It was an accident! (Attn: Veria)

[bcxanth]

Dre walked through the library, a scrap of parchment clutched in her hand. She hadn't even had her first classes learning to touch Saidar yet but she already had a research paper to write on the theory.  She searched through the stacks for what seemed like hours and couldn't find the book in question. Finally she decided she needed some help.  Looking back toward the front of the library she found a pretty red-haired Accepted sorting through books on a cart. She had an annoyed look on her face, but Dre needed the help so she had to ask.

 

"Excuse me," said in a shy voice, ducking her head to hide her face in her hair. "My name is An'drea and I was wondering if you could help me find a book for an essay I have to write. It's called "The Power and the Wheel" by Coriann de'Fabre.  I was told it should be in the stacks, but I can't find it."

 

The Accepted stared at her for a moment as if Dre had interrupted her in something important. Finally she replied with a curt "Follow me," and lead Dre back into the stacks.  After a few minutes she stopped in front of a tall stack and pointed at the fifth shelf up.

 

"It's up there, but don't expect me to fetch it for you.  Grab that ladder over there. I'll hold it while you climb up."

 

Dre mumbled her thanks and fetched the ladder over to the shelf.  AS she climbed up she began to tremble. She'd never been comfortable with heights, and combined with the Accepted's unfriendly attitude Dre felt as if things couldn't be worse.  Finally she reached the shelf the woman had indicated and began to look through the books.  As she reached to pull back a particularly large one in order to read the title, the Accepted shouted out "Be careful not to damage the books!"

 

Dre jumped with surprise, pulling the book harder then she had meant. The book slipped from her fingers to tumble toward the ground below, and three or four other books that had been nearby followed after. Dre gave out a scream of warning and watched helplessly as they fell.

 

OOC: I'll leave you to decide f Veria gets hurt or not. :)  Maybe she's cranky because Kopair is gone on his training excersize right now and she misses him? ;)

[Guest nephitess]

IC:  Veria pushed some stray hairs out of her face as she looked down the line of book numbers she was reviewing. She had a scowl on her face because she could not find the book she was after. Milena Sedai wanted a certain book and the sister was convinced it was in the library. Veria shook her head in frustration because she knew the book was not there and someone else had it. Maybe it would be on the returns cart??

 

Going over to the said cart she started to look through the random books. History of battle weaves, Dragon Prophecies, Exports and imports of Andor and the next one raised her eyebrows….A lover’s story???

 

‘What sister was readying that…probably the same green who took out the battle weaves book’ she thought

 

"Excuse me," Said a quiet voice….And apparently without a face. The figure before her had a voice but so much hair was covering her face that Veria could not see it.

 

"My name is An'drea and I was wondering if you could help me find a book for an essay I have to write. It's called "The Power and the Wheel" by Coriann de'Fabre.  I was told it should be in the stacks, but I can't find it."

 

The child needed some backbone, with an impatient look she thought

 

‘She must be new.’

 

“Child stand straight and show me your face.”

 

The child stood stiffly and pushed the hair out of her face. Veria appraised the girl and was satisfied.

 

“You are looking for a book that I used to use, I know where it is.”

 

With a curt nod Veria strode in the direction of the requested book.  Looking at the numbers on the side of the shelves Veria found the right area. Pointing up to the fifth shelf Veria said…

 

"It's up there, but don't expect me to fetch it for you.  Grab that ladder over there. I'll hold it while you climb up."

 

The child mumbled something under her breath but Veria ignored it. Once the novice was in place and climbing up the ladder Veria held it for her.  Veria noticed the girl wavered a little as she climbed to the fifth shelf.

 

‘I hope she does not fall.’ Veria thought with a sigh

 

The child started to pull at the spines of the books looking for the titles. Veria knew these books and if this girl pulled on them to hard she would create more work for Veria.

 

With a loud whisper Veria called up the ladder….

 

"Be careful not to damage the books!"

 

The girl was skittish to it seems, for when Veria called up to her she jumped. Then it happened.  As the child jumped she also yanked on a few books and they fell. Veria tried to cover her head as the tomes fell on her but she was hit on the head anyway. 

 

After recovering from the shock of books falling on her Veria realized she let the ladder go. Then she heard it….a loud thump. Scrunching her eyes tight for a moment she pleads to the light….

 

‘Please no, please no…..’

 

Opening her eyes, she saw what she dreaded….the whole shelf had come down because of the girl’s weight. When Veria let go of the ladder, she girl lost balance and grabbed the old wooden shelving. Now before her eyes was a pile of books, one dirty novice and surely a gaggle of sister coming to see what happened. Could this day be any more annoying!!!

 

Picking the girl up she said…

 

“Get up child…don’t just sit there!  Start stacking the books up while I placate the sisters.”

 

Just as she said this, Veria could here multiple foot step come their way and soft voices. Veria went to head them off and left the girl standing there.

