It was a beautiful city. Rownan had never been here. Not like this. He moved in the crowds with eased, picking the pockets of those who came close enough, whose pokets were deep enough. In the night he would go the richest quarter in the city and take what he wanted. Rownan had never had such a spree of stealing before in his life. Never had he taken more then he absolutely needed. Now he could himself working day and night, taking more and more, until he was actually begining to stockpile some of it. Rownan was too good to have taken anything that would have been missed, or too much from one person. The city was not even aware of him . . .more importantly it was not aware of the slight girl who was even now ensconced in a suit of rooms, enjoying what his labor in the streets brought in. Knowing that this could not last forever, Rownan put away a great deal of the money into banks. They will come for us soon enough. He thought as he cleared the road, to allow some dignitary to pass. Even behind veils they were not safe. Rownan had already hear rumors that led him to believe the Amrylian, possibly even his own mentor, was already here. Rownan could have understood the woman coming. She was the only one powerful enough to contain Nai, but Asha'man Rialt as well? Shrugging his shoulders Rownan continued on. He had known this was coming since the moment he had left the Towers.

Nothing like fear had entered his heart that night, as he guided Nai down the rope. Her arms had not been strong enough to hold her more then half way down, for the rest of the way she had merely clung to his back, choaking back cries of pain. At that moment, Rownan would have given anything for his hands on the neck who had done this. They had made it across the water, and into the city before midnight. Soaking and shivering with cold they had both gone through the most backward streets up to the gates of the city just as the dawn peeked over the horizon. The gates opened, and Rownan made sure they were among the crowed of people that left the city for their work. After that it was only a matter of time, before they were caught, so Rownan led a grueling to the pace to the village, where they once again had to wait for a horse. "There now," He had said when he handed her the reigns. "You have everything you need. Go where you will." She had actually looked surprised, even a little hurt. It had never been Rownan's intention to go with her. His place was in the Tower. He had fulfilled his debt, and gotten her out, but she had never asked him to go. Frowning, Rownan wondered how he had ended up coming with her to Tanchico anyway. It was all a dim haze in his mind. He remembered riding behind her on the horse, remembered guiding them by the map, the stars and his own knowledge, but he remembered nothing of actually making the decision to go with her.

Pulling himself back to the present, Rownan turned into the Inn that he had chosen for this week. One thing he had insisted on was moving in the city, staying one week in an inn, the next elsewhere. It might help to slow their trackers down. Though they should have left the city long ago, Nai had wanted to stay. It was a beautiful place, always filled with excitement. Rownan ducked into the room. It was furnished now, just the way Nai liked it. Comfortably, with pretty trinkets scattered on the tables and the mantle piece. There was even a bird chirping away in a cage, that Rownan was particularly fond of. He went up to it, and chirped at it through the bars. Immediatly it sang louder. A knock on the door interrupted the play. "Yes?" He called. A servant poked her head through the door. "I've brought you a dinner tray, sir." Rownan nodded. It was about that time again. Rownan went to the sideboard and took out a pouch of coins. "Here is the payment for the next week." He said once she had set the tray down. "And here is something for yourself." The girl smiled brightly behind her veil and left with a smile. Rownan shook his head an d picked up the tray. Without another thought, he picked up the heavy tray and went into the next room, where Nai was sitting, ensconced in a very comfortable chair. She looked fresh, clean and supremely happy. It was infectious, for Rownan found himself smiling as well. "I've come to watch you try and eat with sursa." He said as he set the tray before her.

Naishee lounged in the warm waters of her bath, not even remembering the last time she had enjoyed such comfort before coming to Tanchico. It was all very nice, but she and Rownan would have to leave very soon. While eating breakfast in the common room, she had overheard some gossip of the Amyrlin ariving in Tanchico, quite possibly with an Asha'man, though she doubted the last part. Sighing, Nashee got up and walked the small length of the bathroom to get her towels. She wrapped one around herself and tucked an end at the top so it would not fall if she had to use her hands, and then used the other to dry her hair. After a few minutes she walked to the small closet which she had put her few dresses in and picked out a riding dress fashoned in the lastest Taraboner style and dressed quickly. Naishee grabbed her brush and ran it through her long, tangled black hair onehundred times before setting it back down and walking into the connecting room. There was a large, extremely comfortable armchair that she went and sat in. She usually sat in this chair when she needed some comfort or time to think, as she did now. The former novice tried to put together a plan in her mind, and soon had one worked out, though it was very risky. Knowing she had a way to escape, even with little chances of it actually being successful, lifted her spirits and put her in a better mood.

