An unbreakable bond

Chapter 20

Egwene, Perrin, and Loial were all very happy when they heard that they would leave the Aiel in the morning. No one had felt very welcomed, and the stories about these strong warriors were stuck in their heads.

Mother Fiosä gave Rand the advice to stay close to Moiraine as long as the bond existed. And she suggested taking the fastest way to Tar Valon. The sooner this bond was gone, the better it was for everyone.

Grievan's men escorted the little group back to the spine of the world, then they were back on familiar ground, and Lan took the lead. Tar Valon was at least a week away, and since the Trollocs had invaded the Ways, there was no way that they could use them again.

At least this time, they didn't have to rest as soon as the sun was starting to settle down. And Rand and Moiraine started to look better with every day that passed since they were able to sleep peacefully through the night. On the first night, Egwene had tried to snuggle up with Rand, but he didn't want her close while he was sleeping. He didn't know what he would do during his sleep and didn't want to endanger her.

On the second night, Nynaeve started to keep Lan company, while he was securing their camp. They even used the time and took some walks, while they talked, just like they did this night. Tar Valon was still days away, and if the wisdom was honest to herself, she didn't want to arrive at the White Tower too soon. It would mean that Egwene and herself would become novices, and that was something that scared her. All this time, she had assumed that Moiraine would be there with them. And as much as she despised the woman, Nynaeve had relied on the knowledge that there would be one Aes Sedai, who they would be able to talk to if things would go wrong. But now, she knew about Moiraine's exile and that was scaring her.

"Are you alright?" Lan looked at her closely, while they were walking through the woods. This night, they had camped inside a forest, and Lan wanted to know all the weak spots he had to cover if an attack should happen.

"I was thinking."

"About what?"

"When we return to Tar Valon, what will you do? Moiraine got exiled from the tower, so, this probably includes you. But your quest is over. Rand fought against the Dark One and won. What will you do next?"

"Did Rand win?"

"He went to the eye of the world with Moiraine. They both said that he fought against him. What...?"

"And still he appears in Rand's dreams."

Nynaeve opened her mouth, but then she stopped. Lan was right. Although Rand had fought at the eye of the world, the Dark One was still torturing him. And he had created this bond between Moiraine and Rand, which was also still intact. All of those things should be impossible if the Dark One was truly dead or at least defeated. "What does this mean for you?"

"I don't know yet. I will have to talk to Moiraine about it, as soon as we have dealt with this situation."

"Do you think that she will continue? She can't channel anymore."

"And you really think that this will stop her?" Lan chuckled at the thought of his stubborn Aes Sedai slowing down.

Nynaeve glared at him angrily, while she absently rubbed her chest. For a few minutes now, she had this weird feeling of being pulled somewhere, which she tried to ignore, but it was still there. Lan noticed her movement and tilted his head questionably. "If you don't stop doing that you will rub yourself a hole into your chest."

"Hm?" The wisdom hadn't listened to him. Lan stepped in front of her and took her hand into his.

"What is bothering you?"