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After traveling a short distance, they picked up two other Maidens-- Bain and Chiad had spoken with the to a spot where a pair oftrees stood side by side There, Faile was ai’shain white Bain and Chiad were Maidens themselves, first-sisters and dear to Faile They were more loyal--even--than those who had sworn to her Loyal to her, yet free of oaths to her A contradiction only Aiel could pull off

Unlike Faile and the others, Bain and Chiad would not put off the white just because their captors had been defeated They would wear the clothing for a year and a day In fact, co their lives from before they had been taken--stretched what their honor would alloever, they adai’shain in the Shaido ca but standard

Failethe Maiden handtalk However, she couldn’t keep herself fro, "You are well?" as she accepted a sray eyes and short, reddish blond hair hidden beneath the hood of her gai’shain robe She grimaced at the question "Gaul searched the entire Shaido caai’d’sisith his spear Perhaps I shall have to make a bridal wreath for hih"

Faile smiled

Chiad smiled back "He did not expect that one of the ai’shain I do not think Gaul is happy to have both of us serving him"

"Foolish man," Bain--the taller of the two--said "Very like him to not watch where he jabbed his spear He couldn’t kill the righta few others" Both women chuckled

Faile smiled and nodded; Aiel hu these," she said, holding up the s," Chiad said "There were toothat day, so it was easy Alliandre Maritha Kigarin already waits for you at the trees We should return to the camp"

"Yes," Bain added "Perhaps Gaul would like his back rubbed again, or water fetched for hiain honor only through service What else are we to do?"

The woain, and Faile shook her head as they ran back toward the ca to wear such clothing again, if only because it made her think about her days of service to Sevanna

Lanky Arrela and graceful Lacile joined her at the base of the ts The Maiden guards stayed behind, watching fro out of the shadows, likely sent by Bain and Chiad to protect Alliandre Faile found the dark-haired queen standing at the base of the trees, looking like a lady again in a rich red goith golden chains lacing her hair It was an extravagant display, as if she were deter as a servant Alliandre’s gown made Faile more aware of her simple robe But there wasn’tPerrin Arrela and Lacile wore only the embroidered breeches and shirts common to those in Cba Faile

Alliandre carried a s out only a crack of light that illuminated her youthful face, topped by dark hair "Did they find anything?" she asked "Please tell rounded, for a queen, if so Her time in Maiden seemed to have tempered the latter feature

"Yes" Faile hefted the bundle The four woround, the tips of the short grass lit by the lantern, shining like tongues of flame Faile unwrapped the bundle The contents weren’t anything extraordinary A small handkerchief of yellow silk A belt of worked leather which had a pattern of bird feathers pressed into its sides A black veil And a thin leather band with a stone tied at the center

"That belt belonged to Kinhuin," Alliandre said, pointing to it "I saw hi it, before " She trailed off, then knelt and picked it up

"The veil is that of a Maiden," Arrela said

"They’re different?" Alliandre asked with surprise

"Of course they are," Arrela said, picking up the veil Faile had never met the Maiden who had become Arrela’s protector, but the woh not as dramatically as Rolan and the others

The piece of silk was Jhoradin’s; Lacile hesitated, then took it in her hands, turning it over and revealing that there was a spot of blood on it That left only the leather cord Rolan had worn it at his neck, on occasion, beneath his cadin’sor Faile wondered what it had le bit of stone, a rough-cut chunk of turquoise She picked it up, then glanced at Lacile Surprisingly, the slender woone so quickly to the hefty Brotherless’s bed, Faile had assumed that her relationship with him had been one of necessity, not affection

"Four people are dead," Faile said, mouth suddenly dry She spoke formally, for that was the best way to keep the emotion froh they were the eneh, that they were Aiel For an Aiel, there are far worse ends than death in combat"

The others nodded, but Lacile met Faile’s eyes For the two of them, it was different When Perrin had barreled out of that alleyway--roaring in anger at seeing Faile and Lacile apparently being s had happened very quickly In the fray, Faile had distracted Rolan at just the righthim hesitate He’d done so out of concern for her, but that pause had allowed Perrin to kill him

Had Faile done it intentionally? She still didn’t know So h herPerrin She’d cried out, andshe could not decide if she’d been trying to distract Rolan to let him die by Perrin’s hand

For Lacile, there was no such wavering Jhoradin had leaped in front of her, putting her behind hiainst the intruder She’d put a knife in his back, killing a man for the first time in her life And it had been a man whose bed she’d shared

Faile had killed Kinhuin, the other member of the Brotherless who had protected them He wasn’t the first man whose life she had taken-- nor the first one she’d taken from behind But he was the first man she’d killed who had seen her as a friend

There was nothing else that could have been done Perrin had seen only Shaido, and the Brotherless had seen only an invading enemy That conflict could not have ended without Perrin or the Brotherless dead No a would hav