Moiraine and Lan enjoy a hot bath and talk.

Haldir Potter: Thank you very much. There will be more chapters with those two (I'm currently working on Chapter 19). I just love them so much. I can't get enough of them. Thank you for reading and your review ❤️

Moiraine was surprised at how fast Lan was at getting rid of his clothes. Had he ever been this eager to get into a bathtub? Smiling, she tried to create more space for him when she suddenly felt his hand on her back.

The uncrowned king of Malkier stood beside her – wearing nothing but his Hadori – and pushed her into the middle of the bathtub.

Confused, the Cairhien woman obeyed, though she didn't understand what his plan was. Did they have specified positions she didn't know about?

Lan slipped into the water behind her, then grabbed her under her armpits and pulled her back to him.

"What-? Lan! What are you doing?!"

He didn't stop until she sat between his legs with her back pressed against his chest. His arms crossed over her belly, and he pressed a kiss on her shoulder. "I need you close to me," he murmured against her skin.

For a moment, Moiraine thought about telling him to stop, but her body was already melting against him. "And sitting together in a small bathtub isn't close enough for you?"

"I need to feel you."

Moiraine chuckled when Lan left a trail of soft kisses from her shoulder to her throat and noticed she tilted her head aside to give him better access to her sensitive skin. Light, she had missed him!

Once he was done kissing her throat, the woman of the Blue Ajah turned her head until her forehead touched his jaw. It felt good to feel him.

"Do you have any idea how much I have wanted to do this for the last month? – Actually, two months?" Lan sighed heavily. "Since we left the Two Rivers, we barely had a moment to ourselves. And after Fal Dara…."

Moiraine winced at his words, and he kissed her forehead. She didn't want to think about the Eye of the World and the loss of Saidar. Not when they were finally back together.

"I was an idiot," Lan whispered. "My anger controlled me and didn't allow me to get close to you, though that was all I wanted to do."

New tears rolled over Moiraine's cheeks. Light, she didn't want him to feel bad for his behavior. She had hurt him pretty badly with her decision to leave Fal Dara without him. He had every right to be pissed at her.

Her hand touched his cheek to hold him close, then she lifted her head higher until she could press a kiss on his other cheek. "You were right to be pissed at me. I made a decision for you without talking to you first."

"You wanted to protect me."

Moiraine nodded. "I did. And as much as I know it hurt you, I would do it all over again if it means I can save your life."

Lan opened his mouth to protest, then shook his head and kissed her nose. "I won't give you a chance to do it again. I will not get distracted again."

The Aes Sedai smiled sadly at him. "You are a fool, Lan Mandragoran," she said tenderly. "We both know about your feelings for the Wisdom. You can't fight against that. And once she becomes an Aes Sedai-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Lan's mouth swallowed the rest of her words. Insufferable man!

When the uncrowned king of Malkier ended the kiss, the Cairhien woman had forgotten what she had wanted to say. "I will not get distracted again," Lan swore.

"You-" Another kiss. Moiraine growled and pulled back. "Would you sto-?" But Lan had found great pleasure in shutting her up like that, knowing she would free herself should she truly not want this. Instead, she returned the kiss, her lips parting willingly when his tongue begged for entrance.

"My Aes Sedai." Lan's eyes shimmered with love while Moiraine tried to catch her breath.

"You're impossible," she whispered, her words making him chuckle, then leaned her head against him once more. She wished she could freeze time, staying with her Warder in this bathtub where all their problems seemed far away.

"Moiraine?" A knock at the door disturbed Moiraine's beautiful bubble. Light, she just wanted to be left alone! "Are you in there?"

"Go away, Anvaere!" Hadn't it been enough for tonight? Hadn't she spilled enough childhood stories about Moiraine?

The Aes Sedai growled when she heard the door opening and saw her sister entering, balancing a tray with a teapot and carrying it to the table on the other side of the room. "Eliza made tea."

"I told you to leave."

"This is still my house, Moiraine."

"You gave me this room while I stay here, and you can't just come here whenever you like. So, leave, Anvaere."

Moiraine's older sister turned around, but whatever she had wanted to say died on her lips when her eyes fell on Moiraine and Lan. Her eyes narrowed at Lan furiously. "I knew it!"

"Anvaere, leave us alone!"

The Cairhien woman didn't listen to her little sister. She only had eyes for Lan and drew her dagger. "Your Warder! I knew it had been a lie!"

Moiraine's eyes widened at the sight of the sharp blade, and she straightened up when she saw her older sister coming for them. "Anvaere! Put the blade down!"

"I said you would regret it should you use my sister to satisfy your filthy needs! Get out of the bathtub, you devious little-!"

