Elayne bowed in a deep curtsy, bending at the waist with her skirt fanned wide between her hands.
Rand and Helena immediately followed suit.
Gawyn and the other men moved naturally, kneeling on their right knee and lowering their heads until the knuckles of their right hands touched the polished marble floor.
Rand was just about to congratulate himself for getting the protocol right.
All stood still, as if waiting for the end of a long winter.
"You may rise," said Morgase, her voice rich and firm, with the natural authority of one who expects to be obeyed. Elayne had inherited a bit of that presence but was still learning to wield it.
"Looks like you've been climbing trees, daughter." Elayne discreetly brushed a piece of bark from her dress, unsure of where to put it, eventually keeping it in her hand.
"Yes, it would seem so," Morgase continued, with a calmness that veiled her displeasure. "You disobeyed a direct order and went to see Logain with your own eyes.Gawyn, I expected more from you. Your role is to bring balance, not to be an accomplice. That is how chaos is avoided."
Gawyn shifted his feet as if about to protest but lowered his head instead."As you wish, Mother."
Elayne grimaced, but didn't back down.
"Mother, I don't see any harm in simply looking at Logain. The entire city has been closer to him than we have."
"The entire city," Morgase replied, a slight note of impatience in her tone, "is not the Daughter-Heir.I saw him myself, Elayne. Logain is dangerous. Even caged and surrounded by Aes Sedai, he still bears the eyes of a wolf waiting for a chance."
"They'll know what to do with him in Tar Valon," said the woman seated beside her, who had been knitting silently until then. She spoke gently. "What matters is that the people see that, once again, the Light has triumphed over the Shadow."
"That's enough, Elaida," Morgase said, her brow furrowed.
"Now, about this young man—" Morgase gestured subtly toward Rand, her eyes never leaving Elayne's—"I want to understand how and why he is here. And even more, why you introduced him as a royal guest."
"Mother, you always say I must know our people, from nobles to the humblest. But I'm almost always surrounded by aides, servants, and protocol. How can I truly learn anything under those conditions?Speaking with Rand, I learned more about the Two Rivers than I ever would from any book."
"A loyal subject of the Two Rivers," Morgase sighed. "My daughter, you should pay more attention to books. The Two Rivers hasn't seen a tax collector in six generations, nor a Queen's Guard in seven. I suspect many there have forgotten they even belong to the realm."
Rand smiled, confirming.
Helena looked at him as if he'd lost his mind: "Father, what are you doing? Do you want to get us in trouble?"
Morgase noticed and smiled at her daughter with a touch of sadness."See, my dear?"
Elaida had set her knitting aside and now studied Rand carefully.
"Two Rivers?" she said, raising her hand toward his head. He stepped back, and she let her hand fall.
"With that red hair and gray eyes? People from the Two Rivers usually have dark hair and eyes, and are shorter in stature." She pulled back the sleeve of his coat, revealing the pale skin of his forearm. "Even your skin tone doesn't match."
"I was born in Emond's Field," Rand said calmly. "My mother was from elsewhere; I guess I got my eyes from her. My father is Tam al'Thor, shepherd and farmer, like me."
Elaida nodded slowly, her eyes still fixed on his face.
This time, her hand moved more slowly. Rand decided not to step back.
But she didn't touch him. Instead, her fingers closed around the hilt of his sword. Her eyes widened, and her grip stiffened.
"A shepherd from the Two Rivers," she murmured, as if to herself, "with a heron-marked blade."
The words fell like a thunderclap.
Leather creaked behind Rand, boots scraping against the marble.
"Hey, everyone... calm down. Even if you draw your swords, it won't make a difference. If I had come to cause harm, it would've happened already." Rand relaxed his hands with a half-smile. "I'm not here to fight."
Two steps later, Gareth Bryne positioned himself between Rand and the Queen, a living shield.
Gawyn also stepped forward, stopping in front of Elayne, his hand on the hilt of his dagger.
Helena, outwardly calm, was nearly bursting inside. "Father... what are you thinking?"
The Aes Sedai showed no emotion. She slowly released the sword hilt, her eyes never leaving Rand. The guards were still tense but did not move.
"Indeed," Morgase said thoughtfully, "he's far too young to have earned such a sword. He doesn't look older than Gawyn."
"But that sword does belong to him," said Gareth Bryne.
Morgase turned to him, surprised.
"How can you be sure?"
"I don't know, Morgase. He is young, yes. But look at how he holds the sword, how it seems a part of him, and he of it. He may be young, but... the sword accepts him."
"My father gave it to me. It was his. He thought I'd need one when I left home," Rand explained.
"Another shepherd from the Two Rivers with a heron-marked sword," Elaida said, her voice cool, a smile curling her lips and drying Rand's mouth.
She turned to Helena, studying her with keen interest.
"And you, girl. You remained calm through it all. What's your name?"
"Helena, my lady. And it wasn't hard to stay calm. I have no reason to fear."
"And why do you think that, girl?" Elaida asked, arching a brow.
"Because my father is with me," Helena answered, smiling confidently.
Elaida shifted her gaze back to Rand, this time not hiding the silent evaluation in her eyes.