"Cam, that’s terrible." Sairah was truly shocked. "What happened afterwards?"

"After Lord Gareth told me what happened, he apologized for taking an unwitting role in my Uncle’s scemes, and the engagement was quietly broken off after the funeral. Ironically, everyone believed the affect of my Uncle’s death that caused the break off. It wasn’t hard to act as though it had affected me deeply…"

"…because I had affected you deeply," Sairah finished, immediately seeing where he was going with the thought.

"Exactly."

"Cam, I’m sorry things turned out the way they did, with your Uncle and all."

"Don’t be. I’m not. I was just as relieved to be out of the marrige. Besides, if they hadn’t turned out that way, I wouldn’t be here right now."

"Very true."

"Speaking of right here and right now, what’s involved in this whole Warder business. I didn’t think it was just me following you around. I’ve met Warder’s before. Isn’t there something...more?" he asked.

Sairah grimiced. This is the part she had been dreading all day. "Yes, there is a bit more to it than that."

"Well?" Cam looked at her expectantly.

Well, broaching the subject was easier than I thought. Now the hard part…She stood up and walked over to him and took his head between her hands. "This is one of the hardest flows to weave, and I’ve only seen it done once.," she said, and he looked up and glared at her. "Oh relax, once I see something I’m very good at reproducing it." The flows of Sprit worked around him, then settled into him.

Suddenly Cam could feel her inside his head. It was a remarkable thing, really if he stopped to think about it. Her presence was there in his head; he could feel her emotions, particularly a tightly held ball of regret. And there was her pulse, lodged in the back of his head, beating steadily, slightly elevated, but not quite racing. At first he was concerned that the constant pulsing would get annoying, but strangely, he found it comforting. She was alive, she was okay, and he would always know. Never again would he stare up at the sky and wonder if she were still alive. And this, in a very small way, made her his and vice versa. This thought unconsciously began a whole other series of thoughts, which Cam obliterated immediately, realizing that Sairah could feel his emotions right back. Not read actually thoughts, but feel emotions.

Good thing, he thought, it certainly would do for her to find out…

…I’m still in love with him, she thought, clamping down on her own emotions. Right here, right now, it would only make things awkward. They needed to rebuild first, before they addressed those feelings. She had felt something twinge in him, as she knew he had felt her. The fact that those images had stopped so abruptly told her he was no more ready to deal with them than she was.

They held each other’s gaze for a moment longer, and then he turned away.

"We should get some sleep and get an early start in the morning."

"I was about to say that."

"I know," he grinned. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"I can see this is going to take some getting used to."

He grinned wider. "Oh, I think I’m going to enjoy it." Cam stood up and stretched.

"There is one other thing," Sairah said. Cam looked at her curiously. She stepped over to her saddlebag. She reached in and pulled out the wrapped bundle. "A Warder traditionally wears one of these." She handed him the package. He unwrapped it. Cam recognized the swirling colors of a Warder’s fancloak. More than once, he had wished for one, knowing its usefulness. He draped it over his arm, and his arm seemed to disappear into the ground. Cam did not know where Aes Sedai got them, or how, but he was touched by her gift notheless.

"Thank you," he replied. "I will wear it with pride."

"Your welcome. Sleep well Cam."

"And you, Sairah."

Cam had rolled a blanket out near the horses. Sairah busied herself with her preparations for sleep and Cam laid down on his blanket and stared up at the stars. It was really quite amazing. He could sense her presence near by, enough so that if he closed his eyes, he could track her movements around the glen. The things Aes Sedai could do with the Power were really stunning, if a person stopped to think about it. Cam found his thoughts drifting back again to the Age of Legends. He had read almost every book in the library in the past several months, and many of them were commentaries on the fragements from the Age of Legends. According to the book, the people of the time had known no warfare. What might that have been like? Cam wondered What would I have done? Probably a writer. Cam allowed himself a small smile as he stared up at the stars. Listening to the steady beat of Sairah’s pulse, Cam allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

Sairah stayed awake a little longer, watching the steady rise and fall of Cam’s chest, sensing his thoughts swirl. Only images, really. She knew that he felt content, perhaps more so than he had felt in a long time, almost relieved. She could only guess the bitterness he had felt following both her rejection of him in Tar Valon, as well as the bitterness of being summarily dismissed from the Queen’s Guard. Some of that seemed to be lifted. When she had first found him he seemed much older, but since leaving Bell’s Spring, he seemed to have lost years off his life. She worried. Before, it was just her, now she felt somewhat responsible for Cam. She dragged him into this. Tairmon Gaidon was coming, she knew that much. She also knew that as a Green, her chances of survival were slim. Now he would be tied to that. Did he truly know what the consequences might be?

Of course, a voice in her head responded. He’s a soldier. Did you really expect him to sit on his land and watch the Last Battle go by? He knows the risks. Sairah knew that voice was right. She must not feel responsible. Cam undoubtedly would have found some cause or another to join, he would have been at the Last Battle, with or without her. Secure in that knowledge, she finally let herself drift off.

* * *

The next morning, they rose with the sun, and resumed their journey. The road to Four Kings became even more crowded as the morning went on, with people going towards Whitebridge.

"Something is strange," Cam commented. He looked smart and upright in his saddle today, his new cloak swirling behind him. "Normally traffic is heavy towards Caemlyn. I’ve never seen this many people leaving. It’s almost as if they’re fleeing."

Sairah could see what Cam was talking about. Several carts loaded with goods and belongings were traveling away from Four Kings, as well frightened looking men and women. Sairah reigned in her horse near a family that had stopped to adjust the load on their cart.

"Excuse me," Sairah spoke to the woman, who carried a child in her arms. "Do you mind telling me where you’re going?"

"Oh, Aes Sedai, it’s horrible! Trollocs and Halfmen in Caemlyn! There’s chaos everywhere!"

"Trollocs in Caemlyn!" Cam exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes!" The husband came around the wagon. "No one is sure what happened. The Dragon Reborn is in Caemlyn now. Morgase is dead. I’ve heard rumors that Lord Gaebril killed her, and I’ve heard rumors that the Dragon killed her. The Aiel are in the city. They were hunting down the Trollocs. There was a great battle in the Palace. No one is sure what’s happened. We’re going to my relative’s in the country near Whitebridge. Its safer away from the cities."
Sairah could feel a slow burn of anger in Cam. Truly, he would probably always be a Queen’s Guardsman at heart. The news that Morgase was dead was not sitting well with him, she could tell.

"The Dragon Reborn is in Caemlyn, you say?"

"Yes, Aes Sedai."

"Has he taken the Throne?" Cam asked angrily.

"No, sir, he refuses. He says the Lion Throne is for the Daughter-Heir only. He refused to allow anyone else to lay a claim."

Cam relaxed slightly. "Where is Lady Elayne?" Cam was looking at the refugee, but Sairah knew the question was directed at her.

"No one knows, my Lord."

"Thank you for the information. Light shine on you and your journey."

"And with you, Aes Sedai."

Sairah nudged Sugar back to the road. Cam was right beside her. "Try to remember you’re not a guardsman anymore, Cam."

"I’m sorry, Sairah. It’s hard not to be concerned. It is…was rather, my country."

"As it was mine. But there’s nothing either your or I can do now, anyway."

"True. Where is Lady Elayne?" he asked her directly.

"I do not know," she told him the simple truth. "I know that at one time she had left the Tower, and was wanted as a runaway, but I somehow suspect there is more to it than that. She was linked to the rumors from Falme, at least at the Tower. Now, I do not know. She maybe with the Tower-in-Exile in Salidar."

"She is powerful?"

"Very much so. Andor’s next queen shall be a full Aes Sedai, I would wager."

"That will be something."

They talked of politics and the Tower as they rode along. They were within sight of Four Kings when Cam suddenly cursed. Sairah felt annoyance and a twinge of fear in his emotions.

