I don't know if it was you or someone else in wotmania, but I remember an old discussion where some of us basically had some doubts that Egwene would be some kind of "wildcard", someone critical for the final showdown, but not Prophesied so she is basically under the Shadow's radar for a long time. That RJ spent so long sketching out Egwene when he knew time was short is, perhaps, a sign that this is indeed true.