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For once, it would be nice if his luck could see hiairl on his knee and no cares beyond his next throw Instead, he wasthe Queen of Andor for her help How did he get into these situations? Soht that the Creatora grand ti at Mat

His procession passed numerous camps on the open plains around Caeue away, but the forces of the lords could cah place There was always tension between sell-swords and loyal arhts were coht in thebased on the trails of ca into the air There were at least ten thousandkettle she was brewing here? Toowould boil over!

Mat’s procession drew attention He had one of thethe banner of the Band of the Red Hand, and hisa reputation By Mat’s count, they were the largest single group--mercenary or lord’s force--outside Caeular army, and were under the leadership of a personal friend of the Dragon Reborn His h Mat would roups of limpse of "Lord Mat" He kept his eyes forward If they had expected soh perhaps he could have chosen a better coat This one was stiff, and the collar itched

Of course, more than a few seemed to think Talmanes was "Lord Mat" from the way they pointed, probably because of hoas dressed Bloody ashes!

This conversation with Elayne was going to be tough But Mat had a hidden card, one he hoped would be enough to get her to look past the expense of Aludra’s proposal Though he wasand want to take part in it And when a wo, that ate in Cae outer city The soldiers waved hiave a flourishing wave to the sreat

The h the New City was uneventful save for nize his face frohfares, but Cae h those streets

They eventually passed through the brilliant white walls of the Inner City, where the roads ider, the Ogier-built buildings less craroups of ar Guardsmen in white and red Mat couldstones of the courtyard with their tents and horselines

The Caemlyn palace was like another little city within the city inside the city It had a low fortified wall, and while its peaks and spires rose into the air, it had more of the look of a war bunker than the Sun Palace did Odd, how he had never noticed that when he was younger If Caemlyn fell, this palace could hold on its own They neededout in the courtyard was ridiculous

Mat took Talmanes, Thom and a force of ten Redarms as an escort A tall olden knots on the shoulder of his cloak, waited at the palace entrance He was a young man, but the way he stood--relaxed, yet poised, hand on the pommel of his sword--indicated he was a practiced soldier Too bad he had such a pretty face A life in thethat

The man nodded to Mat, Thom and Talmanes "Lord Cauthon?" he asked Mat

"Just Mat"

The"My name is Charlz Guybon I’ll lead you to Her Majesty"

She had sent Guybon hi, second-in-command of the armies That was unexpected Was Elayne afraid of hi him? Maybe Guybon had wanted to see Mat for hi hi for an old friend His suspicions were confirmed when Guybon did not lead them to the Grand Hall, but down to a quiet area of the Palace