"What?"

Cam pointed. Above the crowded road, Sairah picked out a small guidon, white, edged in gold, with a golden sunburst on it. Sairah’s blood ran cold. Whitecloaks. If they decided to make trouble, there was little Cam and Sairah could do. Cam looked around for ideas, but nothing presented itself. Sairah’s face had yet to take on the ageless features of an Aes Sedai, but there was no mistaking Cam’s cloak. Before Sairah could think of anything, the Whitecloaks appeared through the crowd. Their leader drew up short upon spotting Cam. The other people on the road began to give a wide berth.

"Keep moving," Cam whispered to Sairah. They continued to ride forward, as if they had not seen the Whitecloaks. That was, until one of them rode his horse in front of Cam.

"What is your business, witch?" the lead Whitecloak sneered at Sairah. Cam could feel her nervousness through the bond.

"My business is not yours."

"Our business is what we make our business, witch."

"This road is free, and not under your jurisdiction. Please, stand aside and allow my Warder and I to pass."

"What makes you think we will let you pass, witch?"

"Because Andor is a country in which you are not welcome, Squadman," Cam’s voice was low, and menacing. "You would do well to let us pass."

"Who will enforce the law of Andor? The Queen is dead. There is chaos in the streets." The Whitecloak cackled with glee.

"Every man who loves his country would stand up for Andor. The road is not yours, Squadman, move aside." Sairah touched Cam’s sleeve in warning.

"Are you going to make us?" There were five Whitecloaks, and their hands were now at their swords. Sairah tried to shoot a sense of warning along the bond, but it was too late.

"I," Cam had raised his voice now, so that the crowd that passed and mingled around them could hear, "am Lord Cam Davikard. What man will stand with me to protect the freedom of Andor’s roads?"

A murmur went through the crowd. They obviously recognized his name. The Whitecloaks began to look uneasy.

"I will." A man with a quarterstaff stepped forward from the crowd.

"I will." An old farmer with a scythe.

"And I." A gleeman, who carried a long pike with a swordbreaker on the end, climbed down off his horse. More men stepped forward, until about 15 men stood in a semi-circle in front of Cam and the Whitecloak.

"No. We will make you move aside, Squadman."

The Squadman looked around himself. The odds were suddenly very sour.

"This will not be forgotten, Lord Davikard." He said with a snarl. "You will not be forgotten either, witch." He spat on the ground, and then turned his men away and continued up the center of the road at a gallop, scattering travelers. Cam turned to the men who had stepped forward.

"Thank you all. Remember, Queens may come and go in Caemlyn, but it is the people of Andor that make the nation great. Never forget." The men nodded and one by one drifted into the crowd, except the gleeman, who mounted his horse and rode up next to Cam.

"Lord Cam, Aes Sedai," the gleeman nodded to Sairah, "Do you mind if I accompany you for a time? Clint Freemill, gleeman."

Cam looked at Sairah, and she nodded. "You may ride with us if you like, Mr. Freemill. I am Sairah Kostar of the Green Ajah. You seem to know my Warder."

"Only by reputation, Sairah Sedai. I was in Caemlyn many times when he was there. His name was frequently mentioned as Lord Gareth’s most likely successor. I was told he was a born leader of men. I can see why now. You have made a wise choice to take him as a Warder."

Cam was silent. Sairah could feel a twinge of embarrassment flow through the bond. "I was very lucky to find him."

"Are you Andorian as well?" the gleeman asked.

"I was."

"Of course. Are you on your way to Caemlyn to see the Lord Dragon?"

"No. We had set out on our journey before he arrived in Caemlyn, and his arrival will not delay us."

"Where are you headed, if I may ask?"

"South." Sairah’s tone clearly conveyed a "be satisfied with that because that’s all your going to get" attitude.

"Ah."

"And you, Gleeman Freemill?" Cam asked, finally rising from silence.

"To wherever the wind may take me. I thought perhaps to Caemlyn, but Trollocs aren’t my style. Perhaps I will head south as well, maybe as far as Lugard. The inns there are always looking for a good tale or song. Murandy does not seem like a country that the Lord Dragon will concern himself with."

"Perhaps not," Cam agreed. "I must ask, where did you acquire that unique weapon?"

"An admirable specimen, is it not?" Clint hefted it up, and allowed Cam to examine it. "Created for me by a blacksmith in Illian. A theifcatcher’s swordbreaker on a staff. It allows me to use it against mounted as well as dismounted attackers."

"We were you attacked by mounted men?"

"I was accosted by Whitecloaks in Altara once just across the boarder from Amadicia. They said they suspected me of consorting with Darkfriends and Witches, when in reality they truly wanted my coin. I wanted a weapon affective against them. Can’t abide them really. Always meddling in other’s business."

Sairah looked at Cam. He raised his bushy eyebrows and shrugged at her. Did this gleeman perhaps know where Salidar was? "What were you doing so close to Amadicia?" Sairah asked.

"Oh, I’m from there, Sairah Sedai. I was back visiting."

"I see." Sairah replied. She wasn’t prepared yet to confide in this man, and her feelings told Cam that. She felt reassured that he seemed to agree with her.

They rode through Four Kings that afternoon. It was more a small city than a town, and it was busier than ever. People either seemed to be coming or going. No one was happy where they were. People from the countryside came into the city looking for escape from the weather, while others fled from Caemlyn.

"The Dragon Reborn has caused chaos everywhere," Clint shook his head at the crowded city.

"The Prophecies say he must," Cam replied.

"Oh, I know," Clint looked over at Cam with a sad look. "I know they do. I just wish he could save us before he kills us all."

Sairah stopped and purchased some salted meat, as well as some fresh bread, in case they had to camp again that night. Cam bought a pair of heat mitts from a baffled baker and presented them to Sairah with a grin so wide she had half a mind to teach him a few lessons in humility on the spot. Clint, for his part during this exchange, wisely became totally enraptured in the architecture of Four Kings.

The three rode on through the day conversing lightly of places they had seen. Clint, ever the gleeman, was particularly colorful in describing his adventures, and through the bond Sairah could feel Cam's amusement at the man's exaggerations bubbling just under the surface. It was as well that they had provisioned in Four Kings, for night found them far from the nearest town. Cam was annoyed, Sairah could feel it though the bond.

"The darkness will hide bandits. There are bound to be brigands on the road now, with all the chaos in Caemlyn. The breakdown of order breeds them like flies in a stable."

Clint nodded. "I will take second watch, if you wish, Lord Cam," he offered. Sairah began to protest the need for a guard, when she felt Cams resolution through the bond. Her words died on her lips. She could feel, without ever having felt it before, that he would brook no argument.

The gleeman ate from his own rations and quickly settled down for the night, as Cam would wake him when the moon had crested the sky.

"You didn't need to buy me those gloves today, Cam," she scolded, watching him stir stew. He had offered to make dinner tonight, a recipe he claimed to have learned in the guard. Sairah wasn't holding out much hope, but she appreciated the offer.

"Consider them back payment for all the gifts I would have bought you years ago if you hadn't gone to the Tower."

"If I hadn't gone to the Tower, I would have..." Sairah stopped herself abruptly. But the startled look on Cam's face as he peered at her over the fire told her that she already had said too much. She may as well have said I would have married you long ago. There was a mixture of emotions over the bond. Regret, sadness, perhaps a thin sliver of hope he hadn't quite managed to stop? She wondered if he felt the same from her. They held each other’s gaze for a moment longer. Cam finally broke away. He looked down at the pot. "Its ready," he announced.

Sairah raised her eyebrows as he lifted the pot and came around to pour her some. He looked at her expectantly. She stirred the concoction experimentally, then lifted the spoon to her lips. She blew on it gently and tried it. She found to her surprise that it was good, perhaps better than the stew she herself had made last night.