"Stop that!" The Aes Sedai didn't think twice. She was on her knees instantly, ensuring she blocked her sister's way to reach Lan. "Touch him, and you'll regret it, Anvaere!" Her upper body was out of the water, but she didn't care. She would stop her sister from hurting Lan.

Luckily, the older Damodred truly did stop in her tracks, her angry glare moving on to her younger sister. "He is using you!"

"He is my Warder!"

"You didn't mention him for almost two weeks, Moiraine!"

"Because I didn't know I would see him again!"

"You're lying!"

"I can't lie, Anvaere! I'm an Aes Sedai!"

The two sisters were yelling at each other now, and Lan could do nothing more than sit as quietly as possible.

"You sit in a bathtub – wearing nothing but your bare skin – with a man who isn't your husband, and I dare to say, who isn't wearing a stitch either!"

"Look at him, Anvaere! Look at the Hadori around his head! He is a Malkieri! In the borderlands, it is common for men and women to share a bath! They don't care about nudity like we do!"

Anvaere's eyes flickered to Lan for a heartbeat, then returned to her sister. "So, he is a man from the Borderlands. Yet, this doesn't change the fact that you sit with him in this bathtub - naked and unmarried."

"He is my Warder for over twenty years! He has seen me naked a thousand times by now! He has saved my life countless times! This isn't the first time for us sharing a bathtub! So, stay away from him!"

Moiraine saw her older sister playing with the dagger in her hands. She could almost hear her sister's thoughts running.

"Do you bed him?"

Moiraine felt her cheeks burning. How could she ask such a question?! "This is none of your business!"

"Not on a regular basis."

Moiraine's eyes widened at Lan's words. "Lan!" she hissed, glaring at him. Her eyes told him he wasn't helpful, in her opinion.

"So, you admit it!" Anvaere took a step closer, pointing the sharp end at Lan. "You use my sister for-!"

"I ADMIT-" Lan interrupted the Cairhien woman in a firm voice. "-that I love your sister with all my heart. She is my soulmate." Anvaere narrowed her eyes at him, but Lan wasn't finished. "I also admit that I will protect her from any danger coming her way for as long as I live – which includes that dagger of yours, my lady. So, if you don't want me to take it from you – and I promise I will if you get any closer to my Aes Sedai – I suggest you listen to your sister and put the dagger down."

During his words, the uncrowned king of Malkier had placed his hands on Moiraine's hip and right arm, so he could pull her out of harm's way if necessary – and Anvaere saw it.

She saw the determination on Moiraine's face, how she placed herself between her own sister and this man who she claimed to be her Warder. And she remembered earlier when Moiraine had stepped in front of Lan to shield him from Anvaere's and Eliza's arrows. Yes, her little sister cared deeply for this man.

And Lan wasn't much better. The older woman didn't know him – and he showed no emotion on his face to help her identify his feelings – but it was clear he wanted to protect the woman in his arms from the way he held her and from the determination in his eyes. He didn't use Moiraine for anything. They protected each other.

Slowly, Anvaere took a step back and lowered the dagger. Neither Moiraine nor Lan moved, so she took two more steps before she saw a slight relaxation in Moiraine's posture.

"You protect her for over twenty years?" All the anger had left the old woman and had been replaced by curiosity.

"I do."

A quick glance at Moiraine's face, then her eyes were back on Lan. "Did you know who she was before you bonded with her?"

"Yes."

"And you did it anyway?"

"Yes."

Anvaere was surprised at how confident Lan sounded. There was no hesitation, no regret. This man knew what he had done and what it had meant. "Why?"

This time, Lan needed a moment to think about his answer.

"Enough with your questions." Moiraine had pulled her calm Aes Sedai mask back in place, and her voice was also calm again. "Leave, Anvaere. I don't need you to protect… me." Her mask slipped when she realized what she had just said. Lan had been right. Anvaere tried to protect her! Her grumpy, annoying, and insufferable older sister wanted to protect her!

Lan's eyes found the back of Moiraine's head, and a smile played around his lips. "She found a way into my heart." Immediately, he had Anvaere's attention again. And Moiraine turned her head, too. "As much as I wanted to get rid of that stubborn, insufferable woman who tortured me all the way to Chachin-" Both Moiraine and Lan smiled at the memory of her luring ants and other insects into his clothes each night. "-she continuously found a way back into my life until I didn't want her to leave anymore."

Anvaere let her eyes wander between her little sister and the Warder, seeing the tenderness on the Warder's face. No, Lan was not a threat. He watched out for Moiraine, and Anvaere believed him that he loved her sister, though she didn't know why she believed him.

"Is that all now, or do you have more questions, my lady?"

The Cairhien woman noticed that Lan had turned his attention back to her. All emotion had left his face, but not his wariness. After all, she still had the dagger in her hand.

