Where's the Beer? (Janine's Arrival)

[Quibby]

Tar Valon. I made it, and my brothers haven't caught me yet! Janine Alastarn made her way through the streets of the city, her eyes wide with awe and greed. The city was so rich, so beautiful... so ripe for the picking. Janine's course shifted to the right, closing in on the vendor stands on that side of the street. Without slowing her pace, her hand darted out and seized an apple from a cart, and she was back into the middle of the street before anyone knew differently.

 

The little foray to the outside of the crowd had cost Janine, though. She suddenly heard raised voices behind her. Thinking for a moment that it was the treadesman from whom she'd liberated the apple, Janine glanced back just in time to duck the grasping hand of Yori, her older brother. Light, Deved will be nearby, too! Janine darted into the crowd, shoving men and women aside, rolling under a carriage, and finally dashing into an alley and through a gate, dodging the two guards with ease.

 

Janine found herself sitting behind a row of high hedges a few moments later, smoking a pipe and laughing quietly to herself. Wherever she was, it was definitely not a bad place. The gardens appeared to be immaculately kept by young girls in white dresses, with the occasional woman in a banded white dress appearing to supervise or give orders. "Odd," Janine muttered, "The only two men that I've seen were those two deadbeats at the gate."

 

Everything was white. The dresses, the wall behind her, the paving stones, all of it. Even that huge, cylindrical tower was white. Realization hit Janine like a ton of bricks. Light, I've broken into the grounds of the White Bloody Tower! I am in so much trouble if they catch me... The word 'if' brought some calm to her mind. No one could catch her, not even her brothers. Still smoking her pipe, Janine leaned back against the wall, content that nothing could catch her.

 

 

-Janine Alastarn

Soon-to-be Novice

[Lavinya]

Lavinya's shrewd eye roved over the two young novices before her, kneeling before the garden they tended. Finding the pair in the warders yards had provided her with opportunity to avoid more mundane tasks indoors as she oversaw the two at their chore. No doubt all three of them had a similar intent, to find suitable viewings, but Lavinya was Aes Sedai, and freer than the two children in white before her.

 

While the task she had set allowed her to bask in the day's warm sunlight, boredom quickly became a problem. Idly she pluck a rose from the bench beside her, her long pale fingers caressing the scarlet petals. Embracing the source, Lavinya sighed softly, as the familiar thrill flooded her, her senses suddenly sharper, colours brighter, scents clearer. Catching something on the breeze, she whirled her head in that direction, all thoughts of the keeping weave she was going to weave forgotton. Was that tabacc she could smell?

 

Taking a step forward she nodded to herself. Indeed it was. Perhaps a Tower Guard or a warder was taking some leisure time in the garden. Perhaps it was even one of those she favoured. Perhaps her boredom could be assuaged after all. "I will return to check on you soon. I trust you shan't slacken off." One haughty glare towards the novices, and Lavinya was following the faint scent of smoke on the breeze.

 

A small smile curved her lips as she contemplated who it could be, excitement causing her to increase her pace slightly as one hand patted her fiery red curls, ensuring they were still pinned elegantly at her nape, the other hand smoothing her silver skirts. Abruptly she halted, frowning. There was no man to be seen, instead a girl took her leasure by the wall. A wayward novice? Indeed, no novices were foolish enough to be seen in anything other than novice white.

 

Irritation furrowed her brow, at finding there was no man with which to entertain herself, and doubled that the girl she had come across was some waif-like outsider. Channelling Saidar, she reached out with a thread of air and quickly snatched the glowing pipe from her hand and guided it to her own as the girl's head quickly snapped up towards her. Lavinya fixed her with a cold glare, the very picture of an Aes Sedai in her expensively embroidered gown, her features smooth and stony.

 

"I sincerely hope, for your sake child, that you are merely lost." Lavinya's words were clipped, as she stressed the word child. This chit was in her domain now. "Though how you would manage to become so lost you make it past the guards at the gate is a mystery to me." Sarcasm threaded through her tone as she lifted a delicately arched brow, putting out the pipe with a thread of water, before pocketing it. She could use it herself later.