Cam chuckled at her surprise. Teach you to sell me short, he thought, grinning at her. She looked up at him indignantly. He grinned even wider. He enjoyed having these not quite conversations with her, without words. It implied a degree of...well...intimacy that he enjoyed. Pouring his own stew, he sighed contentedly. He had missed her terribly. There had not been many other people his age in Bell's Spring, and life had become increasingly dull following her departure. He enjoyed life in the Guards, but with the exception of people like Lord Gareth, he felt the company lacked a certain...well, mental capacity. He and Lord Gareth could carry on a conversation about tactics and strategy and politics for hours on end. Few of the men he commanded could do that. And even fewer, if any of the women he'd ever spent any great deal of time with. Most of the minor noblewomen who had sought out his company had been doing so merely to shore up their position. Few of the women of the major Houses had bothered with him. House Davikard was far too weak to be of any consequence anymore. There were only three women he had met in Caemlyn he felt had any intelligence. One worked in a stable yard, one was the Daughter-Heir, and the other was Queen Morgase. He suspected others, but did not know them well enough to be sure. His position brought him into little contact with these others.

Sairah was really the only woman he remembered who was truly enthralled by the things he was interested in. He remembered her laying on the floor in front of the fireplace in the library of the House, listening enraptured as he read the story of King Aemon and the Band of the Red Hand, and the destruction of Manetheren. She seemed fascinated by stories of bravery and courage. He could relate to her. They could discuss Andorian politics. She was there to comfort him when his father died in the Aiel War, was able to give him more support than his Uncle was ever able to. When she had left, it was like a huge hole had been left inside of him. She had become such a large part of who he was with him even realizing it. The dull ache seemed to fade with time, but he began to feel it could never be filled. Ursula had been a fine, proper noblewoman, nice enough, but the spark wasn't there.

Now that Sairah was back, Cam felt whole again. Alive again. Ready to conquer the world again. Even the lingering regret and bitterness he felt from that day in Tar Valon seemed to pale in comparison with the joy he felt again.

"Cam?" he looked up. From the way she was looking at him, this was not the first time she had called him. His cheeks colored slightly, wondering how much she had felt of his thoughts.

"Yes?"

She short of gave her head a shake. "Just don't drift out on me when I really need you, okay?"

He grinned ruefully. "Certainly not, Sairah Sedai."

"I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight, Sairah."

"Goodnight, Cam."

He watched her go over to her bedroll and lay down. He stood up and shook off the tingling feeling in his legs. He looked up at the stars. They sparkled brightly in the clear sky. Removing the polished wooden box from his saddlebags, and starting with the first letter, he began to read, one by one, all of his undelivered mail.

Sairah lay awake where she was. She knew was he was reading her letters. She wondered if he intended to read them all. A small voice that had been silent for many years told her it was romantic. Sairah was beginning to fear this voice. It had been appearing all too often since meeting Cam again. This was neither the time nor the place to begin indulging in those kinds of fantasies. She could not afford to let herself. She was an Aes Sedai now, and the Last Battle was approaching faster than she cared to think. So why not take what you can have before it’s too late? the small voice whispered sweetly. Annoyed with herself, Sairah muttered, "Oh, hush" and rolled over and drifted off to sleep. Her dreams were troubled, and she relived the visions of her journey though the three doorways, only this time, Elayne Trakand seemed to be the one on the Lion Throne.

Sairah was irritable the next day, and Cam was concerned. The fact that Cam was the reason she hadn’t slept well irritated her, and his concern for her, which she could feel through the bond, only made her more irritated. Clint seemed to sense something was floating under the surface, but he wisely kept the conversation to small talk.

By early evening, they had arrived in small village. Sairah was relieved when Cam insisted on finding an inn because of bandits. In truth, she needed to sleep in a bed. Her back was stiff and sore, and she thought perhaps that a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed would do her mood wonders.

The only inn in town already had a gleeman working, and Clint, disappointed, was forced to pay for a room from his own funds. Cam had discreetly given a large purse of coin to the landlady, insisting on the best room in the inn for Sairah and an adjoining one for himself. Sairah, trying not to show her stiffness too much, but well aware that Cam knew about it, was annoyed, until she took her things to her room and lay down on the bed. It was soft and comfortable, a down mattress she thought. It felt delicious after two days on the hard ground. It wasn’t as comfortable as the bed she had slept in at Cam’s manor, but it would more than do for now. She changed out of her riding dress and into one an emerald color, a conservative Andoran cut. It was her favorite dress. She admired herself for a moment in the mirror in the room, and then mentally admonished herself for entertaining such fanciful thoughts.

She found Clint and Cam in the common room of the inn. It was crowded and noisy. They seemed to be deep into a discussion of Andoran politics, and Sairah could feel Cam’s temper steadily rising.

"…of course the Daughter-Heir should rise to the Throne! As soon as she can be found that is."

"And if the Dragon Reborn has killed her as well?"

"The Dragon Reborn did not kill Morgase. If she is truly dead, I have no doubt it is Lord Gaebril’s doing, and I for one am grateful for al’Thor getting rid of him."

Sairah touched Cam’s sleeve in warning. Through the bond, Sairah could feel a depth of hate toward Lord Gaebril that she had not thought Cam capable of. The serving girl came at that moment with Clint and Cam’s drinks, and all three ordered food.

Dinner was adequate, but not spectacular. Sairah turned the conversation away from Andor to avoid rousing Cam, and they talked mostly of the events in Cairhien. Cam kept up his end of the conversation, but she could tell he was far more interested in the gleeman at the front of the room, doing a recitation of the founding of Andor. She was also conscious of his occasional glances at her. Her dress was hardly Domani, but she could tell he thought it flattered her. Sairah did her level best to keep from blushing at these occasional appraising glances. It had been a long time since a man had looked at her like that.

The gleeman wrapped up his tale and there was polite applause. Cam, along with several others, tossed a coin in his direction. The man then proceeded to pull out a flute and began to play and old Andoran song called "Reily’s Daughter". A few men got up and, clearing a space in the middle of the room, began dancing. A wide grin broke across Cam’s face, and Sairah looked at him in astonishment.

"Lets go!" he said, standing up and taking her hand.

"Cam…I…" she half-heartedly protested, but he had practically swept her off her feet.

Cam was not in good practice, but he was still far better off than she was. Still, Sairah could not help but be cheered by the music. Cam was smiling broadly as he danced with her, and she could not help but laugh…not laugh, she told herself, giggle. When was the last time she had giggled? Her head felt light, and her feet seemed lighter. She marveled at how his large, callused hand cradled hers so gently, and how he spun her with his strong arms. Emotions flowed over the bond. Joy, hope, purpose, and…even…Sairah almost stumbled to the floor. What in the Light was she doing? The music stopped and the audience clapped, before the gleeman struck up another tune. Sairah turned back to their table.

"Sairah? Where are you going?"

"To sit down."

"But the evening is still young. Dance some more with me?"

"Not right now Cam."

Disappointment and worry flowed in waves across the bond.

"Are you okay?"

"I’m fine," she snapped, and then immediately regretted it. Even without the bond, she could tell that she had hurt him.

"I’ll dance with you, sir." The serving girl who had served them dinner batted large brown eyes at him.

"How can a man pass up an opportunity like that?" she heard Cam reply jovially as the music started again.

Sairah sat down across the table from Clint and watched the dance floor. *** Her thoughts were jumbled, some flitting in and out before she even knew they were there. I can’t believe he’s dancing with her. I can’t believe that I danced with him. Now he’s spinning her. All she’s after is his coin! I can’t believe he doesn’t see that. On and on her thoughts went, buzzing around until finally one spilled out of her mouth. "That should be me out there!" she growled.

