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Nynaeve sed her heart and breathed again, raggedly, but she kneas not over

Raising her hands above her head, Elayne suddenly cartwheeled herself along the rope, black tresses whipping, whitesheathed legs flashing in the sun Nynaeve yelped and clutched Luca’s ar and caught herself just short of going over the edge

"What’s thefro since Sienda And a good many other places, too, I would think"

"Of course," she said weakly Eyes fixed on Elayne, she barely noticed the arh to do anything about it She had tried to talk the girl into feigning a sprained ankle, but Elayne insisted that after all of that practice with the Power, she did not need it now Maybe Juilin did not -- apparently he did not -- but Elayne had never gone scraht

The return cartwheels went perfectly, and the landing, but Nynaeve did not look away, or loose her hold on Luca’s sleeve After what now seemed the inevitable pause for applause, Elayne returned to the rope fordown and up so quickly that it seemed she kept it outstretched the whole while, and for a slow handstand that lifted her straight as a dagger, whiteslippered toes pointed to the sky And a backflip that had the crowd gasping and her swaying fro her balance Thoht her that, and the handstand

Froht Thom, two places down from her, eyes riveted to Elayne, poised on the balls of his feet He looked as proud as a peacock He looked ready to rush forward and catch her if she fell If she did fall, it would be at least partly his fault He should never have taught her those things!

One last passage of cartwheels, white legs flashing and glittering in the sun, faster than before A passage that had never been mentioned to Nynaeve! She would have eviscerated Luca with her tongue had he notto the act just for applause was a good way to break her neck One last pause to pose for more of that applause and Elayne at last cli, the crowd rushed in on her Luca and four horse handlers with cudgels appeared around her as if by the Power, but even so Thoh as she could, just irl did not see hands trying to touch her, stretching between her encircling guards Head high, face flushed frorace as she was escorted away How she could do that, garbed as she was, Nynaeve siine

"Face like a bloody queen," the oneeyedwith the others, but hly dressed in a plain coat of dark gray wool, he certainly looked solid enough to have no fears of being knocked down and trampled He appeared as if he could use that sword "Burnwell brave enough for a bloody queen"

Nynaeve gaped at hiuage Or rather, it was, partly Now she remembered where she had seen him, a oneeyed man with a topknot who could not say two sentences without the vilest curses

Forgetting about Elayne -- she was certainly safe enough -- Nynaeve began pushing her way through the throng after him

Chapter 38

(Serpent and Wheel)

An Old Acquaintance

With the crowds, it took Nynaeve so every tiht or a wo to drag her to two different attractions at once The oneeyedsnake and the lions, until he reached the boarhorses He had to have seen them earlier, situated as they were near the patrons’ entrance Every tis, as they were doing now, the great tusked heads of the adults could be seen by those outside the canvas fence, and the press to enter intensified a little n that said VALAN LUCA in ornate gold script on both sides, two of the horse handlers collected ad the lass pitchers -- both thick and flawed; Luca would never lay out coin for better -- so they could see that the coins were right without touching theh a hole in the top of an ironstrapped box so wrapped about with chain that Petra had to have put it in place before the first silver penny went in Another pair of horse handlers -- thickshouldered, brokennosed men with the sunken knuckles of brawlers -- stood nearby with cudgels to make sure that the crowd re theht as the skin on an apple She had never y

Slowly she elbowed close to the raystreaked topknot He had had no trouble reaching the front rank before the s’redit, of course; his scar and painted eyepatch would have seen to that, even without the sword on his back At the rin, and what she supposed onder on that stony face

"Uno?" She thought that was the right name

His head turned to stare at her Once she had the shawl back in place, he raised the stare to her face, but no recognition lit in his dark eye The other, the painted red glaring one,soibility, and the s’redit turned, Sanit, the cow, placing her feet, on Mer’s broad, rounded back while he reht Nerin, the calf, put her feet low on Sanit’s back

"I saw you in Fal Dara," Nynaeve said "And again on Toman Head, briefly After Falme You ith" She did not kno much she could say with people cheekbyjowl around her, ruh Aht "With Rand"

Uno’s real eye narrowed -- she tried not to see the other -- and after a et a fla pretty face But the hair was bloody well different Nyna?"

"Nynaeve,&rd