 

"I am in the mood for a tale - why don't you tell me who you are and why you are in the Tower Gardens? Make it interesting and perhaps I won't turn you over to the guard?" Lifting her chin, Lavinya gazed at the girl and waited for a response to her demand.

[Quibby]

Janine knew that she was in trouble when she felt the pipe jerked from her hand. Her eyes followed it as it floated though the air- Blood and bloody ashes!- and landed in the hands of a woman that Janine would have called stunning had she not been glaring frostily at her. "I sincerely hope, for your sake child, that you are merely lost," the woman said, her words clipped and hard.

 

'Child?!' Any protests were left unspoken, though, as the woman continued. "Though how you would manage to become so lost you make it past the guards at the gate is a mystery to me." The sarcastic tone in the woman's voice was insulting! Woman, if you couldn't tie me in knots with that Power of yours... To make matters worse, the woman put her pipe in her pocket! Then, as if she hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, the woman said, "I am in the mood for a tale - why don't you tell me who you are and why you are in the Tower Gardens? Make it interesting and perhaps I won't turn you over to the guard?"

 

With a smug grin, Janine said, "Very well, I'll humor you for the time being, Aes Sedai." The last came out as if she were calling the woman's mother a prostitute. Without pausing to let the tone sink in, Janine continued. "If you absolutely must know, my name is Janine Alastarn. I'm here because of a small family tussle that could have very well gotten me kicked out of my home anyway. My brothers were sent to retrieve me, and I ducked into the first place that I thought would be decent, bypassing your rather pathetic guards and hiding back here until the coast was clear."

 

Janine cast a baleful eye around the rather lush and beautiful surroundings. "If I would have known that I'd be jumping into such a diseased rat-hole as this one, I'd have chosen a different spot." With a feigned innocence, Janine added, "Now, was my story satisfactory, you flaming, goat-kissing milksop?"

 

-Janine Alastarn

[Lavinya]

"Very well, I'll humor you for the time being, Aes Sedai."Lavinya bristled at the girls' tone. It had been a long time since anyone had even dared address her so...rudely. And those few who had dared had lived to regret it, as would this chit, regarldess who she was.

 

Lavinya barely held her anger in check as Janine continued, insulting the guards and the beautifully kept gardens. That, she could live with, but the insult to herself very nearly pushed her over the edge of her self control, her jaw clenching, on the verge of inflicting pain. She very much wanted to show Janine just why she was so feared among the novices and Accepted, why her name was often associated with a good tongue lashing, but instead, she retained her hold on the source and channelled thick threads of air, ensnaring the wretched girl firmly.

 

Her eyes were so dark they were almost black as she glared at the girl, her threads finding their mark and pinning the child's arms to her side, before another thread lifted her from the ground, shock clear on her face. Taking a small amount of satisfaction in the expression on Janine's face, Lavinya's words were like ice, the complete opposite of the fire that raged in her eyes. "You may have gotten away with such impertinence at home child, but here you are out of your element.

 

"Your foolish prattling may lead some to believe you are tough, but I have no doubt a coward lurks behind your bravado." Lavinya raised a brow, taking in the faint pallor of Janine's skin, evidence of her shock, a result of being unable to move, likely. "It is little wonder you were going to be kicked out of home. Indeed, I'd be surprised if your brothers didn't also want to teach you a lesson in manners. Perhaps I should turn you over to them?" Lavinya smiled wolfishly at her prey, though the action did nothing to soften her features.

 

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn you over to your family by the ear. Or perhaps I should turn you over to the guard instead. My treatment of you would be considered mild by their standards, if they were to find out you were trespassing and showing such disprespect to an Aes Sedai." Slowly she tempered her anger, smugness replacing the tension in her jaw. She was very much in control of the situation, just as she preferred it.