A gleam sparked in Clint’s eye. "Then why isn’t it you?" he whispered softly. A torn look crossed Sairah’s face. She wanted to be the one out there, wanted to be the one Cam was paying such attention to, but she couldn’t. It wasn’t becoming of an Aes Sedai to dance in a tavern, even if it was with her Warder. She opened her mouth to brush Clint’s question aside with some glib answer, but closed it again when she saw the look on his face. "Afraid, aren’t you?" Sairah quickly glanced at Cam. She wasn’t afraid of him! The gleeman was a fool! "I was afraid once, too. So afraid that I probably missed my only chance at true happiness." He paused again, seeming to look out at the dance floor, but not really seeing. "Why do you think I became a gleeman? So I wouldn’t have her around to constantly remind me that I had been too afraid." He paused for a sip of ale and made sure he had her attention before continuing. "My advice, Aes Sedai, is that you need to put your fear aside." His gaze again wandered to the dance floor, but this time settled on Cam and his partner. Sairah followed his gaze and felt a knot clench in her stomach. Clint leaned in closer to her, looked her straight in the eye again. "If there is something you want, Sairah Sedai, then don’t let it slip out of your fingers." With that, the gleeman drained his mug, slapped some coins on the table, and made his way to the back of the inn, where his bed awaited him.

Could Clint be right? Am I just jealous…and afraid? Jealous, maybe, but he is my Warder, after all. What gives her the right to think she can dance with him? He’s supposed to help me not spend my money on some serving girl! And of course, I can’t be afraid. I mean, I passed all the tests to become Aes Sedai, didn’t I? The gleeman was just trying to get a reaction from me. That’s all. But the more Sairah thought about it, the harder it was to convince herself that it was true. Not to mention that every time she saw Cam spin that girl again, the anger inside her grew. The tune finally ended, and Cam and his partner began to make their way back to the table. As they walked he casually put his arm around the girl. Upon seeing this, all of Sairah’s anger gave way, and she suddenly felt like crying. She quickly got up from the table and made her way as fast as she could to her room. Once there, she bolted the door and began sobbing. "Oh, Cam!" she cried. "Why couldn’t everything have been different this time?"

Seeing Sairah go running off upstairs made Cam decidedly nervous. Her emotions were extremely jumbled and he was having a hard time sorting them out. When she had been dancing in his arms, it all seemed so easy—her emotions had mirrored his own: those of joy, hope, and maybe even something else. But then something had changed, and Sairah…well, the magic of the moment had been lost. Wanting to give her a moment to sort things out, he joked with Kairina for a few more minutes, and finished his ale before heading upstairs. He knocked softly on her door at first, but then became more aggressive when she didn’t answer. "Sairah, let me in. Please. I need to talk with you."

The door finally creaked open, and Cam swept into the room. He turned and bolted the door again behind him, not wanting to be disturbed. The room was dark, and it was a moment before his eyes adjusted, and he could see Sairah. When he did find her, he saw that she was huddled on the bed, arms wrapped around herself. She had obviously been crying. He rushed to her side, and, seemingly in one move, seated himself next to her and wrapped her in his arms. "Sairah, what’s wrong?" When she didn’t respond, he felt prompted to say more. "Sairah, I’m worried. You feel so…confused. Tell me what’s wrong. Please."

Sairah lost it when he said "please." She started to sob again, burying her head into him, soaking up the warmth and comfort he offered. "Oh, Sairah, shhh, it’ll be all right. Everything will be all right." He held her close, rocking her back and forth, but it only made her cry harder. Bewildered, Cam continued to hold her, stroking her hair, trying to make her feel better. Slowly, her cries subsided, and she began to realize where she was. As soon as she had the strength to move, she launched herself out of his arms. Desperately searching for something to do, she went over to the pitcher and basin and began to wash her face.

"Sairah, why did you…I mean, what did I do…why?"

Sairah took a deep breath before answering. "Don’t you see, Cam? Don’t you understand?" Please understand, please don’t make me say it. I don’t think I can say it, not here, not now.

Cam tried feeling her emotions through the bond, but there were still a jumble, whirling from jealousy to anger to fear. What is she so afraid of? "No, Sairah, I don’t understand," he said, standing up. "All I know is that one moment, I held you in my arms, and I was happy. But the next, you were gone." With each word, he drew closer, until he was only a whisper away. "So then I tried to forget how I felt when I danced with you, but it didn’t work." He took her hands in his, cradling them gently. "And then you came storming off upstairs, so I came after you." Sairah, who had been watching him closely found that she couldn’t bear to look at him any longer, and turned her head away. "Sairah, look at me. Please, look at me." It was more of a command than a question, one she had to obey. She glanced back at him, and saw his heart in his eyes. "Why do you keep pushing me away, Sairah Sedai?" Across the bond, he sent waves of warmth and caring. Sairah felt her self-control slipping. She wanted to tell him so badly. She opened her mouth to say what she felt, but at the last moment, common sense intruded. She couldn’t do this, not yet. There was still too much pain. For the second time, she looked away from him, this time, her eyes fell downward.

With a shriek, she pushed Cam towards the door. "Get out! Get out!"

"What? Sairah, what’s going on?" Cam was utterly baffled. Only a moment ago, he felt sure that she was going to tell him what she felt, and now she was kicking him out.

"I’m in my shift, you Light-forsaken, woolheaded fool! Any decent man would get out, now!" With that, she finished getting him out the door and then slammed it in his face.

Shaking his head, Cam went into his own bedchamber. Women! I’ll just never understand them.

After bolting the door, Sairah fell onto the bed, gasping for breath as if she had just run a race. She couldn’t believe what she had nearly done. She had nearly ruined it all. What if Cam didn’t feel the same way? What if he did? The "what ifs" she came up with were endless. It took Sairah a long time to fall asleep, her mind going through every branch of every "what if" she came up with.

Cam lay awake in his bed. He did not understand women. He never had, and it seemed like he never would. He lay quietly, and tried to become more sensitive to the bond. He was becoming more and more accustomed to it, and consequently, he really had to concentrate now to pick up on subtle shifts of emotion. Her emotions seemed to swirl around, never quite settling on one thing. The whole effect made Cam uneasy. He picked up the box of letters and began reading again, picking up where he had left off the other night, a year or so into her time at the Tower.

Down the hall, in less spacious accommodations, lighting his tabbac pipe by the window, so as to not wake the three people already sleeping in the room, Clint smiled to himself, thinking about young Sairah Sedai and her warder. He’d heard stories about young Cam Davikard, playing the inns and taverns of Caemlyn. He was positive that Sairah Sedai was the mysterious lost love that Lord Cam had almost never spoken of when sober, and often when drunk. He wondered what had happened in their past to make Sairah Sedai so scared. He wondered if she even knew what she truly felt.

Ah, to be young and foolish again…

The tension between Cam and Sairah continued to grow until it hung like a black cloud over the party of three. If there had been any moisture at all, it might have rained on them, but as it was the baking heat only made the situation worse. Cam couldn’t bring himself to confront Sairah about how he felt, and since that was the one thought on his mind, there wasn’t much else to talk about. And he especially couldn’t do it in front of Clint. Cam rather liked the gleeman, but his presence was beginning to become an annoyance. Without him, he’d at least have an opportunity to try and clear the air.

It was the last villiage in Andor, near the border of Murandy, before the storm finally broke. Again, it was a village inn, Clint was playing for his supper, a lively tune. Cam again asked Sairah to dance. Momentarily her eyes brightened, then almost immediately darkened and she refused. Frustrated, confused and angry, Cam stormed off to his room. Sairah, startled at his ugly mood, also retreated to her room. He sat on the edge of his bed, pulling off his boots. She’d come all the way from the Tower to find me, and now this…What could the woman possible want? He checked himself. Was it hope or arrogance to believe that she hadn’t just come to Bell’s Spring to find herself a warder. I mean, after all, I was suppose to be…WAIT A MINUTE! How could she…with a growing determination, Cam got up and walked across the hall to Sairah’s room.

