Transcendance at the Farm

[Matalina]

The first few months in the Tower lead Kate to be sent to the farm. Between the pranks on her roommate and the sparring in the Warder's Yard and the numerous misdemeanors in classes Kate found herself at the Mistress of Novices wits end. Kate barely remembered the incidents except for the last, she'd sent a boy to the infirmary after sparring with him. Thankfully he was okay and it was only a mild injury, but Kate had freaked out over it. The Mistress of Novices sentenced Kate to a month on the farm to correct her behavior. So Kate sat in a horse drawn cart with supplies for the farm.

 

It was literally in the middle of nowhere, Kate should have been use to that by now, but the city life, even if there wasn't much of a life in the Tower made Kate happy. She liked having people around, even though the visions she had seemed to go haywire in the Tower with all the Aes Sedai. But Kate was learning to deal with that the more and more she stayed there. The farm was not her idea of fun, it had been how she grew up from pretty much day one, but she was glad to be in the big city with the hustle and bustle of the streets to cover up the hum of the birds and the crickets.

 

****

 

Day 5:

 

It had been five days since Kate arrived at the farm. It was hard work but not any harder than what she was use to on the ranch. But this wasn't nearly as fun as the ranch. Their schedule was set and things were done on time or you were switched. Kate had been switched several times for being a few minutes late in some taskes. But by day 5 she'd gotten the routine down and rushed from task to task with out a switch in the past 12 hours. At least those were all waking hours. Kate was proud that she'd managed that, but she also realized that she didn't want to be doing this the rest of her life either. She had to learn to use the One Power, she just had to, or the ranch would be all that she'd ever know. Kate cried herself to sleep that night, she was afraid she would miss her opportunity to be great.

 

****

 

Day 10:

 

A week in to her sentence and Kate was finding the right rhythm of things on the farm, but she spent her days dreaming of the Tower and praying to the Great Lord to help her find the means to getting at the One Power. She learned a bit about blocks while talking with some of the other Novices and Accepted and the rare Aes Sedai who had been sent to the farm as well. Kate did miss her roommate, it was lonely at night with no one to talk to, and even colder when you couldn't cuddle in one bed to stay warm in the cold nights.

 

Some Novices had pillow friends, but Kate didn't see her roommate that way, she was just a means to an end, and those nights it was a means to stay warm. She didn't know what her roommate thought of her, Kate wasn't sure it really mattered anyway.

 

****

 

Day 20:

 

More than half way through the sentence and Kate worked harder than she had ever before on the ranch. She knew that if she worked hard here they'd let her go and hopefully she'd not have to come back here ever again. But that also required Kate to make a change in her own life. To change the way she worked and the way she behaved. That was the hard part, Kate tried her best to act as though she were already an Aes Sedai, but they were so lofty and so cold hearted at times that Kate wasn't sure it was what she wanted to do. But those feelings didn't last long, she knew she wasn't the most liked person and people probably thought of her as cold hearted too. Kate knew her mother had been at times, but her mother was also very loving, well as loving as she could be, her mother was an odd duck to say the least. Kids learn from example. Kate knew she'd some bad habits, but she also knew she had to make things work or they were going to kick her out of the White Tower before she even got Accepted. Kate vowed to herself to not let that happen. She would be Aes Sedai!

 

****

 

Day 30:

 

Kate knew that today was her last day on the farm. It was the last day she had to prove to those here that she was rehabilitated. Kate pushed herself to the point of exhaustion, but she knew that she would make it back to the Tower, she knew that she would become Aes Sedai. She had to make changes, she knew she could do it. She had managed to do the tasks on the farm, she knew she could be Aes Sedai with a little help.

 

Kate spent most of the remainder of the last night on the farm making a plan of action. One of which was to be nicer to her roommate, they had to live together, might as well treat her with respect and try to become friends. Kate also set out a path to break her block. The first was to find someone to teach her on a one and one basis, someone that could spend time with her, and someone that wouldn't push her too hard in the wrong direction, someone that could help and not hinder her. Kate wasn't sure she'd find someone like that, but Kate knew she had to find someone, she'd start looking as soon as she got back to the Tower.

 

Kate was ready to get going and set herself on the right path. She would do it, she would succeed and she would do it with grace and dignity.