In The Water Garden
Novice Teli Mildune, Written by Tanya
Posted on Tue, Aug 10, 2010 15:10 pm
Teli had been right about how she thought that she would be during the embracing lesson after working in the kitchens. Although not all of her fellow Novices were able to embrace or seize today, she was one of the ones who wasn't able to succeed at all. She couldn't relax during the exercise, which made it neigh impossible for her to accomplish anything. She sighed, defeated, as she raked and swept the leaves in the Water Garden into one pile, before picking them up and placing them in a container provided. She had had to come here right after her lesson, one of the gardeners having been instructed to watch for her, and provide her with the tools to work on the leaves and moss that Candance Sedai had sent her out there to clean up. It was hard to see at this point that the prank had been worth all of this.
She still didn't regret making a friend of Amahli, but how discouraged she was over the failure at the lesson today made her doubt her place here once again. Had Manon Sedai been wrong about her? That didn't seem possible, since she and Candance Sedai had both said she had the ability…but what if she couldn't use it? Could she possibly have a Block, like that Accepted had mentioned during the lesson?
She wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she did have a Block, since it was also thoughts of her father and the…accident…that kept her from embracing as well, she was sure. She continued gathering the leaves, having thought it would be easier to clear them away before starting on the moss, but her heart wasn't in it. She didn't want to be a disappointment again, but it seemed that she had already gotten off to a bad start here, the only help being the fact that hardly anyone knew about her past and what she had done that had made her mother hate her so. Manon Sedai had managed to get the story out of her, but that was only because she'd heard most of it from the rumors and her brother Dain. Part of her wondered if Manon Sedai had told Candance Sedai about it, and that brought ideas of going to the Mistress of Novices to talk…something that Amahli said that she could provide, but she stamped out that thought quickly. Since the Mistress of Novices probably wasn't very happy with her at the moment, she didn't want to visit there for the second time today, and give her an even worse impression of herself.
Light, but how did I get myself into this mess? Just because I'm a Bloody Andoran, it seems like…. Teli thought, finishing up with the leaves about an hour after she had started. She gathered the bucket and rag to begin on the pathways, cleaning off the water moss, the chore much too easy to keep her mind occupied and off of the thoughts that plagued her. It wasn't until about mid-afternoon that she was brought from her thoughts as she scrubbed at the walkways, and that was caused by a somewhat familiar voice saying her name. She looked around in a daze, her eyes falling on an Aes Sedai of the Blue Ajah, the woman that had brought her here, Manon Sedai.
In reply to Dishes and Lessons[show]/[hide]
The next morning found Teli arm deep in one of Mistress Laras' large cooking pots. Teli understood, if she thought about it, the necessity for such large pots, considering all the people who had to eat at the White Tower, Novices, Accepted, and Aes Sedai, Trainees, Gaidin, not to mention the servants that kept the White Tower and Grounds running smoothly…. So it made sense to her, that such a large pot should be used here in the kitchen, and it obviously would have to be cleaned, but why in the Light, did there have to be so much of these pots left over from the night before, letting the burned and left over food to become caked to the bottom, creating a disgusting visual and smell for those that had to bring their heads too close.
When she'd first started, she'd tried keeping her head as far away as she could, but not only did that strain her back unnecessarily, it also made her miss bits of food, which Laras saw and sniffed before upbraiding her for carelessness. She half wondered if the Mistress of Kitchens had set some of these pots aside just for her. She wasn't alone as far as Novices went, but almost all of them were pointedly avoiding the large pots when she had arrived. Even as more of the young Initiates trickled in, only one or two of them were ever moved to another spot, and seeing the faces on those Novices, Teli wondered if they too were being punished, rather than simply doing chores like the others. She didn't spend a lot of time looking around though, catching Laras' eyes more than one, and seeing a scowl cover her face was enough to get her into a round of furious scrubbing, the smell convincing her already uneasy stomach that she could probably stay out the week without eating.
Teli was sure that the only reason she wasn't the first Novice to arrive this morning was because of her visit to the Mistress of Novices' office before she'd made her way here. When Candance Sedai said a short paddling, she had meant it, not keeping Teli for too terribly long, and she had to admit, she thought the Aes Sedai had purposefully not continued too long. Candance Sedai hadn't gone easy on her by any means, but Teli had had worse switching from her mother on numerous occasions. The idea behind the leniency must have been a warning to keep her from any misbehavior, and a promise that worse was to come if she didn't heed that warning. Part of her wondered how well she'd be able to go through the relaxation exercise she knew was to come during her embracing lesson, considering her sore bottom and the pain and tiredness that had settled some time ago in her shoulders, neck, and fingers. She spent the good part of the morning in the kitchens, only gaining leave when she made her way out to the lesson, Laras letting her leave only grudgingly, complaining about her slow pace.
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Replies to In The Water Garden
- Credit! — Jeremy, Wed, Aug 11, 2010 05:00 am
