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and lay fingering the stone ring on its thong, staring at the thick bea to the thousand creaks of the ship rushing downriver through the darkness

"Was she there?" Elayne de, but --"

"I aaze fro a ccoward" The last words dissolved into tears she could neither stop nor hide, no matter how she scrubbed at her eyes

Elayne was there in an instant, holding her and sitte pressed a cloth daainst the back of her neck She cried herself out to the sound of thehedien was hunting itte said finally, "I would run If there was no other place to hide than a badger’s hole, I would wriggle in and curl into a ball and sweat until she was gone I would not stand in front of one of Cerandin’s s’redit if it charged, either; and neither is cowardice You round, and coe on her if ever I can, but that is the only way I will Anything else would be foolish"

That was hardly what Nynaeve wanted to hear, but her tears and their corown up between the the dark wooden box from the shelf where she had put it, Elayne reether"

That, Nynaeve wanted to hear even less But there was no way to avoid it, not after they had told her she was not a coward So back they went

To the Stone of Tear, where they stared at Callandor -- better than looking over your shoulder and wondering whether Moghedien was going to appear -- then to the Royal Palace in Cae, and Euidance Nynaeve had seen palaces before, with their huge halls and great painted ceilings andand fine carpets and elaborate hangings, but this here Elayne had grown up Seeing it, and knowing that, made her understand a little of Elayne Of course the worown up being taught that it would, in a place where it did

Elayne, a pale i, was strangely quiet while they were there But then, Nynaeve was quiet in Eer than she remembered, withup Soe, three sprawling stories, and a stone plinth five paces high had been erected on the Green, carved all over with nanized; they were pole stood to either side of the plinth, one topped by a banner with a red wolf’s head, the other one with a red eagle Everything looked prosperous and happy -- as much as she could say, with no people there -- but it made no sense What on earth were those banners? And ould be building such a house?

They flashed to the White Tower, to Elaida’s study Nothing had changed there, except that only half a dozen stools remained in the semicircle in front of Elaida’s table And the triptych of Bonas gone The painting of Rand remained, with a poorly mended tear in the canvas across Rand’s face, as if so at it

They rifled the papers in the lacquered box with its golden hawks, and those on the Keeper’s table in the anterooed while they looked at them, yet they did learn a little Elaida knew that Rand had crossed the Dragonwall into Cairhien, but of what she intended to do about it, there was no clue An angry demand that all Aes Sedai return to the Tower immediately unless they had specific orders otherwise froood deal, that so few sisters had returned after her offer of amnesty, that most of the eyesandears in Tarabon were still silent, that Pedron Niall was still calling Whitecloaks back to Amadicia when she did not knohy, that Davra an army with him Fury filled every document over her seal None of it seemed of real use or interest, except maybe about the Whitecloaks Not that they should have any difficulty there as long as they were on Riverserpent

When they returned to their bodies on the ship, Elayne was silent as she rose fro, Nynaeve got up to help her out of her dress Birgitte scraether in their shifts; she intended to sleep right at the top of the ladder, she said

Elayne channeled to extinguish the la in the dark, she said, "The palace seemed so empty, Nynaeve It felt so empty"

Nynaeve did not knohat else a place was supposed to be in Tel’aran’rhiod "It was the ter’angreal you used You looked aly to me"

"Well, I looked just fine to me" There was only a touch of asperity in Elayne’s voice, though, and they settled down to sleep

Nynaeve had remembered the other wooodetting to be afraid was not the saone back to the World of Dreaain not to be afraid

Having begun, it was easier to go on than to stop Every night after that they entered Tel’aran’rhiod together, alith a visit to the Tower to see what they could learn There was not veryan emissary to Salidar to invite the Aes Sedai there to return to the Tower Except, the invitation -- as ed to a report on screening potential novices for proper attitudes, whatever that was supposed to mean -- was more a demand that those Aes Sedai submit to Elaida immediately and be thankful they were allowed to Still, it was confir a wild hare The trouble with the rest of what they saw in fragether Who was this Davram Bashere, and as Elaida so frantic to find him? Why had Elaida forbidden anyone to on, with a threat of stiff penalties? Why had Queen Tenobia of Saldaea and King Easar of Shienar both written letters politely but stiffly resenting White Towerin their affairs? It all s: "To knoo, you ree th