[Quibby]

Janine's smug grin didn't last for long. The woman's eyes grew dark, and an unseen force wrapped around Janine's arms and pinned them to her sides. The grin quickly fanished, becoming fear that was bordering on hysteria. As she felt herself leaving the ground, Janine struggled desperately to break free of the bonds that held her. All she succeeded in doing was becoming tired and scared.

 

The Aes Sedai spoke, cold words underscored by fiery eyes: "You may have gotten away with such impertinence at home child, but here you are out of your element. Your foolish prattling may lead some to believe you are tough, but I have no doubt a coward lurks behind your bravado." Janine could feel the color fade from her face, her hysterics replaced by a cold dread of what this woman could do to her. "It is little wonder you were going to be kicked out of home. Indeed, I'd be surprised if your brothers didn't also want to teach you a lesson in manners. Perhaps I should turn you over to them?"

 

The smile on the Aes Sedai's face was simply terrifying. She looked as if she were some predator... and Janine was her prey. Janine could feel herself trembling, yet she didn't even have the ability to attempt to still herself. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn you over to your family by the ear. Or perhaps I should turn you over to the guard instead. My treatment of you would be considered mild by their standards, if they were to find out you were trespassing and showing such disprespect to an Aes Sedai."

 

The last straw was enough to break what little remained of Janine's resistance. She slumped forward, her body quivering with her terrified sobs. Between sobs, she choked out, "Don't... don't turn me over to the... the guards, please! Anything but that! Please!" Her words became unintelligiable through her weeping. In what little rationality remained, Janine knew that she had met her match. She was stuck, and there was no getting away this time.

 

The thought was not comforting, in the least.

 

-Janine

Owned

[Lavinya]

"Don't... don't turn me over to the... the guards, please! Anything but that! Please!"Lavinya watched disgustedly as the girl slumped against the invisible bonds, the fight gone as quickly as it had come. She had achieved her goal of intimidation, yes, but she hadn't expected it to be so easy.

 

Lowering the girl, she released the bonds from around her, though she did not release her hold on Saidar. She eyed the sobbing mess silently for a moment, her lips compressed in a thin line. With a loud sigh, she pulled a white handkerchief from her pocket and thrust it into Janine's hand. "Here, pull yourself together child." She said in clipped tones.

 

What in the light was she going to do with the chit now? Her face remained smooth, impassive, as she waited for Janine to stop her snivelling. She had broken her false bravado, but now what? She was indeed a trespasser. Should she turn her out all the same? Or send her off with a warning not to return? What a bother.

 

Tapping her foot, Lavinya folded her arms beneath her breasts. "Well child, you still have not given me any idea what to do with you." She raised a brow at the handkerchief Janine offered her, making no move to take the sodden cloth. "Keep it." She managed, with a scornful look as the girl obediently tucked it away.

 

"Perhaps I will just send you on your way, past the guards...it would certainly be less bother on my part..." Lavinya mused, as though to herself, though she didn't miss the stiffening of the spine before her. "Unless you can come up with a suitable alternatice?" Once more her brow rose in question.

[Quibby]

Good, you still know how to grovel! a part of Janine sneered as she accepted the proffered handkerchief from the Aes Sedai. As she pulled herself together, Janine tried to figure out how the woman had broken her so easily when even her own father couldn't do the same. Probably some trick with her One Power, she thought miserably. There's no way that I can fight that; she'll just get to keep my pipe, then.

 

"Perhaps I will just send you on your way, past the guards...it would certainly be less bother on my part..." The fear and panic welled up in Janine again. I will not grovel again! she thought stubbornly, though her fear must have shown clearly on her face, accented by her still-red eyes. Light, this woman is cruel, Janine thought. The next words out of the woman's mouth brought a sudden glimmer to Janine's eyes and a mischievous grin to her face. "Unless you can come up with a suitable alternative?"

