A Fateful Meeting

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OOC: I had originally planned this as a homesickness RP, and it just turned out into a chore.

 

I hope I did this right. Please let me know if I didn’t!

 

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IC:

 

The barest hint of sun began to filter through the tall windows, golden rays highlighting dust particles that lazily floated around the air. By the direction of the sun and where she was in the tower, it was later in the morning than Miahna had thought. Not that she’d had much time to breathe, let alone think. Tamila Sedai had arrived earlier in the day and plucked her from the hallway. She’d been on her way to study in the library; there was a particularly brutal exam coming up on the history of the White Tower. However, the Green had had other ideas. “I do no forget a face,” the Aes Sedai had said, “and I see by your dress that you do still be novice.” Mimi had been hard pressed not to make a face at that. Some women were novices for 10 years or more – she had only been one for three so far, of course she was still in white! “Come with me child. I have lots to do and very little time to do it in.”

 

Because I don’t have anything better to do and there aren’t a million servants that could help you. Keeping her grumbling to herself, Miahna followed the Illian-born Sister. A few years in the Tower had altered her personality slightly. She was just as blunt as ever, but now she kept it almost all to herself. A few visits to the Mistress of Novices would do that to a woman. She knew that Valeri Sedai knew Miahna didn’t hurt others feelings on purpose, but that didn’t stop her from fitting the punishment with the crime. The Arafellin rubbed her bottom for a moment in remembrance of her last visit. How humiliating it had been to be turned over Valeri’s knee and spanked as if she were six years old.

 

Walking through the Tower as if there were a fire, Tamila glided past Sisters, novices, and Accepted alike with barely a notice. She managed a slight nod for most Aes Sedai, though Miahna had no clue how the other women would have been able to tell unless they whipped their head around to follow the Green, which certainly did not happen. She looked like a woman on a mission and, Mimi supposed, she was just that. At least the novice did not have to run to keep up, her height and long legs afforded her to maintain dignity while clipping alongside the Aes Sedai. Come to think of it, how did Tamila Sedai maintain that serenity while practically running everyone else over? It must come with practice. The Arafellin though, stealing a glance at the woman next to her.

 

They soon arrived at what Miahna could only imagine were the doors to Tamila’s rooms. A beautiful dark wood was engraved with hundreds of tiny swords, each hilt with a different design. Opening them with ease, the Green strode in and walked to a pile in the middle of the floor. The girl in pure white hesitated between waiting to be asked in and following the Aes Sedai who obviously wanted her to do something. Deciding on halfway between the two choices, Miahna stepped over the door frame and walked a few steps into the room before clasping her hands and staring at the scene.

 

Tamila plucked at one of the dresses in the pile and made a noise with her mouth. “Child,” she beckoned, “I need these clean and repacked by morning. I do no plan to stay here long.” She grabbed a bag and a two hard cases from the side of a beautiful leather wrapped couch and handed them to Miahna. “You have permission to come and go in my apartments as you do need. I will no be here until very very late I believe.” The Aes Sedai seemed to almost grit her teeth as she said that, but Aes Sedai did not do that, so of course she actually did not. She looked from the clothes to the bags and then strode past Mimi toward the open doors.

 

Before she could stop herself, Miahna blurted out, “Don’t you have other dresses to take…Tamila Sedai?” She managed to add on the honorific at the end, despite the bluntness of her question. The Green stopped just outside the doors and turned back toward the outspoken novice. Her dark eyes flashed for a moment before she smiled a tiny smile.

 

“You do be lucky I like directness girl. I will forgive your question and rudeness if you do finish those before I return.” With that, the Sister turned on her heel and stalked back down the way they had come; her pace even brisker then before if that was possible. It was very curious indeed.

 

Of course Mimi hadn’t the time to dwell on the peculiar behavior of Aes Sedai. That would take much more time than she was ever granted. No, she had better get her bottom in gear if she was to finish all of this by morning. Looking at the pile, Miahna considered grabbing a bit and making her way down to the laundry rooms. She knew it wasn’t as proper to carry a load in her arms as it was in a basket, but she did not have a lot of time. Oh Light, if I don’t get it done by morning – whenever she considers morning – I’ll be in trouble for my Bloody mouth anyway, I might as well carry some down and make up the time. Agreeing with her own logic, the novice hefted a pile of dresses, undergarments, and who knew what else in her hands and made her way down to the laundry room.

