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It was a sunny day, early in spring, and surprisingly warm considering the season. However, the good weather did nothing to lighten Moiraine’s mood. The Amyrlin had ordered them to Fal Moran right after learning that they were in the Borderlands, although Moiraine wasn’t sure how Siuan had learned that at all since she had never replied to her letter, and she knew better than to ignore a formal summon. Even if it came from her friend.
The Amyrlin had crossed through Fal Moran on her travels, which was a coincidence that Moiraine didn’t appreciate. She didn’t need Siuan looking over her shoulder every step of the way.
Of course, Lan had sensed Moiraine’s anxiety. “She will be happy to see you.”
“Until she learns that we made no progress at all,” Moiraine replied dimly. She hadn’t thought finding the Dragon Reborn would be easy, but she had at least hoped for some sort of idea of where they could be looking. However, she did have trouble focusing recently. Another thing Siuan did not need to know about.
They reached the city at last, and it was hard to miss where the Amyrlin was staying. Siuan had taken camp just behind the city walls, but far enough from the palace that she wouldn’t intrude. Moiraine wondered what Siuan was doing here in the first place. The Borderlands and Tar Valon had no history of working closely together.
Moirane spotted plenty of other sisters, most of them clothed in green. There were novices, too, and a few Accepted. “We’re not staying here longer than necessary,” Moiraine muttered quietly. “One talk and that’s it.”
Lan was watching the other Aes Sedai with barely hidden suspicion. His meeting with the Black Ajah seemed to have shaped him.
They were greeted by two Accepted Moiraine didn’t know, informing them that the Amyrlin was already awaiting them. Apparently, they knew who she was. Moirane wasn’t sure if that was flattering or concerning.
“Do you want me to come along or should I wait?” Lan asked quietly once they had dismounted. The two Accepted were watching both of them with great interest.
Moiraine knew that Siuan would want to speak alone, but she didn’t feel like leaving Lan behind. Especially not in a camp with Aes Sedai she couldn’t trust. She knew how young women got when they were searching for a warder. “We go together,” she decided, earning an odd look from the Accepted, which she ignored.
Siuan was waiting in one of the tents, sitting on something that looked like a smaller version of the Amyrlin Seat. Leane was with her, and a couple of other sisters.
“Mother,” Moiraine greeted, trying to keep the impatience out of her voice.
Siuan waved a hand at the others, gesturing for them to leave. Moiraine didn’t appreciate how they were all staring at Lan. She felt some calming energy from his side of the bond, but it didn’t help.
Once they were alone, Siuan channeled, coating the outlines of the tent in weaves. “We can speak freely now,” she said once she was done. She gave Moiraine a pointed look. “What is so hard about sending letters?” She got up from her chair, the golden dress she was wearing getting in the way. “You could have been dead for all I know.”
Moiraine let herself be pulled into a hug. “You had no trouble finding out where I was.” She couldn’t keep the accusatory undertone out of her voice.
Siuan frowned at her, crossing her arms. “There are sisters in Fal Dara too, you know.” Her eyes slid towards Lan momentarily. “Your warder attracts attention in these lands.”
Moiraine ignored the comment. “What did you wish to discuss?”
Siuan almost looked offended. “Maybe I simply wanted to know how you were doing.” Again, she glanced at Lan. “I heard some things.”
Next to her, Lan shifted ever so slightly. Moiraine gave her best attempt to look unbothered. “So?”
Siuan rolled her eyes at her. “I was just teasing.” She smirked. “I thought you had some spicy stories to share.”
This time, Lan made a sound that sounded like a strangled laugh. Moiraine shot him a glance. Maybe he should have waited outside. He coughed once, trying to play it off.
However, Siuan wasn’t done yet. “Half the sisters in the Tower are bedding their warders, it’s not a crime, you don’t have to look so scandalized!” She stared Moiraine down.
Moiraine really, really wanted to be somewhere else right now. “This is why you called me here?”
Siuan gave her a disapproving look. “Fine, no details then.” She sighed. “I actually wanted you here because I heard Min is in the city. She might be of some help. She would never speak to me, though. She works in some tavern at the outskirts of the city.”