 

The woman had given Janine an opening, a chance. Her thoughts returned to her journey to Tar Valon, to some of the stray thoughts that had crossed her mind. Her mind focused on one in particular. "Umm... maybe there is a way, Aes Sedai." The twist of the word 'Aes Sedai' was one of irony. Had it only been moments before that she was ridiculing the woman? "I would be more than willing to stay here as an apprentice or whatever you women take; even the worst job here is better than what my family will do to me. Besides," Janine added, her mischievous smile broadening, "you still have my pipe, and I want it back."

 

The last words came from a face that did not fit the redness of Janine's eyes. If she goes for this, I swear that I'll make her life a living hell.

 

-Janine

[Lavinya]

"Umm... maybe there is a way, Aes Sedai." Lavinya's eyes danced with hidden amusement. How quickly the weak could be broken, and taught to dance. "I would be more than willing to stay here as an apprentice or whatever you women take; even the worst job here is better than what my family will do to me. Besides, you still have my pipe, and I want it back." It was laughable, this arrogant, uncouth child thinking she could possibly possess the ability to channel, let alone endure life at the White Tower.

 

"You believe you have what it takes, girl? You quail at my feet after only a brief encounter, how would you handle living under the shadow of the White Tower?" Lavinya's voice was tinged with amusement which did not reveal itself on her face. "Indeed, I will test you then, if merely to show you what a ludicrous notion you have."

 

Unclasping the necklace she wore, she held the clear red gem up in front of Janine. "Clear your thoughts, if there is anything in that head of yours, and focus on the gem. Don't think, just concentrate, there is nought but you and the gem." Lavinya droned, watching the gem intently for any flicker of light.

 

An age seemed to pass, and Lavinya's arm grew weary. Just as she was about to sentence Janine to a long term of servitude in the kitchen's, a brief light illuminated the gem. It was only a flicker, visible for a moment, but it had been there. Damn. Scowling, Lavinya looked silently at the gem, as though it had betrayed her, when an interesting thought came to her. She would have a lot more opportunity to see to this girl and her smart mouth should she ne a novice. Interesting indeed.

 

"Well child, it appears this is your lucky day after all." She mused, once more clasping the jewel around her neck. "You can channel after all, which means you have an appointment with the mistress of novices." She whirled, beckoning the girl to follow, as she set a brisk pace back through the gardens and into the tower, not giving Janine the chance to protest.

 

Through the twisted halls of the tower Lavinya ploughed, snapping at Janine when she did not keep up well enough with Lavinya's brisk pace. She paused before the Mistress of Novice's door and fixed Janine with a cool stare. "I suggest you find some manners quick before we enter, Faerzyne Sedai is not a woman to be trifled with." She ran her gaze up and down the girl once more, measuring her up. "Oh, and I'm keeping the pipe." She murmured with a barely contained smirk, before lifting a hand and knocking soundly on the door.

[Quibby]

Despite her dislike for the woman, Janine found the Aes Sedai's voice almost hypnotic as she focused on the ruby. Time passed, and the Aes Sedai looked as if she were about to give up on the whole idea. It was just in the nick of time that the ruby gave an inexplicable gleam, one that had come seemingly from within the gem. "Well, child, it appears this is your lucky day after all. You can channel after all, which means you have an appointment with the Mistress of Novices." Wait... what did she just say?! I can channel?! Oh Light!

 

The passage through the White Tower was anything but pleasant. The sheer beauty of the place, be it the masonry or the decor, drew Janine's eyes and caused her pace to slow. Of course, the bloody Aes Sedai couldn't let her take even a moment to admire. A harsh word would snap Janine out of her daze, and she would have to sprint to catch up with the woman.

 

Their journey terminated at a heavy wooden door. Again, the Aes Sedai addressed her: "I suggest you find some manners quick before we enter; Faerzyne Sedai is not a woman to be trifled with." Another measuring gaze, and the hateful woman added, "Oh, and I'm keeping the pipe."