Sairah had felt his churn of emotions suddenly resolve into a cold steel ball of determination, and she knew it was pointless to refuse to see him. Best to save the cost of replacing the inn’s door. She slipped her riding dress back on and loosly tied the knot behind her neck. She finished this just as Cam began pounding on the door. "Come in," Sairah beckond, and the door flew open.

Sairah was agasht. Cam had taken off his boots and stood in his stockings and his shirt hung half unbuttoned.

"Why?" he demanded.

"Why what?" Sairah questioned back, plainly confused and still startled at his state.

"Why did you come back for me? I mean, if you thought I was married and all? Did you expect me to just leave my family for you?" His initial frustrated outburst had resolved itself and he began to compose himself. He studied her as if he could find his answer more in her reaction than her words.

Sairah paused for a moment as if searching herself for the answer. She grimaced, as if she didn’t like the answer she found. "I really don’t know for certain," she said, but continued under Cam’s gaze. "It was the only thing I could think of. The Tower was crumbling around me and all I could think of was getting to you. The thought that you were married, possibly even with children never even crossed my mind." She met his gaze for a moment, feeling waves of compassion through the bond and then looked away. "I knew I could trust you."

"Never crossed you mind? Sairah that’s a lot of creative forgetfulness. I won’t ever forget that day in the gardens at Tar Valon." He replied. "I appreciate that you trusted me, but what did you expect to do when you found me? What did you want from me?"

Sairah was getting the sense that she had lost control of the conversation. Sairah gave him a look. "I didn’t mean that it never crossed my mind, just that it didn’t occur to me when the Tower was breaking. All I could think of was you. I didn’t know what I expected to do. I just needed to see you. I had hoped that maybe…"

Suddenly Cam’s emotions changed, he seemed frustrated.

"So you came back hoping. Then why are you denying it now! Sairah its not often the Wheel spins second chances in life. We have one now. Why won’t you reach out and take it? I’m here. You know that." Cam stepped closer to her as he spoke, finishing only a handspreath away from her face.

Sairah grew frightened as he drew closer. She didn’t want to risk loosing him again. It hurt so much the first time.

"I only meant that…that I had hoped to convince you that there is a world outside Andor and the Queen’s Guard, a world that could use someone like you. We’re in a fight to save the world and I was hoping that you would realize it as your duty to help."

Cam appeared not to hear here, he studied her. "Why are you afraid?"

"What?" Sairah was startled he had fathomed her fear?"

"What are you afraid of Sairah?"

"I’m not afraid," she tried to bluster.

"You’re trembling."

Sairah looked at her hands, they were shaking. She was shaking all over. He took her hands in his and pull her toward him.

"Sairah, you don’t have to be afraid. I’m not going to run away. You can tell me."

He was so close she couldn’t breathe. She looked into his eyes and found she could bearly speak. "I don’t want to lose you again." She finally whispered.

Wraping his strong arms around her, he drew his face down to hers and whispered. "I do not intend to get lost." He leaned into her and brought his lips to hers and they touched for the first time since she had left for the Tower.

It brought back a flood of memories, starting when she was growing up together with Cam in Bell’s Spring, then at the Tower, that kiss haunting her dreams. And without realizing it, she returned the kiss, deepening it, as the locks they had held on their emotions broke the self imposed dam and flooded across the bond. Sairah felt as though she was going to burn up. She could feel how much he wanted her, and she knew that he knew how much she wanted him as well. Her knees were suddenly weak. This joy, this euphoria was almost as powerful as embracing the Source. She dreamt of this moment, in her quiet moments, always waking flushed and hot.

She hesitated only a moment when Cam tugged tentivly on the knot that held her dress up in an unspoken question. Without a word, deepened the kiss, while letting her hands fall to her side. Cam tugged the knot loose and the dress spilled to the floor at her feet.

When it was over they lay in each others arms, spent, but satisfied.

"I love you Sairah." He breathed, his breath ragged, voice horse.

"I love you too, Cam," her voice was deep and husky, but she was smiling at him.

Cam smiled back, and rested his head on her breasts again, sighing contentedly. It was only moments before exhaustion overtook them both.

Curled against him, head lying on his chest, his arm draped protectively around her, Sairah lay there, sleeping contendely. From his current angle, he couldn’t see her face around her tousled dark brown hair. He twisted his head slightly, and then he could see her face, eyes closed, half smiling in her sleep. She was angelic. There really wasn’t any other way to describe it. And best of all, she was his. He couldn’t stop gazing at her face.

Sairah felt very warm, and secure, but the side of her face felt like it was pressed up against a particularly hard pillow. As she marched toward a sense of conciousness, she realized the room was lightening. She opened her eyes, and looked up.

Straight up at Cam.

She jerked back in sudden surprise, and fairly panicked when the sheet fell away from her and she realized she was naked.

Naked. In Bed. With Cam.

GOOD SKIES WHAT HAVE I DONE?? Her mind was racing. She tried to remember what had happened last night. It all came back to her in a rush. How had she let herself loose control like that? She was Aes Sedai after all, Aes Sedai weren’t supposed to loose control. How could she salvage this situation? Could they possibly have a normal relationship after this? What would he think of her? She had to say something…

"Good morning, love." Cam spoke first, and his eyes twinkled in amusment, almost as if laughing at her sudden panic.

"Good morning…Cam…I…" words were failing her. He put a single finger across her lips.

"Sairah, do you remember last night?" he asked.

"Well, of course I remember, how could I…"

"No…all of last night. Do you remember after?"

Sairah thought had. She remembered vauglely him collapsing on her chest, exhausted.

"Do you remember what we said to each other?"

Suddenly, Sairah did remember. Oh blood and bloody ashes, she thought. Had she actually said that? She looked up at him. She was trembling all over. She DID love him, but she hadn’t wanted him to know. How could he possibly accept love from someone who had hurt him so badly. He reached out and took her face in his hands.

"Sairah Kostar, I love you. I always have. I never stoped loving you, even through the hurt. I will love you forever, and now that I have you, I don’t ever intend on letting you go." He leaned down to her and kissed her, gently and tenderly. Sairah closed her eyes that threatened to betray her with tears.

"I love you too Cam Davikard. I never stopped loving you either." She said when he broke off the kiss. He brushed a stray tear off her cheek with a gentle brush of her finger, and then kissed her again. Sairah kissed him back, but this time when he broke off the kiss, there was a hesitation in his eyes, and in his sense.

"Cam? What is it?"

He hesitated a moment longer. "Will you marry me, Sairah?"

Sairah almost laughed out loud. "You woolhead! You’re my warder, my lover and yet you’re still not sure if I’ll say yes? Of course I will, fur-for-brains!" She launched herself at him, and kissed him, pausing briefly, to tell him, "I thought you were never going to ask." The kiss that followed sparked the same kind of passion that had driven them the previous night. Cam pulled her alongside of him, running his hands all over her body, sending shivers up her spine.

"Cam?"

"Yes?"

"Make love to me?"

"I thought you’d never ask." He replied with a smile, pulling the sheet over their heads.

When Sairah finally came down the stairs, Clint smiled at her beaming face. He has suspected ealier when he had seen Cam emerging from the girl’s room early that morning, and then later when he had been whistling to himself out in the stables while brushing down the horses. At least maybe now the world won’t seem like its going to end every time they are in the same room. Maybe this will make my job easier. He shrugged. A gleeman can only bring glee where it is wanted. Clint was more than just happy that it would make his job easier. He felt pleased for Cam and Sairah, that they might finally know some peace, at least for a little while in this crazy time. Clint, old boy, you’re getting soft in your old age. Its none of your concern whether they are happy or not. Remember why you’re here. Time to get a move on, before they leave without you. Gathering his things from the table, her headed for the stables to fetch his horse.

