The Grey Tower

“So, you do be sure about this, Valise Sedai?” Rossana asked, for what was probably the hundred and sixth time. She’d be tagging along behind the Aes Sedai through the streets of Illian for the past two days, still unable to comprehend how touching a box had marked her as a channeler. Not that she entirely minded – life away from Illian was something she’d dreamt about since she’d been a wee lass. But to have that decision taken away from her chafed. And since they were in a private room in an inn far nicer than any Rossana had even seen, let alone frequented, she felt freer to ask whatever came to mind.

The Brown sister, for her part, put up with the continuing disbelief far better than Rossana could have expected. The constant patter of questions “spoke of qualities the Brown Ajah appreciated”, and that seemed to please her. Rossana didn't have any clue why – she wasn’t even sure what Brown Ajah meant – but she was somewhat mollified to know that her natural inclination toward curiosity wouldn’t been seen as a negative by at least one Aes Sedai. From the way Valise spoke, however, Rossana suspected that not all denizens of Hama Valon were as patient.

“Beyond a doubt, child,” the Aes Sedai responded, a faint smile playing on her bow-shaped lips as she looked up from the papers she sorted. “Do you not remember the follow-up test I gave you?”

The Illianer frowned. “Staring at that flame that you did conjure from nothing? Aye, I remember, though it do no make any more sense to me than the box.” Channeling, and any knowledge of it, was such a foreign concept to the young woman that she couldn’t even think of more questions to ask. While Aes Sedai were not quite as unwelcome here as they were in some other places, they surely weren’t welcome, and Illianers preferred to act like they simply didn’t exist. “And you do be sure that Mistress Annica will no tell anyone where I be going?”

The worry that word would get back to the Perfumed Quarter must’ve been heavier in her voice than she’d wanted, because Valise set her papers aside with a sympathetic look and came to sit by Rossana on the room’s divan. “Your secret is safe. By my Oaths, I swear it.”

That still made no sense to Rossana, but in her state she pushed it aside. “How do ye know, Sedai? Annica was no cruel, but she was…” ‘Ambitious’ was the word that came to mind, but since her former employer and the Aes Sedai seemed to be friends, she thought more tact might be required. “Very by the book. Your lot – our lot,” she corrected with a sheepish, wincing grin, “do not be thought well of here. Will she keep quiet because it could make her look bad to be associated with us?”

Valise chuckled. “You might not know it yet, Rossana, but you’ve a knack for the Great Game already.” Rossana shrugged in agreement, wondering if all Aes Sedai talked in terms that she wouldn’t understand. “It’s not from fear but loyalty that Annica will remain quiet. She and I were Novices together at the Tower, and we’ve remained friends since then. She knows what it would be like for you and your family if word got out about you coming to Hama Valon.”

Rossana closed her gaping mouth, trying to picture Annica and herself in any situation that might be the same. “Wait – did you no say Novices are all about the same age?”

“Indeed they are.”

The Illianer nodded, trying to figure out how Valise and Annica could be remotely near the same age. She supposed it wasn’t important, but it did make her wonder more of what she was getting into.

“I’m nearly done here. Are you ready to leave, child?”

With a sigh, Rossana nodded. It was back to “child”, so noticed, and she guessed she’d have to get used to that from what Valise Sedai had said.

~*~

Rossana did her best not to scratch in the plain white dress she’d been given, but she didn’t quite succeed. There was one spot, right there along her side where the seam felt like it was sewn together with nettles instead of thread, which kept her twitching. It almost made her miss the uniform she’d had to wear in Mistress Annica’s service.

The room they said was hers was quite plain, as well, but certainly nicer than anyplace she’d lived in. Everything was tidy and in good repair. The walls looked like they’d been freshly washed. And the bed…well, she was used to a floor pallet, so she suspected she’d find an excuse to lay on the mattress every opportunity she got. In fact, the first thing she did was flop down on it to see how it compared to the beds in Annica’s manor house that she had most assuredly been not allowed on but managed to sneak a rest now and again.

The Novice who had shown her here, an older girl called Shalara, stood in the doorway with a disdainful look on her plain features. Shalara already wondered what haystack Rossana had fallen out of. When the Illianer had asked why there were boys around the Tower as well as women, the other Novice rolled her eyes with such exaggeration that Rossana half expected them to turn inside out. “The taint was cleansed,” Shalara had pronounced. “How could you not know that?”

