Living Quarters
Miranna Aedori, Written by Jackson
Posted on Mon, Aug 30, 2010 04:45 am
Once they both had their names written down in Candance Sedai’s book, the Mistress of Novice pulled herself out of her chair and Miranna turned, surprised to see that Eleria Sedai had slipped away out of the office without her noticing. Not that it was really a surprise – Aes Sedai could come and go without anyone noticing them, if they so wanted.
“Come, girls,” Candance Sedai said, “let’s get you settled and started in your life as novices.”
The two girls followed behind the Mistress of Novices as she led them away from her offices. They did not go far before they turned down a corridor that was plain and unadorned, and lined with wooden door upon wooden door. The doors continued down the corridor as far as the eye could see, which seemed to wind its way around a garden that they could see from the windows. It was plain and simple, like everything else in the White Tower apparently, and contained only a few evergreen bushes set against stone.
“This is the female novice well,” Candance Sedai continued, “now that we have men among the White Tower there is a separate male novice well on the other side of my novice. If you are found in the male novice well, or a male is found with you in the female novice well, you will be punished severely. It has not happened yet, but I am waiting for the first to be made an example out of. Do you both understand?”
“Yes, Candance Sedai,” they both chimed identically. Miranna shot a look at Zerese out of the corner of her eye, wondering if the other girl was thinking the same as her. Just when she had begun to think of the Mistress of Novices as a kind almost motherly woman, she had turned around and spoken to them with such severity and steel in her voice that Miranna had no trouble picturing the woman making an example out of the stupid girl who invited a male back to her rooms. Slowly – grudgingly – the hatred of this woman was being replaced with a sort of respect that was mixed well with dollops of fear. Maybe she could tread the line between severe and kindly perfectly; she seemed to have so far.
“I have assigned each of you a room in this corridor. As you’ve both been enrolled at the same time, your rooms will be next to each other. This one is your’s, Zerese, and this is your’s, Miranna.”
Zerese moved into her room and Miranna followed suite, twisting the handle of the door that Candance had pointed at and moving into her room. As she walked inside the room, the idea of the White Tower being plain and simple was blown away as she saw how stark her new room was going to be. There was a small bed that was posted up next to the wall, the thin mattress obviously uncomfortable and old, with a single blanket folded neatly at the bottom that was the same colour as the small pillow neatly placed at the head of the bed.
The walls, white washed, had a few wooden pegs screwed into them and upon noticing that there was no cupboard, Miranna realised that they would be where she would hang her clothes. There was a small chest at the foot of her bed, but that was scarcely large enough to contain the few worldly possessions that she had brought with her to the White Tower. Across the room – if ‘across’ could be used to describe the few paces it would take from her to walk from one side of her room to the other – was a washstand set with a small, chipped bowl and matching pitcher. A small, spidery desk and chair as well as two shelves on the walls opposite the hooks finished the room off.
Miranna felt like she was about to bet set on by tears. There was no window, nothing that wasn’t white. The seemingly omnipotence of white was almost overbearing. Light, what was her life as a novice going to be like?
Moving back outside the room, Miranna wondered if Zerese was feeling as hopeless and upset as she was.
“Both of you are now expected to keep your rooms in the condition they are in today. Every day you will need to scrub the floor, dust the shelves and empty your washbasins. Someone will bring you candles, although I suggest using these wisely because they are in a limited supply for a novice. If you use them, you will empty the dish clean of wax after every usage. There are no locks on your door, I can come by at any time to inspect your room, if you are there or not, sleeping or not. This room is your new life now, girls, and everything that you keep within it will be kept clean.
“Any questions so far?”
In reply to Signing Your Name[show]/[hide]
The door that Miranna knocked on was plain and unadorned, she found it almost disappointing for the entrance into the office of the Mistress of Novices. From everything that Koralyn Sedai had said to her, this woman was the be all and end all of the White Tower – shouldn’t she deserve a door that depicted as much?
Upon hearing the voice commanding – because that what it was: the tone was commanding and possessed an authority not even Koralyn Sedai had – that they come in, Miranna, offering another smile of reassurance to Zerese, twisted the handle of the door and pushed it open, slowly moving in. She walked in hesitantly, checking over her shoulder to see that Zerese was following her. It annoyed her that she was so unsure of herself when confronting this Aes Sedai – what was the White Tower doing to her?