 

OOC: HEHE :)

[bcxanth]

OOC: You are so evil. :P  I'm heading hoem from work early, so a short post for now.  You know I'll be around tonight though. :)

 

IC:

 

As Dre watched the books fall and hit the Accepted she felt the ladder sway. With a squeek she reached out to try and break her fall by grabbing hold of the shelf, but it didn't help. The floor rushed up to meet her and with a painful thump she hit the ground as more books fell around her.

 

“Get up child…don’t just sit there!  Start stacking the books up while I placate the sisters.”

 

The Accepted pulled Dre to her feet with a scowl and then ran off to meet a group of three Brown Sisters that had appeared at the end of the row, all looking as if soemone had kicked their first born child. Dre gave another squeek of terror, and despite the pain and bruises that would probably last for weeks, Dre scrambled to start piling the books up.

[Guest nephitess]

IC: After Veria explained the situation to the sisters and convinced them not to take a price out the novices hide, she went back to the girl. Coming close to the girl she saw that the creature was trembling. Veria felt for her…if she was truly new her whole life had been turned upside down and inside out. Well the girl was just going to have to learn to control herself.

 

“Child…you have about 2 minutes to get this cleaned up. When you are done, you will report to me down stairs!”

 

And with that she stomped off.

 

[bcxanth]

“Child…you have about 2 minutes to get this cleaned up. When you are done, you will report to me down stairs!”

 

Dre watched the Accepted stomp away without a sound. She didn't understand. She started out just looking for a book, made one simple mistake, and now she was bruised and had to pick up the mess herself. She bristled slightly at the unfairness of it all, then sighed and gave it up. There was no use getting upset.

 

Working quickly she got the books arranged in a neat stack and cleaned up any loose pages, putting them with the books for the librarians to repair. Looking around to make sure she didn't miss anything, she dusted off her dress and searched out the Accepted.  After a few minutes she finally found her waiting and still looking irritated.

 

"I did as you asked Accepted and straigthened up the mess. I'm so sorry for dropping the books on you and making a mess. It truly was an accident."

[Guest nephitess]

IC: Veria sat at her desk and reviewed her notes from her Law and the world class. She had never been overly interested in the law but made sure she look some of those classes just so she could be knowledgeable about it. She was engrossed in her reading when a voice interrupted her.

 

"I did as you asked Accepted and straightened up the mess. I'm so sorry for dropping the books on you and making a mess. It truly was an accident."

 

Looking up with an irritated look, she saw the novice that caused the ruckus and damage to the shelves. It would be a miracle if the books were not damaged. Looking at the child she gave her a look that would have bored through a wall if she wished it.

 

“Child, do you know where you are?”

 

The girl nodded in the affirmative with eyes going wide.

 

“Then you know that this is a quiet and sacred place. Why have you caused such a fuss around this sacred place? Do you know I can have you banned from here? I will have you banned from here and then you can see how easy it is to do your studies!”

 

The horror on the novices face was very amusing. With a nod Veria was satisfied that the girl understood.

 

“Now I do not have time to baby-sit…but you will go thorough all those books that you pulled of the shelves. You will then fix any that were broken and re shelve them. After that you will come back to me…maybe then I’ll have more for you to do.”

 

[bcxanth]

Dre was too upset to reply in words, so she simply curtsied and rushed out of the room.  Soon she was back at the scene of her disaster and staring at the pile of books.

 

"Repair the damaged ones?" she asked of herself. "How am I supposed to do that?"

 

With a sigh she slowly began taking the books up the ladder one at a time to restack them, having to go very carefully as she had to climb one-handed with nobody holding the ladder for her. Finally after nearly 20 minutes she got all the undamaged books up, and was left with three books, each of which seemed to have lost a couple of pages each.  Sitting down with the books and loose pages she slowly worked through each of them until she was able to figure out where they all went.

 

At this point though, she was stumped. How was she supposed to attach the pages?  She was no book binder, and had never even scene it done. She'd heard once that sometimes they actually sewed the pages together, but even so Dre had never been good at sewing.  She tried just placing the pages in their correct places and shutting the book, but no matter how carefully she shut it the pages still poked out a little, making it obvious they were loose.

 

She sighed again in frustration as she thought on the problem. She felt sure that if she was far enough along she be able to use the Power to do this, but that was far beyond her. Finally she could think of no alternative. If she got in even more trouble, so be it. At least she knew she was trying her best.  Carefully gathering up the three books and their loose pages, she went back to where the Accepted was working.

 

"Excuse me Accepted," she said quietly, trying not to show her fear. This was all so unfair! "I put all the books back that I could. But these three lost pages." She laid the three books out on the desk, and explained which pages went to which book, and where. "I would fix them, but I don't know how, and decided it would be better to face further punishement and be honest then try and fix them without knowing how and maybe make things worse."

 

She stepped back and folded her hands behind her desk, waiting calmly for the Accepted to reply. Dre had come to the point where she was so scared and upset at the feeling that she'd come out on the other side into an uneasy calm.

[Guest nephitess]

IC: "Excuse me Accepted," A quite voice spoke from the end of the table. Veria looked up from her tablet and sighed. She had almost forgotten the girl.