 

The tall girl arrived at the laundry room a few moments later. She hadn’t been stopped by anyone on the way, so hopefully that meant she was in the clear. For the pile of clothes in her arms anyway. The rest of the night would tell whether she and her bottom would be making another appearance over Valeri’s knee. Surprisingly, the laundry room was as calm as the Telonne house after her siblings were down for the night. I guess it’s an odd time of day to do laundry? she questioned to herself as she walked over to a semi-secluded corner to begin separating Tamila’s clothing into dresses, undergarments, and extras, and then again into piles by color. It was a rare day that a novice didn’t have any laundry she was assigned, or any dresses of her own to do. Perhaps they are all in the library studying for the exam. Mimi thought petulantly for a half second before shaking herself out it. Thinking that way wasn’t going to get her anywhere. She ripped a piece of paper out of her class notebook and left a note for the clothes to be left alone until she returned. Grabbing a basket, Miahna made her way back to Tamila’s rooms and grabbed another pile.

 

Once she separated that out too, Miahna set to washing a few dresses at a time and then laying them out to dry. The first four went as smooth as the shaped stone she used as a paperweight. The fifth, however, provided a problem. There was a large brownish stain on the right side of the bodice. Grimacing, Miahna scrubbed some soap into it and laid it off to the side. Stains weren’t new to her, she’d raised five younger siblings – three of them boys – and stains tended to find their way into dresses, breeches, and shirts more often than one could count.

 

Wiping her hand across her brow, the novice grabbed the next set of dresses and continued on, and then on again. I can’t believe she travels with this many dresses! Mimi thought. Actually, she probably doesn’t…I wonder how long these have been waiting to be cleaned. The novice tsked her herself and kept washing.

 

Noise in the laundry room waxed and waned until it was perilously close to bedtime. Yawning, Miahna knuckled at her back and realized she hadn’t eaten dinner, nor asked permission of Valeri Sedai to be out of her room past curfew. Looking at the window and then back down to the pile of clothes, the Arafellin realized she would have to risk it. After all, the punishment for being out of bed late would be less than the punishment of being rude to an Aes Sedai, wouldn’t it? I’m trading a chicken for a rooster. she stated to herself, smiling slightly. Whether the smile was from actual amusement or tiredness Mimi didn’t know or care.

 

The undergarments were a regular joy after the dresses. Miahna carefully washed and laid the Aes Sedai’s delicates to dry before moving back to the stained dresses. Two of the stains came out rather quickly, hardly any elbow grease required. The last, however, was proving to be extra stubborn. The black stain had lightened, but it had also oozed up an inch on the royal blue fabric. Worse, it was silk. Groaning, Miahna checked on the other garments. They were all dry or working on it. This is going to take something special, she thought, tapping her lip in contemplation. Gazing around the laundry room, the Arafellin spotted just what she needed to hopefully get the stain out once and for all. Apparently someone else had the same experience with tough stains. Either that or a servant had left it in here by accident. In any case, it should solve her problem. She applied the barest hit of the liquid to the hem and added a bit of water.

 

It needed time to set up, so Mimi took those minutes to wash out the tub. A small layer of grime had appeared on around the rim and that would certainly not do. Next, she rinsed and dried the basket she had used to carry the dirty items down. Dust had settled into the little nooks and crannies of the basket and it could easily transfer to her freshly laundered clothes. When she had finished with the basket, Miahna turned back to the stain and scrubbed heartily with a brush. The Light be thanked that it started receding and then finally, with a careful application of added pressure, disappeared all together.

 

Gathering up the rest of the dry clothing, the novice carefully placed them in baskets and carried them upstairs. She put the formerly stained dress over a dummy in the laundry room to dry and took the straightening tools upstairs. How much easier this would be when she was Aes Sedai and had the ability to use the Power as she saw fit. Then again, why waste Saidar on cleaning a few clothes?

 

Unsurprisingly, Tamila’s quarters were sparsely decorated. It fit though – every piece seemingly had a reason to be there. A large dark desk sat to the side in the front room, the top bare save for a few sheets of paper and an inkwell. Moving over to the desk, Mimi was pleased that with just a glance down she could see that the pages were empty. She didn’t want to disturb the Green’s desk, but she didn’t have another flat surface. How else could she get it done and packed in the short amount of time she had left? At least with blank pages the Sister wouldn’t think Miahna was spying on her.

 

Working methodically, Mimi pressed the dresses until the creases looked sharp to the touch. She placed them tenderly in the hard case and folded the undergarments into the bag. Wiping her hand across her brow, she nearly sighed with relief. It was done and with not a moment to spare, it seemed. Weak sunlight caught her by surprise as she latched the hard cases and leaned on the back of a cushioned chair.

