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Nine days after their flight from Ebou Dar, scattered clouds appeared in the sky and a sprinkling of fat raindrops splashed dust in the road An intere kept theht, the rain turned to sleet, and by , thick flurries of snow drifted froan to wonder whether they could make it in teeks from where they stood

With the snow, clothes beca of the fact that everyone ht need warm clothes before they reached their destination Nynaeve blaht she was at fault, and Reanne thought she was They actually stood in thewith snowflakes drifting down on their heads, arguing over who could claim the blame Elayne was not sure which of theh, but all were laughing as they settled around a table in The White Swan to decide what to do A solution turned out to be no laughingone ware bite out of their coin, if so many could be found Jewelry could be sold or traded, of course, but no one in Forel Market seemed to be interested in necklaces or bracelets, however fine

Aviendha solved that difficulty by producing a seely, the same folk who had said with bare politeness that they had no use for bege about in Aviendha’s palm Reanne said they saw one as frippery, the other as wealth, but whatever their reasons, in return for two rubies of e moonstone, and a small firedrop, the people of Forel Market wereto provide as many thick woolens as their visitors desired, soenerous of the clothes out of their chests and attics A steady stream marched into the inn with their are!" Aviendha shrugged slightly; she would have surrendered a handful of the gems if Reanne had not intervened

Merilille shook her head "We have what they want, but they have e need I’m afraid that means they set the price" Which was entirely too much like the situation with the Sea Folk Nynaeve looked positively ill

When they were alone, in a hallway of the inn, Elayne asked Aviendha where she had gotten such a fortune in jewels, and one she seeer to be rid of She expected her nearsister to say they were her takings from the Stone of Tear, or perhaps Cairhien

"Rand al’Thor tricked me," Aviendha muttered sullenly "I tried to buy my toh from him I know that is the least honorable way," she protested, "but I could see no other And he stood ically, a ains the upper hand?"

"Their pretty heads are so fuzzy, a woman can’t expect to follo they skitter," Elayne told her She did not inquire what toh Aviendha had tried to buy, or how the atte a sack full of rich geht lead

Snow broughtAtthicker by the minute, Renaile strode down the stairs into the coain had been met, and demanded not only the Bowl of the Winds, but Merilille The Gray sister stared in consternation, and so did a greattheir turn at themen and women ran to serve this third lot of meals Renaile did not keep her voice down, and every head in the common room swiveled toward her

"You can begin your teaching, now," Renaile told the wideeyed Aes Sedai "Up the ladder with you to my quarters" Merilille started to protest, but face suddenly cold, the Windfinder to the Mistress of the Ships planted fists on her hips "When I give a command, Merilille Ceandevin," she said icily, "I expect every hand on deck to jump Now juather herself and go, with Renaile practically chivvying her up the stairs from behind Given her prohast Alise and stout Suhtfully

In the days that follohether laboring along a snowcovered road on their horses, walking the streets of a village, or trying to find room for everyone at a farm, Renaile kept Merilille at her heels except when she told her off to follow another Windfinder The glow of saidar surrounded the Gray sister and her escort ally The pale Cairhienin was markedly shorter than any of the dark Sea Folk woed to stand taller by the sheer force of Aes Sedai dignity Soon, though, she began to wear a permanently startled expression Elayne learned that when they all had beds to sleep in, which they did not always, Merilille was sharing with Pol, her maid, and the two apprentice Windfinders, Talaan and Metarra What that said of Merilille’s status, Elayne was not sure Clearly, the Windfinders did not put her on a level with the apprentices They just expected her to do as she was told, when she was told, with no delays or equivocations

Reanne remained appalled at the turn of events, but Alise and Su the Kin to watch closely, not the only ones to nod thoughtfully And suddenly, another problem came to Elayne’s notice The Kinswomen saw Ispan made more and more malleable in her captivity, but she was the prisoner of other Aes Sedai The Sea Folk were not Aes Sedai, and Merilille not a prisoner, yet she was starting to jump when Renaile issued a command, or, for that matter, when Dorile, or Caire, or Caire’s bloodsister Tebreille did Each of those was Windfinder to a clan Wavemistress, and none of the others h More and htful observation Perhaps Aes Sedai were not a different flesh after all If Aes Sedai were just women like themselves, why should they subject theors of the Tower, to Aes Sedai authority and Aes Sedai discipline? Had they not survived very well on their own, some for more years than any of the older sisters were quite ready to believe? Elayne could practically see the id