They stayed inside the bathtub until the water turned cold. Moiraine was lost in her thoughts, which wasn't unnoticed by Lan, but the warder didn't interrupt her. He knew her well enough to know that she would talk to him if she was ready to share her thoughts. When he left the bathtub, she didn't even look at him. She was used to him walking around her, while she was thinking. She trusted him to take care of everything.
After he was dressed again, Lan looked at his Aes Sedai, who still hadn't moved. Obviously, he had to pull her out of her thoughts or she would stay in the water for the rest of the night. The warder grabbed a towel and returned to the bathtub. Gently, he touched her shoulder to get her attention.
Moiraine blinked a few times, as if she was finally seeing the room again, then she turned her head to Lan. "How long?"
"A while." She nodded at his words and a shiver went through her body when she finally realized how cold the water was. Lan grabbed her upper arm and helped her out of the bathtub before he put the towel around her.
"Thank you." Moiraine dried herself then she put on a nightgown.
The innkeeper, Mrs. Al'vere, had given them a room with two small beds, which were separated with only two little nightstands in between. Lan was used to sleeping on a bedroll, but even he was relieved that they would finally be able to have a night in a comfortable bed and not under the stars. From the corner of his eyes, the warder noticed how his Aes Sedai was rolling her shoulders twice before she pulled back her blanket. Carefully, he tapped into their bond, but her exhaustion was overlapping every other feeling. She was clever.
"How are your shoulders?"
Moiraine sighed and slipped under the blankets. "It's late, Lan, and I'm tired. Can we please just sleep?" She turned her back to him to show him that she wouldn't discuss this any further. But it also gave Lan an opportunity. He moved over to her bed and made her roll on her stomach before he straddled her. "Lan…!"
The rest of her sentence was lost in a loud groan when his hands started to work on her shoulders. Lan had the magical ability to find the knots in her back with ease every time. And although she was exhausted, there was no way she was able to sleep while he was attacking her back. Moiraine tried to stay as quiet as possible, but after their long ride, she knew there were a few knots, which would need his attention, and some of them were hurting.
After a while, Lan's kneading of her shoulders became smoother since there weren't any more knots and the woman of the Blue Ajah relaxed under his touch. Lan continued with his calming strokes until he felt through the bond how she drifted off to sleep. Carefully, he got back on his feet and pulled the blanket up. He was able to take one step backward when she suddenly raised her head and turned her head to him. "What are you doing?"
"Sleep, Moiraine."
"Stay."
"I'm here."
"That's not…" She sighed heavily then she pushed herself into an upright position. Lan was immediately by her side to urge her to lie down again. But Moiraine had different plans. She took his hand into hers and looked at him through tired eyes. "I know that the bed isn't big, but would you stay with me?"
She felt Lan's surprise through the bond, although his face wasn't giving anything away. Carefully, he sat down on the edge of the bed, while his thumb was gently caressing the back of her hand. It was his way to buy himself some time to think about an answer.
"Is there a particular reason I should know of?"
Moiraine sighed heavily. "Is that a `No´?"
"Have I ever denied you anything?"
The woman of the Blue Ajah tilted her head aside, while she was thinking. "Well, there were countless times. Just a few hours ago I had asked you to stop the rain from…"
"Have I ever denied you anything whenever you asked something of me that was in my power?", Lan interrupted her, while a childish grin appeared on Moiraine's face.
"Does this mean that you join me?" But Lan waited for his answer. With a raised eyebrow, he waited stoically, while his thumb was still rubbing circles on the back of her hand until Moiraine gave up. "No, you have never denied me anything, my warder."
Lan nodded content, then he moved under the blanket with her. The bed was very small, and Moiraine ended up lying almost fully on Lan. Her head fit perfectly under his chin, while her hand lay over Lan's heart. They lay there in silence until Lan said: "By the way, since when do you need me to stop the rain? You can do that all by yourself."
Moiraine smiled. Of course, she could deal with rain on her own and she would've protected them, but since she had heard the rumors about four ta'veren being in the Two Rivers, she didn't want the servants of the Dark One to look in their direction. So, they had to bear the annoying rain and the feeling of their wet clothes on their skin. "I know."
Lan chuckled and pressed a soft kiss on her hair. "What is our plan for tomorrow?"
"I need to know more about those four children. When they were born. Anything we can get about their families, their lives, their behavior."
"Do you think anyone will talk to you?" Lan sounded doubtful.
"You think of the child, which stepped into your way downstairs?"
"It's not just her. I don't like how everyone reacted after the innkeeper used your title. They don't like strangers, Moiraine."
The woman of the Blue Ajah remembered how the villagers had started to whisper when they had realized that she was one of the hated Aes Sedai. Maybe she should have hidden her ring before they had entered. The innkeeper had thought of her as a lady, and she had pretended to be a lady many times before. On the other hand, if they didn't like strangers, then those people would never answer any of her questions. But maybe they would answer an Aes Sedai when they were afraid to feel her wrath.
Moiraine felt how Lan was rubbing soothing circles on her back. His calm presence allowed her to relax and she felt the exhaustion tugging at her again. Naturally, her warder felt it too, and because he knew her too well, he sent calm waves through the bond to help her. "Sleep."
Was this an order? Usually, she was the one, who was telling him what to do. But… Her thoughts started to drift away, and her body felt heavy. What did she…?
Again, Lan pressed his lips on her hair, then he whispered softly: "Sleep."
When Moiraine opened her eyes in the morning, she noticed that Lan hadn't moved an inch and he was awake. "Good morning."
Tiredly, she greeted him as well, but she wasn't sure how much he was able to understand from her mumble. Lan's chuckle vibrated in his chest, which she commented with a growl.
Without a warning, Lan changed their positions on the bed until he was the one lying on top of her. Luckily, he shifted his weight to his arms. "How about you stay in bed until you are awake enough to eat something? And in the meantime, I ask for some bread and tea for breakfast."
Moiraine forced her eyes open. How dare this man to assert that she wasn't awake? Growling, she noticed that her eyes closed again. No, she was still too tired to get out of bed.
"I'll be back." She couldn't see Lan's smile, but she heard it. Although he would never admit it, he liked it to be right.
With closed eyes, Moiraine listened to how he moved through their room to get his boots and his sword. Before he left, she felt how he checked on her through the bond. He didn't like it whenever he had to leave her side, but he also knew that this tavern had no other guests except for them – and the older man with his son. Besides, he wouldn't leave the building.
"Go.", Moiraine ordered, and this time, she heard how he opened the door.
Tiredly, she laid her arm over her eyes, then she dove into their bond. Lan was way too cheerful for someone, who had just woken up. Immediately, she found what she was looking for. Although her strong warder was very good at hiding his tiredness, she was always able to feel it, when he had stayed awake the whole night. Their bond gave him the opportunity to be without sleep longer than any other man could, but the tiredness still stuck in his body.
Moiraine sighed heavily. `I need to talk to him about it. We are in a village and not on the road. I thought I had made myself clear the last time. As long as we are surrounded by walls, he shall sleep during the night. This stubborn man needs to rest.´
But this had to wait until she was fully awake. Right now, she wasn't able to have a decent conversation with anyone except herself. This way, it would be very difficult to talk to the villagers.