No, Min would rather run than speak to the Amyrlin Seat. But she probably wouldn’t be very helpful towards any Aes Sedai. She liked to stay hidden. “I’ll find her,” Moiraine replied. “She’ll talk.”
Siuan nodded. “We need some actual progress.”
They did need that. But if anyone could help it was Min. What she saw always came true.
“Don’t ignore my letters again,” Siuan said as a goodbye. “I’ll find out where you are anyway.”
Moiraine wasn’t sure if that was a threat. “I’ll write,” she promised.
Siuan gave Lan a serious stare. “You better take good care of her.”
Moiraine rolled her eyes, already on her way out of the tent. Lan found this very amusing, making a point to smile at Siuan. “I always do my best.” He was ignoring the wave of Moiraine’s annoyance through the bond.
“You’re a lucky woman, Moiraine,” Siuan said, waving at them.
Lan was laughing when they exited the tent. “I like her. She’s very straightforward.”
That she was. Moiraine was less amused, especially by the fact that apparently half the world knew what she and Lan had been busy with in Fal Dara. Maybe this was the downside of having a warder who was the king of a lost country. People talked. All the time.
Moiraine ignored the eyes of the other sisters on them as they walked through the camp. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible before anyone thought to start a conversation with her. Possibly about where she had been the entire time.
“Who is this Min?” Lan asked once they sat on their horses again, riding deeper into the city of Fal Moran.
Moiraine had never met her before, but she had heard of her talent. And she knew that she usually didn’t like to be found. “She can see the turnings of the Wheel. One look at you and she knows what your future holds.” Maybe, by some chance, Min had seen something concerning the dragon. Although Moiraine wasn’t sure how she would convince her to share that information.
They found a suitable inn to stay at, one that attracted little attention, or as little attention as Moiraine could get with Lan by her side. Everyone seemed to be staring at him everywhere they went, and Moiraine found herself especially annoyed by the women who kept staring.
“For someone who doesn’t want to be associated with me you are certainly very bothered by the looks,” Lan muttered into her ear when they entered the first tavern on their hunt for Min.
Moiraine threw him a dark look. “I’m not bothered,” she replied, but it didn’t come out very convincing. “I just don’t need everyone in the Borderlands gossiping about who I’m sleeping with.”
Lan still looked much too amused by this. “Including the Amyrlin Seat.”
Sometimes she wanted to smack him in the face. “Could you focus?” She looked around, scanning the people. No Min. This wasn’t the place.
“Do you even know what she looks like?” Lan wanted to know. He was barely helpful right now.
“No, but I’ll recognize her,” Moiraine replied, already walking back to the door. She wasn’t sure how many taverns this city had, but it could be a long night.
Lan followed her like he always did. There was something he wanted to say but didn’t, and Moiraine could feel the thought linger in his mind.
The next tavern was much more crowded, the room almost overflowing with people. Some heads turned towards Lan when they entered, and Moiraine held back the urge to comment on it. Her eyes had found a petite girl working at the bar, handing out drinks to a couple of people. Something about her was different.
She had just found who she had been looking for. Maybe now Lan’s presence could actually be useful for something. “Wait here,” she said quietly. “Everyone will be staring at you and no one will be watching me.”
Lan gave her a look that told her he disagreed with the plan but remained behind. Moiraine slipped through the crowd unnoticed, reaching the bar where Min was washing cups.
She looked up when Moiraine stepped closer, her eyes assessing her right away. “Aes Sedai,” she said without much enthusiasm.
So no pretending then, that was fine with Moiraine. She leaned across the bar ever so slightly. “I heard you have a special talent.”
Min’s expression didn’t change. “People only want to know their future until they know it.” She put down one of the cups. “The man you walked in with. You will marry him. And he will be a king, but you will never be a queen.”
Moiraine froze involuntarily at the words. You will marry him. She looked over to Lan, then back at Min. That wasn’t what she had come here to hear. Not at all. She grabbed the edge of the bar to remain standing.
“See?” Min replied. “You didn’t want to hear it.”