 

"I put all the books back that I could. But these three lost pages." The child said  as she laid three books out on the desk, and explained which pages went to which book, and where. "I would fix them, but I don't know how, and decided it would be better to face further punishment and be honest then try and fix them without knowing how and maybe make things worse."

 

The child spoke well and with maturity that surprised Veria. Maybe she was not giving this novice an honest chance. Standing up Veria looked at the dark haired girl. Veria decided she would give her a better chance…

 

“You have been mature and patient…thank you. I just realized that I have been taking out my frustrations on you. Can you forgive me?”

 

The girl nodded and smiled underneath her hair. With a wink and smile…Veria instructed the novice to bring the books.Veria lead the girl to the room where there where supplies for fixing books. As Veria demonstrated to the child how to glue the books spine back together She asked…

 

“What is your name and where do you come from??”

 

[bcxanth]

Dre smiled as she accepted the apology. She felt that things were finally going right in this messed up situation.

 

“What is your name and where do you come from??”

 

Dre looked up at this question. She must have already forgot my name. Well, who can blame her? she thought to herself.

 

"My name is An'drea Tior, but my firnds call me Dre.  I'm from Kandor and just arrived here in the Tower less then a week ago." As she helped the Accepted fix the last page, she couldn't help but ask. "So what is going to happen to me now? I caused you a great deal of trouble, and caused damage to some valuable books."

[Guest nephitess]

Seeing the look on the child's face when she asked her name was distressing. This child had no confidence at all.

 

My name is An'drea Tior, but my firnds call me Dre.  I'm from Kandor and just arrived here in the Tower less then a week ago."

 

"well, Dre.. I am Zeveria.." Veria said in voice she hoped was comforting. It was truly hard for her to be in this mood...Veria was usually a kind hearted person. "I hope you can someday call me friend. Only a week huh? That is new...As to what will become of you for the disaster that happened...well it was partly my fault. you have claened up and we have mended to book. How about you take these books back and dust 5 shelves in either direction of the shelf this book belongs on. They need to be cleaned anyway."

 

Reaching out her hand Veria pushed the hair out of the girls face. Dea hid behind her hair to much.

 

"You know...you should show your face more, you have pretty eyes...now go!" with that she smiled and shoowed the girl to her chore.

 

 

[bcxanth]

Dre blushed at the comment about her eyes. But when she was dismissed, she rushed out like she'd been told. This had been a very strange experience, and she didn't know what to make of it all.  One thing was for sure though, she was never climbing any ladders in the library again if she could avoid it.

 

Arriving back at the site of the disaster she quickly returned the last book to it's shelf. Then fetching cleaning supplies that she'd seen in a nearby closet she began the job of dusting the shelves.  She climbed the ladder because she had to, but in her mind she began to envision a library full of ladders with safety robes to strap on the climber.

 

The work was slow, and slower still because of hos afraid she was of messing up again, but she was determined to finish.

[Guest nephitess]

IC: AS the girl left, Veria watched her retreating form. With a sigh, Veria looked away. She regretted the way she had treated her. She did not know why she was in a truly bad mood today. It could have been the lack of sleep, the pressure to get her assignments done. Maybe it was because she had not seen Kopair in weeks.

 

He was off with his mentor learning about wilderness survival and training in his weapons. A flash of jealously hit her and she grimaced. Leaning on her elbow, Veria gazed out to the skylight nearest her. The day was sunny and fresh, not a day to be stuck inside and sulking over something as silly as not seeing her beau. Sitting there she smiled and her eyelids closed in the pleasant dreamy way……

 

She was sitting there in the ogier grove in Kopair’s special place. She was plucking the grass around her tucked in feet. Veria ran her hands along her legs the feeling of leather was wonderful. Her shirt yellow today and done up just enough to stay closed. Seeing the position of the sun she embraced to source….She and Kopair always played this game.

 

A minute later she heard a small movement to her left. She waited a few moments longer until she was sure he was close enough. Turning quickly she caught him in a weave of air and turned him upside down….pulling the weave closer to her..She winked and said…

 

“You know..Liitha needs to whip you into shape…”

Taking his head in to her hands she kissed him and let him down. It was then that he took her in his arms and started to kiss her. His hands were running along her back and his lips her making a trail down her neck……..

 

“Accepted?”

 

Veria jumped and a stopped a scream that wanted to leave her throat.  Looking at who spoke Veria almost laughed. It was An’drea.

 

“So you are done?” Veria asked trying to mask her disappointment of having her day dream broken “That is good. Well you are done then…if you have class or assignments to do I suggest you do them.”

 

“Accepted Zeveria?” said a jolly voice behind her….

 

It was the Mistress of Novices and she had a young girl in tow.  Darienna Sedai knew her to well to be able to find her here. Veria grinned and stood with a curtsy. Giving An’drea a nudge she followed Veria’s example.

 

“How may I be of assistance Darienna Sedai?”

 

ooc: ok continued on the intro thread...