She tried not to think about how dead that grass seemed. Once, she’d have considered those browns lush. Now, she knew these wetland plants should not look so wan and . . . and hollow.
Hollow plants. What was she thinking? She shook her head and crept through the shadows out of the Aes Sedai camp. She briefly contemplated sneaking back to surprise that Warder—he’d been hiding in a moss-worn cleft in the rubble of an old, fallen building and watching the Aes Sedai perimeter—but discarded the idea. She wanted to get to Elayne and ask her for details on the attack.
Aviendha approached another busy camp, ducked beneath the leafless branches of a tree—she didn’t know what type, but its limbs spread wide and high—and slipped inside the guard perimeter. A pair of wetlanders in white and red stood on "watch" near a fire. They didn’t come close to spotting her, though they did jump up and level polearms toward a thicket a good thirty feet away when an animal rustled in it.
Aviendha shook her head and passed them.
Forward. She needed to keep moving forward. What to do about Rand al’Thor? What were his plans for tomorrow? These were other questions she wanted to ask Elayne.
The Aiel needed a purpose once Rand al’Thor finished with them. That was clear from the visions. She had to find a way to give this to them. Perhaps they should return to the Three-fold Land. But . . . no. No. It tore her heart, but she had to admit that if the Aiel did so, they would be going to their graves. Their death, as a people, might not be immediate, but it would come. The changing world, with new devices and new ways of fighting, would overtake the Aiel, and the Seanchan would never leave them alone. Not with women who could channel. Not with armies full of spears that could, at any time, invade.
A patrol approached. Aviendha drew some fallen brown undergrowth over herself for camouflage, then lay down flat beside a dead shrub and remained perfectly still. The guards walked two handspans from her.
We could attack the Seanchan now, she thought. In my vision, the Aiel waited nearly a generation to attack—and that let the Seanchan strengthen their position.
The Aiel already spoke of the Seanchan and the confrontation that must inevitably come. The Seanchan would force it, everyone whispered. Except, in her vision, years had passed with the Seanchan failing to attack. Why? What could possibly have held them back?
Aviendha rose and crept across to the pathway the guards had taken. She took out her knife and rammed it down into the ground. She left it there, right beside a lantern on a pole, clearly visible even to wetlander eyes. Then she slipped back into the night, hiding near the back of the large tent that was her goal.
She crouched low and practiced her silent breathing, using the rhythm to calm herself. There were hushed, anxious voices inside the tent. Aviendha did her best not to pay attention to what they were saying. It wouldn’t be proper to eavesdrop.
As the patrol passed again, she stood up. When they cried out, having found her dagger, she slipped around to the front of the tent. There, avoiding the attention of guards distracted by the commotion, she lifted the flap and stepped inside the tent behind them.
Some people sat at a table on the far side of the very large tent, huddled around a lamp. They were so busy with their conversation that they did not see her, so she settled down near some cushions to wait.
It was very hard not to listen in, now that she was so close.
". . . must send our forces back!" one man barked. "The fall of the capital is a symbol, Your Majesty. A symbol! We cannot let Caemlyn go or the entire nation will collapse into chaos".
"You underestimate the strength of the Andoran people", said Elayne. She looked very much in control, very strong, her red-gold hair practically glowing in the lamplight. Several of her battle commanders stood behind her, lending authority and a sense of stability to the meeting. Aviendha was pleased to see the fire in her first-sister’s eyes.
"I have been to Caemlyn, Lord Lir", Elayne continued. "And I have left a small force of soldiers there to watch and give warning if the Trollocs leave the city. Our spies will use gateways to sneak through the city and find where the remaining Trollocs are herding captives, and then we can mount rescue operations if the Trollocs continue to hold the city".
"But the city itself!" Lord Lir said.
"Caemlyn is lost, Lir", Lady Dyelin snapped. "We’d be fools to try to mount any kind of assault now".
Elayne nodded. "I have held conference with the other High Seats, and they agree with my assessment. For now, the refugees who escaped are safe—I sent them on along toward Whitebridge with guards. If there are people alive within, we will try to rescue them with gateways, but I will not commit my forces to an all-out attack on Caemlyn’s walls".
"But—"
"Taking the city again would be fruitless", Elayne said, voice hard. "I know full well the damage that can be done to an army assaulting those walls! Andor will not collapse because of the loss of one city, no matter how important a city". Her face was a mask, her voice as cold as good steel.
"The Trollocs will eventually leave the city", Elayne continued. "They gain nothing by holding it—they will starve themselves out, if nothing else. Once they leave, we can fight them—and on far fairer ground. If you wish, Lord Lir, you may visit the city yourself and see that what I say is true. The soldiers there could use the inspiration of a High Seat".
Lir frowned, but nodded. "I think I will".
"Then go knowing my plan. We will begin sending in scouts before the night is through, trying to find pens of civilians to save, and Aviendha, what in the name of a bloody goat's left stone are you doing!"