Moiraine found it very hard to keep her focus. The girl’s words kept repeating inside her head. Lan would be a king. Of Malkier?
Min seemed to have read the questions from her face. “I can only tell you what I see.”
Moiraine could feel Lan’s worry at the other side of the bond, caused by her sudden shock. She attempted to smooth over her emotions. “I didn’t come here to hear about my future,” she said, trying to piece herself back together.
“Oh, you came for a drink?” Min said, setting down another cup. “I make the best beer in the city.”
Moiraine ignored the comment. “I came here to hear about a child. Born a few years ago, most likely. He will be very important to the pattern one day.” She wasn’t sure how much was safe to say. She didn’t trust this girl at all.
Min looked unimpressed. “I don’t meet many children.”
Moiraine was grinding her teeth. She was getting seriously annoyed. “Did you meet anyone with great importance to the pattern?”
Min smiled, looking genuinely amused. “You’re the first.”
Again, she caught Moiraine off guard. She hadn’t actually meant to ask Min about her own future since the revelation about a future wedding was already more than she could manage to process, but now she was curious. She glanced back at Lan, who was still by the door, watching her. “How accurate are your visions?”
Min leaned across the bar, resting her chin on her hands. “The clearer I see the more likely it is to happen. But it always happens eventually.” She smiled. “Yours is very clear.”
She was just taunting Moiraine at this point. “Fine, I want to know.” It couldn’t get any worse than a wedding.
Min was looking intensely at her face as if she was trying to read her mind. “You will find who you’re looking for, but not for a long time. You will show him his place in the pattern.” She frowned once. “You will have a daughter one day. She will be important, too.”
Moiraine felt her head spinning. Any relief she could have felt about finding the Dragon someday in the future was replaced by dread over Min’s last words. “Can you see what she looks like?” she was asking before she could stop herself. She didn’t actually want any children. The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, and apparently, it was plotting her downfall.
Min was looking at her like she was severely tired. “She will be Aes Sedai. She’s wearing golden robes and a crown. That’s all.”
Golden robes, like Siuan had been wearing. Like the Amyrlin Seat wore. Moiraine felt faintly sick. Too many revelations for one day.
“I’m sorry,” Min said quietly. “I usually keep to myself what I see. But you were asking.”
Moiraine shook her head. “Thank you. It was very helpful.” She wasn’t sure how she would face Lan right now. She couldn’t possibly tell him all that Min said. But she also couldn’t lie, for obvious reasons.
Another customer needed Min’s attention and the girl turned away, with a last look at Moiraine. They would see each other again. Moiraine didn’t need any visions to know as much. Min also had a part to play in the pattern.
Lan was watching Moiraine with worry on his face when she returned, but she didn’t miss his curiosity. “So?” he asked once she had reached him. “Helpful information?”
Moiraine needed to get out of this room. She left the tavern without answering, thankful for the fresh air outside. She wished she had never found Min in the first place.
Lan touched her wrist gently, bringing her back to reality. “What did she say?”
“I will find who I’m looking for, but not for a very long time,” Moiraine quoted because that was the least worrying part of Min’s forecast.
“So that’s reassuring,” Lan pointed out. “But she told you more.”
She couldn’t tell him. Not only because she was worried he might react with the same dread that she had felt, but also because she couldn’t possibly tell him that they were going to be married someday. And have a child. Did Lan even want to marry? Moiraine had never considered marriage for herself, but maybe he had. She wouldn’t know, and certainly not ask.
She dared herself to look at his face again. “I can’t tell you.”
“So she said things about me as well,” Lan concluded. “Which were so terrible that now you can’t even speak.” Noticing Moiraine’s panicked expression, he softened his voice. “I don’t need to know.” He approached her, taking her face in his hands. “Whatever she said, it will be fine. We will figure it out.”
The sincerity in his voice pushed Moiraine over the edge. She started crying right then, in the middle of the street. She couldn’t remember the last time she had cried.
Lan took her in his arms without a word, kissing her hair.
Moiraine clung to him, hiding her face against his chest.
She had never been so scared before, not even when she wasn’t sure if she could ever find the Dragon Reborn.