Sairah had a hard time leaving the room this morning. It was just a room, after all, but every girl had a right to be sentimental. This was where he had said he loved her, where he proposed. This was where…well if she kept thoughts like that, she wouldn’t get anything done today. Heaving a small sigh, she closed the door behind her. When she came down the stairs, Cam was waiting, looking significantly brighter than he had the previous several mornings.

"Are you ready to ride this fine morning, Sairah Sedai?" he said, with a grin on his face, and a twinkle in his eye. She wanted nothing more to kiss the grin off his face, but that just wouldn’t do. Not here in public. And she would have to somehow convince him to wipe the grin off his face.

"Quite ready, Lord Cam. It is time to be gone." She said, in what she hoped was a cool tone, but was conscious of a fools grin slipping onto her face. Blood and bloody ashes…

"The horses are waiting outside, I will settle the accounts." With a swirl of moving colors, he turned toward the inn’s common room and the innkeeper’s desk.

Sairah sighed. It was nice to have the tension gone, but they would have to disucess proper decorum. It was not a talk she looked forward to. Cam could be…set in his ways to say the least. And his opinions on marriage and women were strong. At least they were when I left for the White Tower. People…and circumstances…change.

Sairah stepped out into the warm air. There seemed to be no let up to the weather. The day would just get hotter and dryer. No end insight, and the winter season fast approaching. She did not doubt that the Dark One was trying to touch the world through the weather. She looked down the street. And that when she saw her.

Only a glimpse, but it was enough. Dissapearing into a bookshop, the woman in a cloak, dispite the heat, she had turned up the street to be sure of no pursuit before disspaearing into a bookshop. It only made sense that she would. That their network would use those locations. But she had to catch her if she could. Turning up the street quickly, she left Clint standing by the horses bewildered.

Cam felt Sairah’s sense change the moment she left the Inn. She was in no danger, which was the only thing that prevented him from flying out the door, in mid sentence. He quickly settled the tab, and followed her out, feeling her pick her way down the street, already crowded with foot traffic.

Sairah slipped into the bookshop quietly. She resisted the urge to seize saidar, and thus alert any other channelers to her presence. She could here voices murmuring in the back of the store, and tried to make her way quietly threw the aisles. Her cloak had other ideas, apparently, as it caught on a poorly balanced stack of books, and sent them crashing to the ground. Biting back a curse as she jumped, startled by the noise, and by the sense of someone seizing saidar so close. All pretense of stealth abandoned, she announced her presence. "Oh silly me!" She exclaimed, putting her voice into a slight falsetto. "These aisles are very narrow."

There was a stirring, and the woman holding sadiar began to release it, slowly. She searched the shelves quickly, and the gilding on one of the volumes caught her eye. Alric Davikard…one of Cam’s ancestors no doubt. The book was titled, Tales of the Queen’s Guard. Her mouth quirked upward. Somehow fitting. She took the book off the shelf, and walked back to the counter at the back of the store.

"Excuse me, but how much for this volume?" she asked softly without looking at the other cloaked woman.

The old woman behind the counter glared at her, but took the book and looked at it. "A rare Davikard," she mused. "Surprised this one hadn’t left the shelf yet, what with Davikards in demand. Ever since the rumor came that Lord Cam had left his estate to secure Caemlyn for the Daughter-Heir. Pity Gareth Bryne has disagreed with the rumors. Books would sell better if people really thought…but books sell anyway, even in these hard times." The woman tsked, and Sairah suppressed a grin. "Ten crowns for this one. A rare one at that. Alric was the young Lord Cam’s grandfather. Only work he finished before he died. Ten crowns is a bargain for this book."

"Ten crowns is robbery," Sairah said gently. "I should pay no more than six."

"Eight it is, then, my lady. A shrewd bargainer you are, but I’m so old that I don’t have much time for such games any more."

"Eight it is, then." Sairah counted the coins carefully, stealing a glance at the other woman. It was her. Sairah took her hand out of her cloak to hand the money over, the hand with her Great Serpent ring. The bookseller looked taken aback, and her eyes shot back and forth between the two women across the counter. Finally, the other woman spoke.

"Still interested in Davikards, are you Sairah Sedai?" the voice was as she remembered.

"Indeed, Katherine Sedai. I see your interest in books of history has not waned either," she said, as she drew back her cloak, waving a hand at the weighty tome the other woman had laid on the desk. Kathernie Sedai also drew back her cloak. She was small, yet not frail, and her face was just achieving the agelessness that marked her as Aes Sedai more so than any other feature She had been raised to the shawl some thirty years gone, and had been a teacher of many of Sairah’s classes in Tower history. Browns such as Katharine never strayed far from the Tower. Her absence was curious, at best. Then again, Sairah’s absence was curious, at best.

"What brings you to Andor?" Katharine asked, eyeing Sairah. It seemed almost as if she was trying to read her soul, the way she kept glancing at her. That, or she simply remembered too much of Sairah’s time as a novice.

Sairah held her palms up, empty, as if implying innocence. "It is only a stop along the way, to pick up a few things, and then to continue on. And you?" It was Sairah’s turn to try to read the other woman

"Merely passing through." They continued to eye one another coolly. They stood about equal, both fairly strong. They would both be high in their Ajah one day, Light permit they live that long. In these days, one never knew. Katharine’s eyes narrowed as she tried to decipher Sairah’s comment. "What kinds of things are you picking up?"

"Davikards, both of the old, and newer vintage," a rumbling voice said behind them. All three women gave start. How Cam had managed to get that close without her noticing annoyed Sairah, but in truth she was still getting used to feeling his movements. She knew he had been getting closer, but was unaware how near he really was. The bookseller looked about to drop a curtsy right there behind the counter. Katherine Sedai eyed him up and down, after recovering her composure. "A suitable Warder indeed, Sairah." Katharine said, glancing at Sairah for confirmation. Sairah nodded slightly, indicating that the woman’s guess was correct. "Indeed. Although perhaps he needs to learn about sneaking up on Sisters." She glared at him, but through her long association with Katharine, Sairah could see the twitch of amusement in her eyes

"I thought so, Katherine." Sairah grinned slightly, and then turned a rather cool eye on Cam, who colored slightly, and picked up the book that Sairah had purchased. "Grandfather’s first book," he said, heafting it. "It wasn’t his best work. His best work came later." The bookseller looked in shock.

"Alric Davikard only wrote one book!" The old woman exclaimed.

"Grandfather never published his novel, but I thought it better than this dry stuff. I think the only bound copy is in the library at the Manor."

The bookseller nodded. "I see."

"Shall I pack this in the saddlebags, my Lady?" Cam asked Sairah, with a barely perceptible emphasis on the possessive. No one seemed to notice, but she shot him a warning look.

"Yes, Cam." Cam, after a quick bow, took his leave. The three women seemed to sigh at the same time, all for a different reason.

"Quite a catch." Katharine murmured. "In more ways than one." Sairah felt red creeping up her face, but quickly stopped it. What had she to be ashamed of? They were Promised, after all.

"He suits me," she replied, careful to use that Aes Sedai aloofness.

Katharine looked at the bookseller, and said. "Thank you, Ariana, you’ve been most helpful."

Clearly, that was a dismissal and after Sairah thanked the woman for the book, she and Katharine stepped into a dark corner of the shop. With a wave of her hand, Katharine weaved a ward around them, to prevent eavesdropping.

"What are you doing this far out of the Tower?" Sairah asked before Katharine had a chance to ask first. Since she was younger, she should have deferred to the older woman, but she had to know why Katharine was away from the Tower.

"I might ask you the same, but I think I probably know the answer," she said, glancing quickly at the exit. "Are you are headed…south?" The question was very soft.

Sairah looked at Katharine. Though the hazel eyes held the same warmth she remembered from many nights spent crying over Cam, she still hesitated before answering. "Yes."

Katharine drew a long breath. Sairah wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. "How long ago did you leave?"