Rather than be embarrassed, Rossana chose to flash a cheeky grin that showed off her ridiculous dimples. “Oh, I do be sorry. See, I were busy these last three years making a living doing scullery work. The ladies of Illian, they were no so interested in Things To Do With the One Power.” She added some silly hand gestures with that last bit, but Shalara was neither impressed nor amused.

Now, she just shook her head, tossing her limp ponytail from one shoulder to the other. “You have the rest of the day to yourself. You can look around, but just be warned that if you do, you’ll likely end up back in Illyria Sedai’s office anyway.” She shrugged, not caring what happened to Rossana, before leaving the new Novice to her own devices.

Well, Rossana knew full well that she would never survive from now – just past midday – until suppertime just hanging around in here. The Novice halls were empty for the most part, and she didn’t have anything in her room that might entertain her. So instead she retraced her path back from her room down to the main entranceway, where Valise Sedai had brought the gaping girl earlier that day. From there, she had access to the rest of the Tower’s grounds, and she wanted to see how far she could explore without leaving them.

It was becoming a regular state of affairs to find herself summoned to Illyria Sedai's office, and Liolet Belwhyn didn't like it one bit. She'd just found a comfortable spot by a Library window to read her purloined novel (which the Brown sisters would chide her about, but likely not too hard. They said they liked to "see a child reading" in one breath, then they complained about what she read with the next, it was enough to give a girl whiplash) when the novice came hurrying up to her, face red (probably from being called down for running.) Novices near Liolet tended to be miserable quite quickly, and this one wasn't going to be an exception. As she launched into her message without the proper curtsy, Liolet started totting up her punishments.

"Fine," she said, when the girl was done, "you're to report to the Kitchens for pot duty for forgetting to curtsy again, Medra. And I will check," she said, knowing she'd have to. Novices these days had no work ethic at all, and they were all mooning over the fences of the Warder Yards if they were anywhere to be found at all. That sort of thing hadn't happened when she was a girl - well. Yes it had, and to Liolet, too, but she was currently pretending it hadn't, because it made her feel better. Wrapped in her thoughts, which were mostly murky memories of her younger years, she walked the halls between the Library and the Mistress of Novices' office. Ignoring the curious glances from the girls on the unpadded and unforgiving straight-backed wooden benches - Accepted had to step much farther out of line to be sent here - she waited, arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

She was the next in line, no matter what the novices had done.

If she had been perturbed going in, she was positively grumpy coming out. Another novice, more hassle, and so soon after the last one! And this one was 'a most peculiar young thing,' which translated to 'wild and uncooperative,' which was basically every novice ever, in Liolet's opinion. The parting admonition, even couched as it was as a compliment, made Liolet even more surly. So Illyria Sedai expected that 'with your experience, she'll be a model novice quickly' did she? Why did she give out all the impossible tasks? Stomping along, making the bands on her skirt flounce along with every step, Liolet headed into the novice galleries. With luck, the chit was still in here, likely sobbing about being far from home in lionfish-infested waters.

Of course, she wasn't. Liolet ground her teeth at the sight of an empty whitewashed room. The midday meal wasn't for some time, so she wouldn't be in the dining hall. That left two places, really, and she'd know if there had been a new face in the Library. It got the Brown sisters (the ones who noticed things, like cobwebs in the corners or in their hair) into a tizzy, the poor, batty old dears. So the girl was outside. Being outside this time of year made Liolet's nose run and her eyes redden, and the thought made her (if it was possible) even more tetchy. Model novice! She might as well hog-tie the child and set her to a year of washing floors! Eyeing the massive sprawl of the Gardens, Liolet picked a direction.

A good two tick-marks later (although she didn't have a candle, the Tower's carillion kept very good time) she crossed her path and went the other way. Without a description, Liolet was forced to peer into every face over a white dress, and there were a great many of them (who would likely have a great many nightmares about furious Accepteds with interesting methods of murder on their minds.) At least the girl hadn't been mooning over the Warders in Training. There was that much to say about her. It seemed half of them wanted to bond the lot and the other half wanted to be one while still learning to use the One Power. Of course, that left girls like Liolet herself (uninterested, and happy letting someone else handle that bit) as a rather slim zero.

She could feel a sneeze coming on as she steamed her way through the paths, still examining faces. Her smarting eyes made her glance twice at the one she'd just passed - had she seen that one before? As she turned on her heel, heading back for a third glimpse, she sneezed.

Model novice. Flaming flowers. Stupid men who ran off after promising you the moon on a chain!

"You," she said, glaring into the novice's face with her reddening eyes and streaming nose. "You're coming with me."

She might as well get started, because from the looks of things, she had a job ahead of her that would make the Creator flinch.