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The ride from Falme to Tar Valon was many things. Long, for one. Scenic, at times, although terribly bland at others. Perhaps also long. A peaceful respite from the events a few weeks prior, perhaps. But most of all, it was long, and the party was still only a small part of the way there.
Verin was nice, at least, nice enough to not work the girls too hard. She must have known how tiresome the ride would be, although she rarely showed any of that herself. Day in and day out, they rode on horseback for as long as Verin would allow them, usually only stopping when they found a village or daylight began to fade. Mile after mile, day after day. Crossing the continent.
On this day, like most days, they stopped in a small local inn. Of course, small was a respective term. Roughly the same size as the Winespring Inn, the inn that Egwene’s father had owned, and all throughout her life the benchmark for what a large building would look like. But compared to an inn in Caemlyn or any large city, it was tiny. So tiny that its rooms were limited. And thus, even though they were in the middle of nowhere, it was necessary for rooms to be shared.
Or rather, Verin had her own room, while Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve shared one of their own. Two beds for three girls, but they could make it work. They had gotten used to sharing beds already.
They were resting from the day’s ride, as usual. Dinner had already been eaten, so now all they had left to do was talk until they were ready to sleep. Idle talk, such as things back home, stories from the Tower, or speculation about Rand or others often dominated their conversation.
But while tonight did have some of that, the light mood was quickly extinguished when Elayne pulled something out from deep inside her bags. When Egwene, who was sitting right next to her on the same bed, saw what Elayne had in her had, she jumped. She practically ran across the room, doing her best to flee from it.
In her hand, Elayne had an a’dam, a collar and bracelet connected through a braided cord. It was a ter’angreal, an object which could be used when channeling the One Power. It was something that all three of them had become familiar with during their time in Falme.
Something which Egwene had become comfortable with most of all.
“Elayne! Light, why do you have that? What is it doing here?” Egwene was unable to keep her voice quiet. Panic was already beginning to set in just at the sight of the thing.
Elayne frowned and set the a’dam down in her lap. “During the mayhem, while we were leaving Falme, I happened to grab this. After all, wouldn’t the Tower appreciate one of these to study? If the Seanchan come back, we need to be able to deal with them. No better way to learn how to do so than to study their methods.”
Egwene eyes the collar like a caged beast eying a hunting spear. But at the same time, Nynaeve spoke up. “So? Why do you bring it out now? What do you mean to do with it?”
“Well, we may be in great trouble when we get back to the Tower. There’s no saying what they think of our disappearance. Liandrin may even have lied about it, if she truly is…” Elayne trailed off before finishing that sentence. Because the other two already knew what the sentence was, but also because she didn’t want to say the words allowed herself. “Well, if that is the case, while Verin Sedai may be able to vouch for our disappearance, it would do us a favor to have something else to present. Such as a study in how a previously unknown angreal works. So I was thinking,” she began slipping the bracelet of the a’dam around her wrist, “We could experiment with it.”
Neither Nynaeve nor Egwene responded to that, stunned into silence. When no further response came, Elayne continued. “Egwene. You have the most experience wearing an a’dam, right? We should start with you wearing it so that I can learn from the other side.”
Egwene’s eyes had a look of terror to them. Nynaeve spoke up in her place, questioning Elayne’s plan. “Why should you be the one wearing the bracelet? Wouldn’t it make more sense for Egwene to wear the bracelet, since she has that experience?”
But Elayne shook her head. “We’ll have time to trade it between us before we get back to Tar Valon, I’m sure, but it’s only right for me to start, right? I’ve already been trained in the art of leading others.” She turned from Nynaeve to Egwene. “It can only be a short while, if you want. But I need to learn this somehow.”
Eventually, Egwene pulled herself to her feet and out of the corner of the room where she was hiding. She dragged one foot after the other across the room, quite like someone heading to the gallows. But Elayne seemed unsympathetic to her concerns. Eventually, Egwene sat down on the bed next to the other girl.
With a forlorn sigh, Egwene pulled back the hair around her neck, presenting it to Elayne. She looked miserable all the while. Elayne took the collar in her hands, then wrapped it around Egwene’s neck, then finally clasped it closed. She channeled a little bit of Power into it, then gasped. “Huh. That’s not what I expected it might be. I can feel you… Nynaeve, can you ask her to channel the Power? I believe that it wouldn’t work if I asked her.”
Nynaeve glared at Elayne and said nothing, until the princess continued staring. Eventually, Nynaeve sighed. “Egwene, can you try channeling?”
But immediately after, Elayne said, “Egwene, do not channel.”
Egwene understood what Elayne was trying to do. But understanding that didn’t change the orders that had been given. She briefly was surrounded by the glow of saidar, but it ceased immediately. And as soon as the glow disappeared, Egwene keeled over, an expression on her face that was somewhere between terror and extreme nasuea.
Elayne looked down at her wrist. “Fascinating,” she muttered. Then, she commanded, “Egwene. Stand up.” Without hesitating, Egwene stood up. Elayne gestured for a part of the room and Egwene started walking. All the while, it looked as if she was about to start crying on the spot.
Elayne frowned. “Egwene, come back over here.” Egwene walked back slowly, head hung. It seemed to Nynaeve that she was already retreating into whatever servile state she might have been forced into during her time under Seanchan control.
Once Egwene was close enough, Elayne pulled her over with a gesture that ended as a hug. But while Elayne’s gesture was caring, Egwene simply stood there, limp and dead like a doll. It wasn’t until she felt Elayne’s hands on her back, raising higher and higher, that her spirits began to raise as well. Eventually, Elayne’s hands wrapped around the collar, which she unlocked and removed from Egwene. And as soon as it was gone, Egwene collapsed, much like a puppet whose strings had been cut. She collapsed into Elayne’s chest and began to sob, drenching the princess’s dress with tears.
Elayne manuevered the pair of them back to the bed, then guided Egwene to sit down. Not a word was said at first, and there was hardly any movement except for Elayne removing the a’dam from her wrist. She did her best to let Egwene cry on her breast. She did, of course, feel bad for putting the other girl in this position. It hadn’t occurred to her that it might be so bad for Egwene to re-live her confinement. But once it had happened, there was nothing to do but continue.
And much in the same way, now that she was comforting Egwene, there was nothing she could do but continue the hug until Egwene felt better. Eventually, however, that did come to pass. Egwene pushed Elayne away, then laid down in their bed. A couple moments later, she gestured for Nynaeve to come join them. As she passed by Elayne, she hit her on the head. Elayne winced, for it hurt, but she couldn’t say Nynaeve was wrong to do so.
Wordlessly, Nynaeve shooed Elayne from the bed, pushing her off. Apparently, Nynaeve had decided for her that she would not be sharing her bed with Egwene tonight. Nynaeve was already in her nightwear, so she laid down next to Egwene and began to whisper to her in a voice that Elayne couldn’t make out, but neither did she want to.
“Good night, you two,” she said, as she went to turn off the lamps.