Since she had already declared her intentions, Sairah didn’t see a point in hiding anything. "A month gone."

"You stopped in Andor to find your…Warder?"

"Bell’s Spring is off the direct path, yes." Sairah looked at Katharine, putting all the questions she had into one. "And you?"

Katharine didn’t even blink before answering. "I left only three weeks ago. I took the time to check the Library for references to the place. I tried to conceal them a little, perhaps slow up pursuit."

Sairah was quick to respond. "It is not Elaida I’m worried about Katharine, I’m worried about Niall. And so is Cam. He served with Bryne when the Queen’s Guard tangled with Niall."

Katharine shook her head, her long light brown hair bobbing in emphasis. "I don’t pretend to know what Niall might or might not do, Sairah, but we do have to get there. And if Bryne is there, perhaps he knows how to deal with Niall."

"Will you travel with us?" Sairah almost held her breath while waiting for Katharine’s answer.

"I shouldn’t see why not. And I will be glad for the company of your Warder. I was beginning to feel a little exposed. The rumors of brigands and Shadowspawn in Murandy are rampant. I should be happy to travel with you."

"Well, Cam still has much to learn about being a Warder, but he does know how to wield a sword." Sairah smiled, and then found herself chuckling. Surprisingly enough, Katharine joined in. Then a thought occurred to Sairah. "Cam and I have been traveling with a gleeman named Clint Freemill. Will this pose a problem?"

Katharine’s smile quickly vanished. "The name almost sounds familiar. Does he know where we’re going?"

"No, I think he intends to stay in Lugard."

"Very well. I don’t see as it poses any particular problem. Still, that name does sound familiar…I must be getting old, not to remember a name." She winked at Sairah, and the two shared another quick chuckle as she waved her hand and the ward disappeared. "Do you intend to marry him?"

Sairah was taken aback. "Yes. He asked me." She said, her voice a bit defensive.

It was Katharine’s turn to be taken aback. "He asked you? Sairah, I may not be a Green Sister, and I may not have ever had a Warder, but I do know that you should exercise some control over your Warder. All Sisters who have ever married have done so at their own initiation. Better that they keep their Warders under control."

Sairah bristled at this comment. She was no longer a novice, or even an Accepted to be ordered about. "Well, Katharine Sedai, we are new at this. We are still learning, and one of the things I intend to talk to him about is the proper respect for an Aes Sedai. My personal life, however, is quite simply none of your business." She turned, and started to leave.

Katharine reached out a restraining hand. "Oh, Sairah, I didn’t mean it to sound like that. I just…I just don’t want you to get hurt again. I remember what happened with this boy the last time."

Sairah turned back, and smiled. "But this time it’s different, don’t you see? I can have him and the Tower both!"

Finding it impossible to resist Sairah’s sudden good mood, Katharine gave her friend a hug. As Sairah turned to go again, Katharine once again shook her head. "If only there were a Tower to be had…"

After leaving the bookstore, Cam went to find the gleeman. When Clint was not to be found in the stables, he tried the common room of the inn. He was seated there, a mug of something, probably ale, unnoticed in front of him as he stared at the wall. Cam walked over to the table, and gave Clint a good-natured cuff on his shoulder. "Well, man, if I’m not mistaken, the lady wishes to leave soon, and we shall probably have another companion."

Clint raised an eyebrow. "Another companion, or another companion?" he asked, sounding very weary.

"Companion."

"Well, then, boy, we had better get saddle up," he said as he slowly rose from the table. "Wouldn’t do to keep the ladies waiting, now would it?" He threw down a coin on the table, flashed his cape, and then followed Cam out of the inn.

"So they seemed to get along well," Sairah declared, breaking the silence that seemed to have reigned most of the day. Cam snorted, glancing over at Sairah on Sugar. "All right, so they didn’t get along at the beginning. Things will warm up I’m sure." Cam rode stoically on in silence. Sairah could feel amusement mixed with doubt come tumbling across the bond. "Well, it certainly can’t get much worse."

"No, Sairah Sedai, it can’t," he said, a smile playing around his lips.

"Oh, so he does speak, after all," she threw right back.

"When I have something worth saying, I say it. I try not to waste time with half-truths. It takes too much time to convince myself of the other half."

Sairah found herself growing very irritated. Everyone knew about the Three Oaths, and Cam knew she couldn’t tell a lie if she wanted to. He also seemed to have picked up on the Aes Sedai trick of convincing yourself that something was all the way true, in order to be able to speak of it. She let some of her irritation spill over the bond. Clint had gone ahead to see if there were any towns nearby, and Katharine, not an avid horsewoman, was lagging behind. Maybe now is the appropriate time to have that talk about how to behave in public…

"If you have something to say to me, Sairah, then just say it."

Sairah jumped, surprised that Cam knew what she was thinking. "I didn’t think the bond let you read minds."

"It doesn’t, but you have that look on your face. You know, the one you always got right before you told me off for doing something you didn’t want me to do." Cam smiled. "You start by wrinkling your nose, like you’ve smelled something foul. Then, you glower for a moment, but only a moment. This is then replaced by a calm, serene expression, like nothing is wrong. I learned a long time ago to watch out for a calm, serene Sairah. It usually meant I had a tongue lashing coming my way."

Sairah stammered, "Do I really…I mean, do I…?"

"My, but you’re cute when you’re flustered, Sairah Sedai."

This comment snapped Sairah back to her original sense of purpose. "Cam, you can’t speak to me like that."

"Oh, I can’t speak to my Intended that way, can I?" Cam chuckled. "Who is going to stop me?"

"I will if I have to!" She could sense him about to say something, so she quickly grasped saidar and stuffed a gag of Air into his mouth. "Now, Cam, this is something I have to say, and I want you to listen. You’re not just my Intended. You’re also my Warder. And Warders are supposed to defer to their Aes Sedai. They are not supposed to challenge their authority—openly at any rate." She could sense Cam’s frustration. "If you promise to discuss this with me, I’ll take the gag out." When he nodded, she released the gag and her grip on the Source at the same time.

"Sairah, it just doesn’t seem right to me, having to let my wife—or future wife, if you prefer—make all the decisions. I’m the man, I’m supposed to take care of you." The look on his face was so earnest, so caring, she couldn’t bear what she had to say.

"But Cam, I can’t have you undermining my authority. Everyone looks to the Aes Sedai to be in charge, not the Warder. Can’t you just pretend I’m your commanding officer or something?" She could see that Cam still wasn’t budging on the issue when she thought of an unlikely compromise. "What if…what if I were to be in charge publicly, but you could run things privately. I mean, when the two of us are alone, you can say anything, and no one will hear it."

Cam thought about it for a moment. "Well, we can try it. I’m not promising anything, just that I’ll try it. I’m still supposed to be the one wearing the breeches in this relationship."

Sairah tried not to breathe a sigh of relief. "It’ll work, Cam. You’ll see."

They traveled along for a few moments in silence before Cam thought of another question about Sairah’s proposal. "Now, when you said that in private, I could say anything did you mean I could say anything?" Sairah nodded. Cam started talking, and before they had gone more than a yard or two, Sairah was blushing furiously.

Clint rode back a few moments later, with news that there was no visible town in any direction. Cam sighed in frustration. Murandy was NOT his favorite place in the world, and although it ranked far and away above Cairhien, in Cairhien, there was some semblance of law and order. At least, that’s how he remembered it. Murandy was a country in name only. The King ruled Lugard, and not at all well, the various nobles ruling their own territories as so many independent nations. The national government was mainly there to discourage annexation, something Cam had advocated vocally to Queen Morgase. It was one of the few issues he and Gareth Bryne had been at odds with. Bryne feared that occupation would drain the national coffers. Perhaps he had been right.