Naishee heard the bird that Rownan had bought for her start to chirp and sing loudly. She knew that he had returned from the streets and quickly sat up straight in the chair, putting on her best smile. As Rownan entered the room with a tray, his usually straight face immediately curved into a smile at sight of Naishee. He walked over and set a tray of food infront of her saying, "I've come to watch you try and eat with sursa." She laughed a bit and picked up the two sticks, positioning them between her fingers perfectly. In their short time hiding in Tanchico she had mastered the use of sursa, and Rownan looked surprized when she easily grasped a piece of food between them and brought it to her mouth. After swallowing, she cocked an eyebrow and said, "Aren't you going to eat, or did you get your fill already?" He took his own tray and pair of sursa and began to eat with less difficulty then Naishee. After she had finished her dinner and set the tray aside, she sighed and said, "You know, Cayana and Sapphira were going to establish a farm in Far Madding and put me there. I think that if we are caught, my punishment will be the same, if not worse. We have to leave tonight. I hope you already payed for another week, that way nobody suspects a thing. Everything needs to be left behind except a few necesary items. I can make the two of us invisible, but it does require a steady amount of the One Power. The weaves can also be inverted in a few seconds, but if Sapphira is here she will feel it. From then on we have to move very quickly and sneak out of the city before she can track us. Is that plan good enough for you, Rownan?"

Rownan set the tray down before her. It consisted of a normal, healthy meal that the Tanchican's favored. Rownan was pleased, it would help keep them healthy and ready against the coming day, when they would both have to run. Nai took the slender sticks in her hands and began to eat, Rownan watched her with a cocked eyebrow. "Aren't you going to eat, or did you get your fill already?" She said, her voice almost laughing. Rownan shrugged and picked up his own sticks. As he ate, Rownan wondered how he would tell Nai that they were now in a very dangerous situation. The one woman in the world who could contain Nai was here in the city, and she would expend every resourse to get her runaway novice. They might have been more willing to let him go, as he was hardly powerful enough to light a candle, but they would want their hands around Nai's throat, if that were at all possible. Rownan looked at her as she finished up her meal. Was that why I came? He wondered. It might have been. Rownan had no urge to remember. It was over now, and their fates were bound. Rownan accepted it like he had everything else. But Nai loved this city. She had been happy here. It seemed like every day she spent in the shops, or visiting the museums and collections of art. It seemed that every evening she went to see the musicians perform, or see the Illuminators light the skies over the bay. "You know, Cayana and Sapphira were going to establish a farm in Far Madding and put me there. I think that if we are caught, my punishment will be the same, if not worse." Rownan glanced up sharply at the mention of Far Madding, the place of his birth, and at the mention of her old two superiors. Nai hated them both, or so he thought. Why would she speak of them now?

"We have to leave tonight." She said, her voice firm, and once again Rownan was surprised. She was learning to be very good at hiding things from him. Rownan was pleased. "I hope you already payed for another week, that way nobody suspects a thing." Rownan nodded slightly and listened intently, every other thought in his head disappearing except for her voice. "Everything needs to be left behind except a few necesary items. I can make the two of us invisible, but it does require a steady amount of the One Power. The weaves can also be inverted in a few seconds, but if Sapphira is here she will feel it. From then on we have to move very quickly and sneak out of the city before she can track us. Is that plan good enough for you, Rownan?" He thought about it for a few minutes. "It sounds good. We should try to leave as soon as possible, but it is not nessisary to leave everything behind. I now have a small fortune in one of the moneylenders coffers. I can withdraw it at once. I will take it out of the city at once, that way we can look like we are fleeing penniless. Once we are out of the city we can travel in comfort. They will be looking for two different people." Rownan thought of that. "We will have to change our look as often as we stop, and change direction as well. Do you have any particular place in mind? Another large city?" Rowan heard her answer with misgivings. It could work, but again, it would only be a matter of time. "Very well, then. We should get started." Rownan picked up the tray, which was now picked clean of food. He paused for a moment, looking down at her. She was hopeful, full of laughter as much as darkness. Ready to kill as to smile. She would not tolerate being imprisoned in the Tower as the bird in its cage.

Rownan took the tray to the other room and summoned the servant to take it away. He then went into his own small chamber. There he started taking out all of the things he had stolen. Some of the less valuable pieces he had taken had sold easily. These things were so unique, so expensive that it would raise questions if he had tried to sell them within fifty miles of the city. There was a golden statue, a necklace made of diamonds, a bracelet of silver studded with amethysts, a small book that was at least two hundred years old. Rownan took these things and left the inn via a window. He stole to his banker and retireved all but fifty in silver. He then took the money and the priceless treasures four miles outside the city to a place he had prepared weeks ago. Rownan had stumbled onto it almost by accident. It was in a very rocky, deserted place. It had been a smugglers hideout, perhaps a hundred years ago. But the men who had known about it were dead, or had forgotten about it because by the dust and the growth about the place, no one had set foot in the place since then. Rownan himself was too light, too careful to leave any trace. The cave was filled with stolen goods, all of it old and worth far more now than it ever had before. Rownan placed his own treasures in this place, satisfied that no one else would find them here. There was a bog, where the river melted into a delta before finally joining the sea. There was nothing but pointy rocks, overgrown trees, a nasty smell, and mud. No one who was not insane would come here. Even if they did, they would never find this place so covered as it was with growth. Rownan left his little horde and went back into the city where Nai was waiting for him. He saw her, waiting for him patiently, with both of their things packed and ready to go. Even though he had rin eight miles today, he felt full of energy. "Ready to go?" He asked.