 

Her eyelids flickered closed for a few blissful moments before Mimi jerked herself awake. The last dress! It was still down in the laundry on a dummy. She had to force herself to move, Light but she was tired. She pushed off the chair to get some forward momentum and practically fell into the hall. Tamila Sedai could return at any moment. Chances were she would notice that one dress in so many was missing. Of course it was just as likely that she would and that would null the vocal agreement they had.

 

Her heart felt like it was going to pop out of her chest, beating at an incredibly fast pace. The noise sounded loud in her ears, and she glanced around as if others could hear it as well. It took every scrap of willpower she contained to not run to the laundry room. It was not proper to run in the Tower unless you were expressly ordered to do so. Unfortunately the Green’s orders hadn’t been that specific. She curtsied –properly- to every Sister she saw, her heart getting louder and faster with every delay. Please oh please let Tamila Sedai arrive later than she, and I, expect.

 

The novice nearly broke out into a run at the sight of the laundry room, but she managed to sustain the slow walking pace. Once in the room, though, she rushed like she was escaping a Trolloc to the dress dummy. Thankfully the dress was still there and just about dry. The pressing materials were still in the Green’s rooms, so Miahna flung the dress over her shoulder and made her way upstairs – at only a slightly faster pace than she had practiced on the way down.

 

At the sight of the empty rooms, Mimi almost broke out into tears. She quickly pressed the dress and put it into one of the hard cases. By the time she finished pressing the dress, it had dried. Like the others, Miahna folded it and placed it in one of the hard cases. Wiping her hand across her brow, the novice was unsurprised when it came back covered with sweat. Hastily she wiped it on the side of her dress. She’d had to change clothes anyway, her dress had become marred with travel dust and grime and other things that she had removed from the Green’s dresses.

 

Though the laundry and packing were finished, the Arafellin girl still needed to retidy Tamila’s desk. She grabbed all of the laundry implements and placed them in the basket. Wiping off the desk, Miahna reapplied the inkwell and sheets of paper. I think that’s how they were positioned. She was so tired that she nearly sat down in the gorgeous chair behind the desk. The plump forest green cushion looked as if it was calling out for her to sit on it. No! Mustn’t sit if not asked, she scolded herself. Walking over to a wall near the doors, Mimi stood as straight as she could manage and waited for the Green to return.

 

She hadn’t waited long. On the wall opposite where the novice was standing, there was an exquisite tapestry of an Aes Sedai and a Warder engaged in a fight against a sea of Trollocs. Mimi had decided to count the Trollocs depicted. She had barely gotten to twenty before Tamila Sedai pushed open the massive doors and tramped into the room. The Green looked irritated before she noticed the novice and visibly smoothed her features. No matter how many times she saw that, it still amazed Miahna that each of the Aes Sedai could do that.

 

Tamila looked from the girl in white to the cases and bag on the couch and back again. “Light child! I do no expect you to actually finish!" She walked over to the door and intercepted an Accepted that was walking through the Green quarters, toward the exit. “You!” she exclaimed at the woman, “I do need you to go and tell Valeri Sedai that this novice –“ she paused and looked back at Mimi, gesturing for her name.

 

“Miahna Telonne Aes Sedai.”

 

Tamila turned back to the novice. “-Miahna Telonne was in service of me throughout the night and she do need a reprieve of her early morning duties. Tell her I said she do earn it.” The Accepted nodded and with a curtsy to the Green she continued on her way. Mimi saw a momentary look of surprise on the older woman’s face as Tamila gave her message. She understood, she was rather confused – and grateful – herself. She straightened her back a little more and waited to be dismissed.

 

“Well! What do you be waiting for child?” the Green snapped, waving her hand at the open doors. Miahna jumped slightly at the loud tone and curtsied.

 

“Thank you Tamila Sedai.” Since the woman liked directness, the Arafellin didn’t add any of the flowery language that appealed to some other Aes Sedai. She left the room and found it equally as difficult to keep a walking pace as she made her way to her rooms. Without the adrenaline of Tamila’s pressing pace, she was lefting feeling hollow and aching. It was way past time for bed.

 

She walked into the novice quarters in a daze. Low conversations from her fellow novices filled the halls as they made their way to classes or chores, the Library, or elsewhere. Mimi waved halfheartedly at her friends as she made her way to her room. She opened the door and nearly tripped over the doorframe. An idyllic silence fell as she closed the door to her room. Hastily removing her shoes and her dress, Mimi fell onto the bed facefirst. Sleep came fast and hard and it was welcome.