Siuan sniffed. “Suit yourself, then, girl. The ring. It doesn't require channeling?”
“No. You heard me tell Sheriam —”
“Anyone can use it? A woman who can't channel? A man?”
“Possibly a man.” Ter'angreal that did not need the Power usually worked for men or women. “For any woman, yes.”
“Then you are going to teach me to use it.”
Nynaeve raised one eyebrow. This might be a lever to get what she wanted. If not, she had another. Maybe. “Do they know about this? All the talk was of showing them how it works. You were never mentioned.”
“They don't know.” Siuan did not appear shaken at all. She even smiled, and not pleasantly. “And they won't. Else they'll learn you and Elayne have been posing as full sisters since you left Tar Valon. Moiraine might be letting Egwene get away with it — if she hasn't tried it, too, I don't know a bar knot from a running hitch — but Sheriam, Carlinya...? They'll have you squealing like a spawning grunter before they're done. Long before.”
“That's ridiculous.” Nynaeve realized she was sitting on the edge of the bed. She did not remember sitting down. Thom and Juilin would hold their tongues. No one else knew. She had to talk to Elayne. “We haven't pretended anything of the sort.”
“Don't lie to me, girl. If I needed confirmation, your eyes gave it. Your stomach is turning somersaults, isn't it?”
It most certainly was. “Of course not. If I teach you anything, it's because I want to.” She was not going to let this woman bully her. The last vestige of pity winked out. “If I do, I want something in return. To study you and Leane. I want to know if stilling can be Healed.”
“It can't,” Siuan said flatly. “Now —”
“Anything short of death should be.”
“'Should be' isn't 'is,' girl. Leane and I were promised we would be left alone. Speak to Faolain or Emara if you want to know what happens to anyone who molests us. They weren't the first or the worst, but they cried the longest.”
Her other lever. Near panic had driven it right out of her head. If it existed. One glance. “What would Sheriam say if she knew you and Leane weren't ready to tear out each other's hair at all?” Siuan just looked at her. “They think you're tamed, don't they? The more you snap at anybody who can't snap back, the more they take it for proof when you leap to obey every time an Aes Sedai coughs. Was a little cringing all it took to make them forget the two of you had worked handinhand for years? Or did you convince them stilling had changed everything about you, not just your face? When they find out you've been scheming behind their backs, manipulating them, you'll howl louder than any grunter. Whatever that is.” Not so much as a blink. Siuan was not going to loose her temper and let any admissions slip out. Yet there had been something in that brief look; Nynaeve was sure of it. “I want to study you — and Leane — whenever I want. And Logain.” Perhaps she could learn something there as well. Men were different; it would be like looking at the problem from another angle. Not that she would Heal him even if she discovered how. Rand's channeling was necessary. She was not about to loose another man on the world who could wield the Power. “If not, then you can forget about the ring, and Tel'aran'rhiod.” What was Siuan after there? Probably just to revisit something that at least seemed like being Aes Sedai. Nynaeve stamped firmly on momentarily rekindled pity. “And if you make any claims about us pretending to be Aes Sedai, then I'll have no choice but to tell about you and Leane. Elayne and I might be uncomfortable until the truth comes out, but it will, and the truth will make you weep as long as Faolain and Emara together.”
Silence stretched. How did the other woman manage to look so cool? Nynaeve had always thought it had to do with being Aes Sedai. Her lips felt dry, the only part of her that did. If she was wrong, if Siuan was willing to put it to the test, she knew who would be weeping.
Finally, Siuan muttered, “I hope Moiraine has managed to keep Egwene's backbone more supple than this.” Nynaeve did not understand, but she hardly had time to consider it. The next instant, the other woman was leaning forward, hand outstretched. “You keep my secrets, and I will keep yours. Teach me the ring, and you can study stilling and gentling to your heart's content.”
Nynaeve barely managed to hold in a relieved sigh as she clasped the offered hand. She had done it. For the first time in what seemed forever, someone had tried to bully her and failed. She almost felt ready to face Moghedien. Almost.
Elayne caught up with Min just outside the back door of the inn and fell in beside her. Min had what looked like two or three white shirts wadded under one arm. The sun sat on the treetops, and in the fading light the stableyard had the soft look of dirt not long turned, with a huge stump that might have belonged to an oak right in the middle. The thatchroofed stone stable had no doors, allowing a good look at men moving among filled stalls. Surprisingly, Leane was talking to a large man on the edge of the stable's shadow. Roughly dressed, he looked a blacksmith, or a brawler. What was surprising was how close Leane stood, head tilted as she stared up at him. And then she actually patted his cheek before turning away and hurrying back into the inn. The big man stared after her a moment, then melted into the shadows.
“Don't ask me what she's up to,” Min said. “Strange people come to see Siuan or her, and some of the men, she... Well, you saw.”
Elayne did not really care what Leane did. But now that she had Min alone, she did not know how to bring up what she wanted. “What are you doing?”
“Laundry,” Min muttered, shifting the shirts irritably. “I can't tell you how good it is to see Siuan the mouse for once. She doesn't know whether the eagle is going to eat her or make her a pet, but she has the same choice she gives everybody else. None!”
Elayne quickened her pace to keep up as they crossed the stableyard. Whatever that was about, it gave no opening. “Did you know what Thom was going to suggest? We are staying.”
“I told them you would. Not a viewing.” Min's step slowed again as they started between the stable and a crumbling stone wall, down a dim alley of brush stubble and trampled weeds. “I just didn't think you would give up the chance to study again. You were always eager. Nynaeve, too, even if she won't admit it. I wish I'd been wrong. I'd go with you. At least, I...” She muttered something furioussounding under her breath. “Those three you brought with you are trouble, and