to his wound and ignites it, cauterizing the wound. They resolve to get Charles home to more proper medical attention before his pregnant wife gives birth. In Gilead, Aileen Ritter, the niece of the gunslinger trainer Cort, laments how she is excluded from becoming a gunslinger because she is female. Cort wants to betroth her to Roland Deschain, but she would rather die than marry. She steals revolvers from Cort's armory to practice with them. When she joins the boys, Cuthbert dismisses her, but she gets the best of him by putting a bullet through his gun belt as he holds it in his hand. Cort is upset with Aileen for stealing from the armory, and for eschewing the traditional role of females with her gunslinger aspirations, but observes that she is just like her late mother, and resolves that she will choose her own path. At a nunnery in Debaria called Our Lady of the Rose, Gabrielle Deschain attempts to atone for her infidelity to Steven with Marten Broadcloak, but Marten himself appears, and insists that he is the only one who loves and understands her. He convinces her to murder Steven, and makes her the false promise her that her son, Roland, will be unharmed. At the same time, Steven and his men attempt to strategize how to outflank John Farson, but Justus, their chief source of information on Farson's movements, is actually a spy in Farson's employ. Within the Grapefruit, Roland sees a vision of Rhea of the Cöos, the witch behind Susan Delgado's death, arriving in Gilead, and murdering his father. Alain and Cuthbert manage to convince Roland to relinquish the Grapefruit to his father, which Roland does, apologizing to Steven for not doing so upon his return to Gilead. Steven is understanding of Roland's sin, due to the nefarious effect that the Grapefruit has on its victims, and tells Roland he will atone for his actions by showing forgiveness to his mother at the upcoming banquet. Roland begrudgingly agrees. Steven, rather than allowing the Grapefruit to seduce him as it did Roland, hides it in a safe, an act that is secretly observed by Justus, who informs Farson of this. Alain and Cuthbert, observing that new gunslingers typically are seated next to the prospective brides selected by their fathers, ponder whether Roland will be seated next to Aileen at the upcoming banquet, but Roland, who