead at her, then realization hit him, and he bowed. "As you wish, Aes Sedai." Then he left the garden without throwing a glance at Alanna.

The Green Sister watched Rand leave before her eyes found Logain. "Logain?! You found him, Moiraine?!"

Maksim and Ihvon stood beside Lan in an instant, shielding both women from the False Dragon while keeping an eye on him.

"It was a coincidence. Lan wanted to see the garden. That's when we found them."

"The boy was with him?"

"They talked," Moiraine explained.

Alanna sighed. "Brave boy. Not everyone would have the courage to talk to a man who was able to channel. We just noticed Logain was gone. Every Aes Sedai is searching for him."

"Shall we bring him back to his room?" Moiraine asked, but her friend shook her head.

"No. The Amyrlin wants to see him. That's how we noticed his disappearance in the first place. He wasn't in his room when our sisters wanted to pick him up. We don't know how, but he knocked out the two sisters who guarded him."

Moiraine gulped. They were moving on dangerous ground. "Well, we know we can't believe a word he is saying, so we don't need to ask him."

The Green Sister sighed heavily. "I'm afraid that's true. Come on, the Amyrlin is waiting for us. And she is already not happy about the Logain situation." She addressed her Warders, "Maksim. Ihvon. Take care of Logain, will you? The Amyrlin will have our heads if we let him escape again."

"That sounds like she thinks his escape was our fault," Ihvon said.

"We weren't even close to his room," Maksim added.

Alanna rolled her eyes. "The Amyrlin won't think it was OUR fault in particular. She will hold every Aes Sedai behind these walls responsible for the situation. Something like that shouldn't happen. Now, come."

Moiraine threw a look at her Warder, but Lan only had eyes for Logain. Would he forgive her? He had forgiven her for sending him to the White Tower. He had forgiven her for ordering him to leave her. Could he forgive her withholding information about Rand's survival at the Eye of the World?

"Come," Alanna hissed, grabbing Moiraine's arm and pulling her out of her thoughts. "We can't risk angering the Amyrlin any further."

Heavy-heartedly, Moiraine followed her friend, knowing the Warders would follow them with Logain. Her lover was waiting, and she had stalled long enough.

The next chapter will be uploaded on Sunday.

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