They were on the road for hours and still they haven't reached the tents of the Red Ajah. Lan was getting more nervous by the minute, although he didn't let it show on the outside. Moiraine was resting her eyes, while he was keeping her body upright on the horse. From time to time, he checked on her through the bond, and every time, she was getting weaker. Lan sent her as much of his strength as possible, but he knew that it was useless. It wouldn't save her. Only an Aes Sedai could help them now. But the red tents were nowhere in sight!

He also was surprised how quiet the Wisdom had stayed during the hours. Not one word had come over her lips, although he saw from the corner of his eyes that she was angry. He assumed that it would be any minute until she would…

"We've been heading southwest for three hours now!" There it was. "You care to tell me why?!"

Lan thought about answering her, but then his eyes fell on a figure on top of the big stone wall and he brought Mandarb to a halt. Relief washed over him when he recognized a green sister on her horse. This was good. A green sister would be more willing to help Moiraine.

Nynaeve, who had her eyes on Lan, hadn't seen the sister, but she followed his example and stopped her horse beside him. She was still hoping for an answer.

"Moiraine, we need you now.", Lan said softly and finally Nynaeve got aware of what had caught Lan's attention.

The injured woman was slowly opening her eyes then she took in their surroundings until her eyes landed on the stone walls and the three Aes Sedai, who were observing the little group from their high positions. She also felt relieved when she saw that two of them belonged to the Green Ajah. They would be able to help them.

Suddenly, a movement on the ground caught her eye. A single rider approached them. A rider, who was dressed in red. Moiraine squinted her eyes and recognized blond hair. `Oh, light. Please don't let it be her. Everyone else but not her.´

The rider came closer, and Moiraine felt how Lan exhaled heavily behind her. He had recognized the rider as well and wasn't very happy about it either. From all the red sisters they could've met, they had to find HER.

Liandrin stopped her horse at some distance from the little group, but Moiraine was still able to see the smirk on the face of the other woman. "Moiraine Sedai." It sounded as if Liandrin couldn't believe it to actually see Moiraine in flesh and blood.

"Liandrin Sedai.", Moiraine greeted the other woman politely. She wouldn't beg this woman for a healing. One of the others could help her too.

"If you're here to help then you're too late." The words sounded bitter, but Moiraine didn't care. She was more confused about the meaning of the words. Why should she be here to help? And with what?

More riders appeared on the road, but those were men. The red's had no Warders. So, they were the Warders of their green sisters. Then a big construct came into sight, which looked like… a cage?

Liandrin saw the confusion on Moiraine's face and a triumphal smile appeared on her lips. "Or didn't you hear?"

The woman of the Blue Ajah wanted to wipe this smile off Liandrin's face, but her shoulder was burning. The pain was almost unbearable, and Moiraine needed the rest of her strength to keep herself from screaming. Without Lan's presence, she wouldn't sit on the horse anymore. She didn't even have the strength to shield her Warder from the pain.

Liandrin saw Moiraine's questioning look and was more than happy to announce the good news. "We captured a man calling himself the Dragon Reborn."

Shocked, Moiraine's eyes moved quickly to the cage. Now she was able to see a man on the inside. `Could this be? No, this was impossible. He isn't the real Dragon. One of the Emond's Fielder is the Dragon Reborn.´

Lan shifted his position behind Moiraine. He had recognized the two Warders, who were riding in front of the cage. Stepin and Maksim. This meant, they had friends among this group of Aes Sedai.

With a last glance at Moiraine, Liandrin kept moving, while the cage came closer to the little group. Nynaeve seemed nervous now that they were surrounded by so many Aes Sedai's.

"We need to get closer.", Moiraine whispered and tried to urge Mandarb to walk forward.

The stallion took a step forward before Lan stopped him. "No."

"I need to get a better look at him."

