You're not alone

Chapter 4 - The chase

Moiraine is on the run, trying to escape the Whitecloaks. Will she be successful? Does she know the streets better than them?

Moiraine rushed through the streets. She had no specific destination in mind. All she cared about was to get as much distance as possible between herself and the Whitecloak. She had heard him yelling in anger – yelling for his brothers of the Children of the Light. She hadn't looked back.

Her dagger was safely hidden underneath her robe again since the citizens of Cairhien had started to jump out of the way at her sight. A crazy woman running through the streets of Cairhien with a dagger in her hands – a clear signal for her enemies where to find her. So, Moiraine had hidden her dagger and had slowed her steps. Now, she was simply rushing instead of running.

The threat of the Whitecloak was still ringing in her ears. You can't run from us, witch. As soon as you step away from me, I will follow you, and when I catch you, you wish you would have never gone to the White Tower in the first place. Cairhien was her hometown. She knew these streets, even though it had been decades since she had lived there. Those men couldn't know the city better than she did – right?

"The woman over there!"

Moiraine winced when she saw three Whitecloaks ahead of her. They sat on horses, and one of them pointed at a woman in a blue dress. Quickly, she moved right into a small side alley. Blood and ashes! Those bastards used horses to cover more ground! I need to leave Cairhien! They will get me if I stay any longer!

She knew the way back to the stable where she had left her horse. Honestly, she knew a thousand ways back, but she had to be careful. The Whitecloaks looked at every woman wearing a blue dress, and the woman of the Blue Ajah had no doubt they had gotten hints at what to look for from the man she had pushed into the basket full of eggs.

Finally, she was back on one of the more crowded streets and pushed her way through the crowd. This time, the Aes Sedai couldn't hold back. She played a dangerous game with the Children of the Light, and there was no one there to help her should she get captured.

"Over there!"

Moiraine heard the yell in her back and when she looked over her shoulder, she saw two Whitecloaks, trying to force their horses through the crowd. Cursing, she moved into the next side ally.

Five more times, the Aes Sedai had to hide from the Children of the Light. Sometimes, she only saw their backs when they checked on a total stranger, but the men saw her lately, and she could only escape at the last second. It felt like they were closing in on her, leaving her nowhere to go.

And then she ran out of luck. Moiraine was back on a bigger street filled with people and did her best to hide among the citizens, yet it wasn't enough. She saw four Whitecloaks on horses in front of her – luckily, all of them fighting about where to search next – so she turned around. She would take another ally to...

Three more Whitecloaks moved through the crowd, coming from behind. She was surrounded! There was no side ally left to get away from them! Her enemies hadn't seen her yet, but Moiraine knew it was only a matter of time. With fear in her eyes, she watched the men pushing the citizens of Cairhien out of the way who weren't interesting to them. When they saw a woman in a blue dress, the Whitecloak turned around the woman roughly – the shriek of said woman echoed through the street.

Slowly, Moiraine moved aside, away from the people. Her eyes were scanning her surroundings – she considered every door and entrance. Would anyone let me in? What do I do now?

Suddenly, two strong hands grabbed her upper arms from behind and turned her in the other direction. Moiraine couldn't see her attacker since he stayed behind her, but her instincts kicked in. She wouldn't go down without a fight.