"Nothing for miles, Sairah Sedai." Clint again repeated. "No trees, either. There’s a stone outcropping about 10 minutes ride from here, off the road. It looks like a good place to make camp." Sairah nodded. Relations between Clint and Katharine were cool at best, and he insisted on making any report he had to make to Sairah, even though it was obvious that Sairah would defer to Katharine. Sairah reined in Sugar to speak with Katharine, while waving Cam and Clint forward.

"A good place to camp, if a little odd to see a rock outcropping this far in the plains."

"This whole area might once have been covered by ocean, before the Breaking," Cam said idlely, "Sometimes you can find impressions of dead sea creatures in stone."

"Really now?" the Gleeman looked as though he thought Cam was pulling his leg. "I’ll believe it when I see it."

"Lets go take a look before the sun goes down." Cam was always eager to show off his knowledge. They spurred their horses on.

Sairah felt Cam bantering with the Gleeman, and then they rode off toward their prospective campsite.

"They can’t find a town within riding distance," she told Katharine. "There’s a rocky outcropping ahead which Clint says might make a good campsite. Katharine sniffed.

"Very well," she sighed. "I suppose there’s probably no other option." Why Clint and Katharine had failed to get along was beyond Sairah, though she wasn’t about to bring it up. "Trouble with your Warder today?" Katharine asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"I could see you channeling Air a while ago, and wondered if you perhaps found it necessary to make him listen."

Sairah’s cheeks colored slightly. "It was a private matter."

Katharine sighed. "I had hoped you were teaching him some manners. He needs to learn a few, sooner, rather than later. For your sake, as well as his."

Sairah didn’t hear her, and she felt her face paling. Cam’s sense had suddenly changed to black dread.

"Sairah? What’s wrong?"

"I don’t know." She replied. "Something’s not right. Let’s go." She kicked at Sugar and she darted to a gallop, Katharine struggling on behind.

Cam and Clint had dismounted their horses and began to look carefully at the rocks. Clint began on the south side of the outcropping, and Cam on the north. He was halfway around the circumference of the largely roundish mound of overlapping rock when he spotted them. He kneeled down, brushing his cloak out of the way. He ran his fingers over the imprinted stone. He’d never seen anything like this before.

"Find something Lord Cam…?" Clint asked, combing to see. He froze as he followed Cam’s gaze.

"Oh Light save us," Clint trembled.

"What? What is it?" Cam demanded.

"Old Grim is about, with his black hounds!"

"That’s just a scary tale, told to keep kids in bed at night, Old Man."

"Lord Cam, I beg to differ. The tales say that the hounds are not of this world, and they leave no mark, except in stone."

Cam gazed about the rock near him, covered paw-prints, the size of his hand. All pointed south. Fear began to creep in around the edges, as he gazed around the rock. He counted at least 4 separate sets of tracks from where he stood. All the tracks seemed to go right over the crest of the rock. He stood and followed them. They moved in a straight direction, across the rock, and off the other side. In the back of his mind, he knew he had alerted Sairah, and that she was on her way to this place. He turned back to see her riding up hard, with Katharine Sedai trailing along behind. She rode up to him. "What is it?"

"I’ve never seen anything like it before," he waved to the ground, and Sairah looked down. Her mare recoiled and reared. He grabbed the bridle and pulled it down, patting her nose gently. "There, there Sugar," he cooed. "Wouldn’t want to hurt my Beloved now would we?" he whispered at the horse. Sariah colored, but couldn’t responed. He had said it in private after all. And Sugar responded almost instantly to his voice. The man did have a way with horses.

She let her gaze drift over the neatly ordered tracks, traveling relentlessly to the south. She knew what they must be, but couldn’t bring herself to say it outloud. Katharine solved that problem for her.

"Darkhounds," she said, finally riding up. "Some time gone, I’d imagine."

"How long?" Cam demanded, safety uppermost in his mind, and then sensing a warning from Sairah, "I mean, how long, Aes Sedai?" he said, a little more civilly.

Katharine favored Cam with a weak smile for remembering his manners. "Its impossible to tell. The smell of sulfur will fade within a day, but these prints will last until the elements wear them down." She paused. "These prints, all headed in one direction, seem to indicate that they were on the scent, or at least had an idea of where their prey was. If what is written is to be believed, Darkhounds are almost single minded upon their prey. They think of nothing else, nor do they pursue anything else. We are quite likely to be very safe here, since I highly doubt we are the prey. I think it likely that these hounds are many days ahead of us. The impressions do not look that fresh, do they, Lord Cam?"

Cam bent down again, and brushed his fingers over one. There was a collection of dust and dirt in the nooks and crannies, where the wind debris had collected. The layers indicated that some time had passed. "Indeed, Katharine Sedai. At least two days, perhaps a month."

Katharine sighed. "We are as safe here as anywhere else. I highly doubt their coming for us. They seem to have been headed directly south."

"Light save some poor soul in Illian." Cam said, his gaze drifting to the south, where unseen beyond the horizon, lay the nation, and the city, of Illian. He shook his head, and Sairah could feel him slowly letting go of his fear. "I’ll begin preparing camp." He let his gaze drift around. "A pity we didn’t pack any firewood." The area in the north of Murandy was much like the territory in the south of Andor, endless grassy plains. To the southeast, one could just make out the Hills of Kintara, beyond which lay the city state of Far Madding. To the west, not far from where they were, the River Storn wound its way up to its headwaters just across the boarder in Andor. The river flowed south, parallel to the road, and flowed through Murandy. To the south, lay Lugad, probably another hard day’s ride, perhaps a day and a half, Cam estimated. The boarder to Altara was not far from Lugard, and then perhaps another several days to find this place. A week, perhaps two, depending on the pace. Having left Bell’s Spring almost 2 weeks ago, it was now the 2^nd of Shaldine, meaning that they would arrive sometime in the middle of the month. It should be getting cold already. Cam appreciated the fact that heat didn’t seem to touch him anymore, Sairah had explained the reason once, but burn him if he remembered it, but he knew that it was there. It should not have been this warm, this late. Shaking his head again, he cleared his mind of ominous thoughts, and began humming lightly to himself as he began to lay out a camp.

Cam had always loved music, the faster, and brighter, the better. He was a compulsive whistler and a hummer, Sairah recalled. And that was all well, and good, except she could now hear melodies in her head. She found herself idly humming along, before she realized what she was doing. Katharine looked at her strangely as she abruptly stopped and glared at where Cam was brushing down both the horses. He turned and looked at her quizzically, before shrugging and turning back to what he was doing, huming away again. He didn’t know what was bothering her. Sairah sighed loudly.

"Lord Cam is a happy man." Katharine noted.

"I’m not sure other sisters have problems with their Warder’s bubbling good moods," Sairah noted darkly, music still running through her head. "Whatever he’s humming, its running through my head." Katharine chuckled, and Sairah sighed again. "He is happy to be on the move again. When I found him in Andor, he was on his manor, watching it fall down around him. He’s a warrior, not a farmer."

Katharine nodded. "What was he doing back on his estate?"

"He’s been `retired’ from the guard by Lord Gabril, along with Gareth Bryne."

"Lord Gabril was undoubtedly one of the Forsaken in disguise, as near as I have been able to piece together from the bits I’ve heard from Caemlyn. The battle near the palace was massive, and there were certainly trollocs and halfmen. Details are sketchy, but there may have been…" she hesitated. "Balefire."

Sairah drew in a sharp gasp. "The Dragon?"

"Perhaps. The word from the Sisters who were in the city at the time indicates that there was no saidar being channeled. Likely the Dragon fought Lord Gabril to the death, perhaps using balefire. If Gabril was a Forsaken in disguise, balefire might have been the only way. We live in dangerous times."

"Indeed. But balefire Katharine…light, there was a reason that they stopped using it in the war of power. Cities wiped out, totally, lives totally destroyed. Someone should be advising him."

"Moiraine Sedai should be with him, based on the last reports."

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