There was an exacting quality to the Mistress of Novices' attire this day, and there was every day. It went without saying that Elia Sedai was one of those women who made themselves look elegant. Not because the world wanted to see Aes Sedai as the model of grace and perfection, but because she knew she was the embodiment of grace and perfection. She had very few public enemies, and even those were just people she had rubbed the wrong way from a sharp word spoken too loudly. Most people liked Elia well enough, although no-one could really say that they aspired to be like her.
Flame red hair worn loose spilled gracefully around her round shoulders. Moonstones sat in her hair, connected by fine chains of gold. A glass ornament of a rose in full bloom was positioned just so amongst the mesh of gems, her newest acquisition to her collection of jewellery and accessories. Her mint green dress, decorated with vinework embroidery around the cuffs and waist, had been altered for her increased girth. Somehow managing novices and Accepted all day and night had resulted in an expanding waistline.
The same carefulness in her appearance extended to her duties as well. She knew where each of her charges would be at any given moment, so long as they were not up to any antics. As a novice, and as Accepted, Elia had been a model student. She understood why some of the children wanted to get up to mischief, but she did also wish they would not. It was bothersome, but obstacles that came before the elder Darrow did tend to get smoothed out quite nicely.
The second bell after High marked the end of chores, with Accepted going to their personal studies, whereas novices were allowed a free hour. The gardens looked very clean and tidy, with freshly swept paths, and a few of those gifted in Plantweaving tending to the flora. She moved beyond various benches and monuments -- including the one marking a triumph and failure -- until her malachite glare settled upon a girl in novice whites.
Elia knew about the lands from the Aryth Ocean to the Spine of the World, and a little that lay beyond that, but the islands to the south were a vast unknown. Velvaen Tamaril, a short woman with a harsh face, was from Tremalking. One of the Amayar. That was about the extent of her knowledge, not that she would admit ignorance to anyone. Far too early days to be certain of anything, but the girl would probably go with the Browns or the Greys. She had that vacantness Browns often did in her large eyes.
No matter what thoughts crossed the Indigo sister's mind, Elia made a beauteous smile that warmed her whole visage, and spoke lightly. "Velvaen, child? Come with me please. Just place that rake anywhere, one of the servants shall collect it." She made an offhanded gesture; she didn't care where the rake rested.
The Mistress of Novices waited for the novice to do as instructed before starting off in the opposite direction -- the way she had come -- at a slow walk. "Tell me child, how are you finding it here, now that you've had a little time to settle in?" It was important that the novices did get settled into their new lives here, regardless of the circumstances of their admission. She did not have the time nor patience for another Sabine ni Hayadan t'Masin, the 'eternal' novice, or Cassandyra Majere, although that girl came with a literal family of issues. Both noblewomen. A coincidence? She brushed the thought aside as she may brush off a biteme. "I believe you encountered my niece earlier. A precocious child; I don't know how my brother handles her. I hope she wasn't too much of a distraction." Malachite eyes tightened slightly. She was both interested in how Kaira was developing -- her fondness for the girl was far deeper than she'd expected, even as her aunt -- and to see if Velvaen was going to be one of the novices she needed to keep on a tighter rein.
Flame red hair worn loose spilled gracefully around her round shoulders. Moonstones sat in her hair, connected by fine chains of gold. A glass ornament of a rose in full bloom was positioned just so amongst the mesh of gems, her newest acquisition to her collection of jewellery and accessories. Her mint green dress, decorated with vinework embroidery around the cuffs and waist, had been altered for her increased girth. Somehow managing novices and Accepted all day and night had resulted in an expanding waistline.
The same carefulness in her appearance extended to her duties as well. She knew where each of her charges would be at any given moment, so long as they were not up to any antics. As a novice, and as Accepted, Elia had been a model student. She understood why some of the children wanted to get up to mischief, but she did also wish they would not. It was bothersome, but obstacles that came before the elder Darrow did tend to get smoothed out quite nicely.
The second bell after High marked the end of chores, with Accepted going to their personal studies, whereas novices were allowed a free hour. The gardens looked very clean and tidy, with freshly swept paths, and a few of those gifted in Plantweaving tending to the flora. She moved beyond various benches and monuments -- including the one marking a triumph and failure -- until her malachite glare settled upon a girl in novice whites.
Elia knew about the lands from the Aryth Ocean to the Spine of the World, and a little that lay beyond that, but the islands to the south were a vast unknown. Velvaen Tamaril, a short woman with a harsh face, was from Tremalking. One of the Amayar. That was about the extent of her knowledge, not that she would admit ignorance to anyone. Far too early days to be certain of anything, but the girl would probably go with the Browns or the Greys. She had that vacantness Browns often did in her large eyes.
No matter what thoughts crossed the Indigo sister's mind, Elia made a beauteous smile that warmed her whole visage, and spoke lightly. "Velvaen, child? Come with me please. Just place that rake anywhere, one of the servants shall collect it." She made an offhanded gesture; she didn't care where the rake rested.
The Mistress of Novices waited for the novice to do as instructed before starting off in the opposite direction -- the way she had come -- at a slow walk. "Tell me child, how are you finding it here, now that you've had a little time to settle in?" It was important that the novices did get settled into their new lives here, regardless of the circumstances of their admission. She did not have the time nor patience for another Sabine ni Hayadan t'Masin, the 'eternal' novice, or Cassandyra Majere, although that girl came with a literal family of issues. Both noblewomen. A coincidence? She brushed the thought aside as she may brush off a biteme. "I believe you encountered my niece earlier. A precocious child; I don't know how my brother handles her. I hope she wasn't too much of a distraction." Malachite eyes tightened slightly. She was both interested in how Kaira was developing -- her fondness for the girl was far deeper than she'd expected, even as her aunt -- and to see if Velvaen was going to be one of the novices she needed to keep on a tighter rein.
| Apologies for the long description of Miss Darrow. I always feel I need to give her vanity a voice. Are you still wanting a lesson in the One Power, or something else? I already note you're doing your One Power basics with Avyra, and I would hate to bore you with more of the same. |
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