Sighing, Anvaere sheathed the blade. There was nothing she could do anymore. Moiraine trusted this man with her life, so she would have to learn to do the same. Light, even Eliza liked him!

"This would be all for now." She still had thousands of questions, but they needed to wait. This wasn't the place or time to have an appropriate conversation. Yet, the oldest Damodred sister couldn't resist sending a last warning at the stoic man – just so he didn't forget whose house this was. "But be aware, Lan Mandragoran. Should you hurt my sister somehow, then there will be no place where you will be safe from me."

"Understood."

Moiraine's Warder showed no fear, and Anvaere had no doubt he would face her should he ever hurt Moiraine. Lan was a man of his word. "Good night." Without another word, she left the room.

Both Moiraine and Lan released a relieved sigh once the door closed behind Anvaere. The Aes Sedai leaned with her arms on the edge of the bathtub and placed her head on her arms. "Light, she is terrible."

"Come here." Lan placed his hands under her armpits and pulled her back before him. He had enjoyed their positions before the disturbance. Once Moiraine was seated correctly again, the Warder wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss against her temple. "My protective Aes Sedai."

"I won't allow her to hurt you," Moiraine whispered.

The uncrowned king of Malkier chuckled and kissed her again, then buried his nose in her hair. "So, Anvaere gave you this room for your temporary stay?"

This time, it was up to Moiraine to chuckle at his words. "Take a look at this room and tell me what you see."

Lan furrowed his forehead in confusion but did what she asked of him, letting his gaze wander over the furniture. There was nothing special standing out. "Am I supposed to see something out of the ordinary?"

"What do you see?"

Again, Lan looked at the room. What was he missing? "A table, chairs, a wardrobe, your bed, a bookshelf, a… Moiraine, I don't know what you want me to see. The room looks like all the other rooms you have stayed in over the last twenty years. You don't need much to make yourself comfortable. Although I would have thought there are more books by now."

"What would you say if I told you I didn't decorate this room? – That not even the books on the shelf are mine?"

Her Warder furrowed his forehead. Moiraine didn't decorate the room? Yet, it reminded him of her room in the White Tower – pretty much bare except for the necessary furniture. "Anvaere did that?"

The Aes Sedai smiled. "She argued with me over it on my second day here. Eliza gave me a tour of the house and showed me the guestrooms my sister had prepared. She has three. There is this one which mirrors my personality. The second one looks completely normal, like you would imagine a guestroom for someone you don't care about. And then there is the third room, with two beds and a corner for children to play."

From the corner of her eye, Moiraine saw Lan's confusion. He didn't understand what Anvaere wanted with a room where children could play. "Our sister Innloine? She has two children and is a very dedicated mother."

"So… Anvaere prepared rooms for both you and Innloine." Slowly, Lan put the pieces together. "She prepared everything to bring her family back together."

"That's what I told her too, but she insisted that I saw things that didn't exist. She hasn't talked to our sister in years and said she would never want Innloine's children close to her precious horses."

"She cares about you and your sister."

Moiraine sighed heavily and kissed Lan's cheek. "You mentioned that before."

"And do you believe me now?"

The Cairhien woman nodded. "I noticed it when she was threatening you. She honestly thinks she needs to protect me like I'm still a child who can't make her own decisions. She forgets that we're not children anymore."

"Had she played the role of the protective sister before?"

Moiraine wanted to say 'No' but then remembered a moment from her past. They had all been ordered to the king – Anvaere, Innloine, Taringail, and Moiraine. Her uncle had presented them with pieces of cake – four pieces for each of them. He had wanted them to find the one which hadn't been poisoned. Moiraine – she had been maybe eight years old – had loved the idea, but Anvaere had known about the danger. Against the king's orders, she threw all the cake on the ground, so none of her siblings could eat it anymore.

The woman of the Blue Ajah remembered how angry she had been at Anvaere for ruining the game, not knowing her sister had tried to protect her from getting poisoned. And it hadn't been the last time, as she realized now.

"After our mother died-" Moiraine's voice was quiet now that she remembered her childhood. "I guess, Anvaere thought she needed to protect us. Of course, I didn't see it that way back then. She always told us, 'Don't do this' and 'You can't do that'. I hated her."

"You were a child, Moiraine. You didn't see what she saw. You couldn't."

Instead of an answer, the Aes Sedai placed her head in the crook of her Warder's neck. She didn't want to think about her past anymore – not about her horrible childhood, not about Anvaere's true motives, or about the mistakes she had made over the years regarding her family.

For now, she wanted to enjoy this moment with Lan. A moment of peace – just the two of them.

The next chapter will be uploaded on Sunday.

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