The office that they walked into was a large one, dominated by a large dark desk that sat opposite the door, and an old mirror that was hung on the wall. Miranna’s sight was caught by that for a moment as she wondered at its purpose; its large, golden frame was spotted and faded, and the glass that formed the mirror was beginning to shadow slightly with age. Everything in the office seemed to be old, but not necessarily in bad condition. Miranna was not sure why she would say it was old, because everything still seemed to be holding together fine, there was just an…antique air about this office that didn’t seem to come from the Mistress of Novices.
Candance Sedai was seated behind the large desk, quietly watching them as they moved into the office. Her features reminded Miranna slightly of the girl who was walking in behind her; the ageless face of an Aes Sedai was obvious and apparent, but Miranna also noticed the bold nose (although not as bold as Zerese’s) as well as the upturned eyes. The Mistress of Novices was the first Aes Sedai that Miranna had seen with grey in her hair; streaks of grey worked their way through the faded red, all of which was collected and pulled back into a tight bun. Her green eyes were silently studying them, until they fell on Eleria Sedai.
She seems a harsh woman, Miranna thought as the two Aes Sedai exchanged pleasantries. She met Zerese’s eye and both shared a small smile as they stood their silently, waiting for the Aes Sedai to come back to them.
“And you’ve returned with two girls for the novice books?”
At the mention of her and Zerese, Miranna drew her gaze back to the two Aes Sedai, neither of who were looking at them. Unbelievable! she thought angrily, they’re talking about us as if we aren’t even here! Light!
“I can only claim one of them, the other literally ran straight into us on our way here, obviously eager to have her name written down in the book and to have her life in the whites begin.”
Miranna felt her temper flair as Eleria Sedai pointed at Zerese and dismissed her so casually. Light, who did the woman think she was? Putting a hand to her cheek, Miranna was horrified to find that she was blushing at Eleria Sedai’s words, and quickly moved her hands back from her face to her waist, clenching them together tightly until her knuckles turned white, so that she could hold onto her anger.
“Who found you, child?”
“Koralyn Sedai.”
Miranna’s reply was short and she made a point of not adding on any honorific title that Koralyn Sedai had begun to train her two. The Aes Sedai could not speak so about her – especially in front of her – then expect her to follow her orders like a little girl! Light, she wasn’t on her mother’s apron strings anymore.
“You are to be a novice, child, and when you address an Aes Sedai who will address her with her name and the honorific ‘Sedai’ or simply as ‘Aes Sedai’. It would do you well to learn this rule quickly, my daughter, lest you spent more time in this office than you would be comfortable with.”
The Mistress of Novice’s upbraiding was sharp and expected, although Miranna had half been expecting to be bent over the desk as Koralyn Sedai had often said that she would be. She kept her eyes down and did not look the woman in the eyes – she would become more angry at that, Miranna was sure – and just continued to stand there, surprised that she wasn’t being beaten. Maybe the Mistress of Novices was not as bad as she had been told.
“Well, let’s start with you,” the Mistress of Novices said, pointing at Zerese, “I’ll need your name, age and where you’re from. I’ll be able to write this all down in the novice book and then we can get you enrolled.”
After the girl was finished, Candance looked up at Miranna and then motioned her forward. Miranna moved forward and sat down across the desk from the Mistress of Novices, now eyeing the woman warily as she pulled a book across the desk, picking up her quill to begin writing in it.
“Your name, child?” the Aes Sedai asked, looking up at her with a questioning look on his face.
“I…I could write it….” Miranna said, a raised eyebrow from Candance Sedai making her quickly add, “Candance Sedai.”
“Well I know that you can write, child – your name at least – but I prefer not to let girls messy up my book with their illegible scrawl. Now, your name.”
“Miranna Aedori, Aes Sedai,” she replied, meekly.
“And how old are you?”
“Fifteen summers, Aes Sedai.”
“Fiery for fifteen,” Eleria Sedai muttered dryly.
“And where were you born?”
“Shol Arbela, Aes Sedai.” Miranna settled herself for repetition, feeling that it was as close to rebellion as she dared.
“And now I need you to sign your mark here.”
Miranna quickly did so with a flourish, and then handed the book back to the Mistress of Novices.
“Wonderful, thank you child.”
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Replies to Living Quarters
- Rebirth — Novice Miranna Aedori, Fri, Sep 3, 2010 23:26 pm