Aviendha looked up from trimming her fingernails with her second knife. Bloody goat’s left stone? That was a new one. Elayne always knew the most interesting curses.
The three High Seats at the table jumped up, scrambling, throwing down chairs and reaching for swords. Elayne sat in her place, eyes and mouth wide.
"It is a bad habit", Aviendha admitted, slipping her knife back into her boot. "My nails were growing long, but I should not have done it in your tent, Elayne. I am sorry. I hope I did not offend".
"I’m not talking about your flaming nails, Aviendha", Elayne said. "How . . . when did you arrive? Why didn’t the guards announce you?"
"They didn’t see me", Aviendha said. "I didn’t wish to make a fuss, and wetlanders can be touchy. I thought they might turn me away, now that you are Queen". She smiled as she said the last part. Elayne had much honor; the way of becoming a leader among the wetlanders was different from proper ways—things could be so backward over here—but Elayne had handled herself well and obtained her throne. Aviendha couldn’t have been more proud of a spear-sister who had taken a clan chief gai’shain.
"They didn’t . ". Elayne said. Suddenly, she was smiling. "You crept through the entire camp, to my tent at the center, and then slipped inside and sat down not five feet from me. And nobody saw".
"I didn’t wish to make a fuss".
"You have a strange way of not making a fuss".
Elayne’s companions did not react with such calm. One of the three, young Lord Perival, gazed around him with worried eyes, as if searching for other intruders.
"My Queen", Lir said. "We must punish this breach in security! I will find the men who were lax in their duty and see that they—"
"Peace", Elayne said. "I will speak to my guards and suggest they keep their eyes a little more open. Still, guarding the front of a tent is a silly precaution—and always has been—as someone can just cut their way into the back".
"And ruin a good tent?" Aviendha said, lips turning down. "Only if we had blood feud, Elayne".
"Lord Lir, you may go inspect the city—from a good distance—if you wish", Elayne said, standing. "If any of the rest of you wish to accompany him, you may. Dyelin, I will see you in the morning".
"Very well", the lords said in turn, then walked from the tent. Both kept distrustful eyes on Aviendha as they left. Dyelin just shook her head before following them, and Elayne sent her battle commanders out to coordinate scouting of the city. That left Elayne and Aviendha alone in the tent.
"Light, Aviendha", Elayne said, embracing her, "if the people who want me dead had half of your skill . . "
"Did I do something wrong?" Aviendha said.
"Other than sneaking into my tent like an assassin?"
"But you are my first-sister . . ". Aviendha said. "Should I have asked? But we are not under a roof. Or . . . among wetlanders, is a tent considered a roof, as in a hold? I’m sorry, Elayne. Do I have toh! You are such an unpredictable people, it’s hard to know what will offend you and what will not". Elayne just laughed. "Aviendha, you’re a gem. A complete and total gem. Light, but it’s good to see your face. I needed a friendly one tonight".
"Caemlyn has fallen?" Aviendha asked.
"Near enough", Elayne said, face growing colder. "It was that bloody Waygate. I thought it was safe—I had that thing all but bricked up, with fifty guards at the door and the Avendesora leaves taken and both put on the outside".
"Someone inside Caemlyn let them in, then".
"Darkfriends", Elayne said. "A dozen members of the Guard—we were lucky enough that one man survived their betrayal and found his way out. Light, I don’t know why I should be surprised. If they’re in the White Tower, they’re in Andor. But these were men who had rejected Gaebril, and who seemed loyal. They waited all this time only to betray us now".
Aviendha grimaced, but took one of the chairs to join Elayne at the table, rather than staying on the floor. Her first-sister preferred sitting that way. Her stomach had swelled with the children she bore.
"I sent Birgitte with the soldiers to the city to see what can be done", Elayne said. "But we’ve done what we can for the night, the city watched, the refugees seen to. Light, I wish I could do more. The worst thing about being Queen is not the things you must do, but the things that you cannot".
"We will bring the battle to them soon enough", Aviendha said.
"We will", Elayne said, eyes smoldering. "I will bring them fire and fury, repayment in kind for the flames they brought to my people".
"I heard you speak to those men of not attacking the city".
"No", Elayne said. "I will not give them the satisfaction of holding my own walls against me. I have given Birgitte an order—the Trollocs will eventually abandon Caemlyn, of this we are sure. Birgitte will find a way to hasten that, so we can fight them outside of the city".
"Do not let the enemy choose your battleground", Aviendha said with a nod. "A good strategy. And . . . Rand’s meeting?"
"I will attend", Elayne said. "I must, so it will be done. He had better not give us theatrics and stalling. My people die, my city burns, the world is two steps from the edge of a cliff. I will stay through the afternoon only; after that, I go back to Andor". She hesitated. "Will you come with me?"