Lan put his arm around the waist of his Aes Sedai and pulled her against him. She was trembling. She had pushed her body to the limits. "First, you need to be healed or you won't be looking at anything because your body gives up." Moiraine grabbed his arm, but it wasn't to give him an order. She was holding on to him to strengthen herself. "Kerene and Alanna are here. One of them can heal you."

The wagon with the caged man passed them, and Moiraine's eyes moved over Kerene and Alanna, who were sitting behind the cage. None of them were looking up. They were both concentrated on the kneeling man inside.

Stepin brought his horse to a halt in front of Lan's. "You wanna join us?"

Lan nodded, and Mandarb started to move again. Nynaeve followed them a heartbeat later. The two Warders made their horses walk side by side. Stepin looked at Lan with a raised eyebrow after he had taken a look at Moiraine's pale face. "She is not looking good, Lan."

"Trolloc poison."

"When did this happen?"

"A few days ago."

Worry moved over Stepin's face then he concentrated on Kerene's back. Apparently, he was telling his Aes Sedai about the urgent matter. Finally, he nodded and turned his attention back to Lan. "Our camp isn't far from here. Kerene will heal her then."

"Thank you."

Stepin's eyes moved to the pale woman, who was still trembling and swaying. The sooner they would arrive at the camp, the better it would be for Moiraine.

Half an hour later, they reached the camp. Stepin showed Lan, where they could secure the horses, while the wagon with the cage was pulled somewhere else. Moiraine's eyes followed the cage. She wanted to see this Dragon up close. Who was he? How strong was he? But Lan was guiding them in the other direction. A low growl escaped her lips, although she knew that Lan's was right. Without Lan's arm around her waist, she wouldn't be sitting upright anymore. There was no more strength left in her body.

Lan brought Mandarb to a halt then he carefully dismounted. As soon as he wasn't sitting behind her anymore, Moiraine's body gave up and she sank forward. Luckily, Lan had assumed that this would happen and pulled her down into his arms.

"Come on. I'll show you the tent.", Stepin said and guided the bonded pair through the camp.

They entered a tent, which belonged to the Green Ajah. There were two separate beds in it, as well as a table with some books and sheets of paper on it. "This is Kerene's tent.", Lan stated and Stepin nodded.

"She will come as soon as the Dragon is secured. There is a cave nearby, where he will be isolated from the camp. Lay her down on the bed."

Carefully, Lan placed his Aes Sedai on the bed. Moiraine groaned when another wave of pain moved through her body. Stepin went to Moiraine's other side. "Let's take off her travel coat. Kerene will need space to heal her."

Together, the two men helped the injured woman out of her travel coat and the leather bolero. While Stepin put them aside, Lan helped Moiraine to lie down. She was still trembling and her forehead was sweaty. The Warder checked for her temperature and grimaced when he noticed how warm she was. Scared, he dove into their bond. The connection was weak. The energy of the poultice was depleted.

Gently, he stroked her cheek until her eyes opened fluttering. "I need you to hold on just a little bit longer. Kerene is on her way and then she will heal you.", Lan whispered.

Moiraine tried to give him a reassuring smile, but she was too weak to be convincing. Frustrated, the Warder laid his forehead against hers and sent her some of his strength. She would need it to fight against the poison.

It was Stepin, who interrupted them. "Let her rest, Lan. She is safe now. Let's take care of the horses."

"I want to wait until Kerene…"

"Kerene isn't a yellow sister, but she will take care of Moiraine. I promise you that you won't lose her today."

It was hard for Lan to leave Moiraine's side again, but he knew that there was nothing else he could do anymore. He had kept her alive over the past few days. He had brought her to another Aes Sedai. Now it was up to them to save the woman he was bonded to.

The Warder stroked her cheek one last time then he got back to his feet and left the tent with Stepin. There was still work to do. He had to take care of Aldieb and Mandarb and then he had to look out for Nynaeve. The woman hated Aes Sedai and now she was surrounded by them. It probably wouldn't take long until she would start her first fight.