 

"I understand, Aes Sedai," Janine said with an unnatural meekness heavily tinged with sarcasm. "I can be polite when I choose to be. And by the way, I will get that pipe back one way or another." The last sounded odd with Janine's false meekness. She would not have cared as much if she wasn't so nervous. This Faerzyne Sedai was going to be running her life for the forseeable future if her title meant anything, and Janine did not like the idea.

[Lavinya]

Whack! The sound of bells tinkled faintly, in contrast to the birch as it whistled through the air and connected with the desk with a loud thwap. The novice seated before the wooden desk jumped at the sound, her eyes wide with fear and trepidation. Faerzyne did not relish the task of punishing the wayward, despite what the girl’s believed. But it was a task she had to fulfil, nonetheless, and she always made certain to do a good job of it, lest she see the perpetrators again soon after their initial visit.

 

Cool hazel eyes surveyed the now quailing novice, her lower lip trembling at the thought of the irch being applied to her more tender flesh. It had been the first time Faerzyne had had the duty to deal with this girl, caught out of her room after curfew. Inclined to believe her story of simply losing track of time in the library, Faerzyne had refrained for birching the girl, or even giving her a chore. On this occasion, a sharp scare out to do the trick. Whack! the birch struck the wooden desk again, and the frightened novice shrank back further in the uncomfortable chair. “I don’t need to tell you the importance of curfew again, do I child?†She asked, a wry twist to her mouth. The girl shook her head hurriedly, and Faerzyne nodded briefly, causing the bells in her long braids to tinkle once more. “I thought not. Now off with you child. I do not want to see you in this office again, understood?†The novice, now pale with fright scrambled out of her chair, mumbling apologies and curtseying, even as she dashed to the door.

 

With a sigh, Faerzyne returned the birch to it’s place in her cupboard, before moving to sit behind her desk. Closing her eyes briefly, she felt a tingle as one of her wards was breached, the resulting knock causing her to open her eyes. The day was young, and already it was proving to be a testing day. “Enter.†She called, following the command with a weave of air which opened the door, much to the obvious shock of the girl who stood on the other side, though the woman beside her was nonperturbed. Not clothed as an initiate, an outsider, or petitioner perhaps. Waving them in, Faerzyne regarded them with a smooth, though not unkind face. "Lavinya Sedai." She greeted with a nod, before averting her attention to the wide-eyed girl at her side. “My name is Faerzyne Grigory, and I am the Mistress of Novices here at the Tower. How can I help you?â€

 

~Faerzyne

MoN

[Quibby]

Wide-eyed, Janine stared as the door opened as if under its own power, accompanied by a woman's voice inviting her and her Aes Sedai escort into the office within. The woman behind the desk was not the harsh-looking taskmistress that Janine had been expecting. Rather, a smooth-faced woman with hazel eyes and dark, braided hair sat behind a desk, looking back at her. So that's the wench's name, Janine thought. Well, Lavinya Sedai, I'll just show you how mannerly I can be!

 

Sparing the wretched woman a brief, sidelong glance, Janine curtsied as best she could, an interesting affair considering that she'd never done it before, and said meekly, "Faerzyne Sedai." Straightening with a bit of a wobble, Janine continued. "I am Janine Alastarn, a recent arrival to Tar Valon and the White Tower from Andor."

 

A thought struck her as Janine paused for breath: Do I tell her how I arrived? Do I want to risk it? "Upon reaching the Tower, I first met Lavinya Sedai, who informed me that I can learn to channel." Now, as long as that hateful woman doesn't say anything... "And so, here I am, Aes Sedai." Janine's lips curved into a shy smile that she hoped would convey innocence; no need to let this woman know anything more than she needed to know.

[Lavinya]

Faerzyne waved the two to the chairs seated before her desk for that very purpose. The girl Janine smiled at her in a way that made Faerzyne's brows lift slightly, thinking this child was indeed more than what she seemed. A tension lingered, between the girl and Lavinya Sedai, it's nature unknown, but not a surprise to Faerzyne. Lavinya had quite the reputation with the novices, for being a formidable and demanding woman. No doubt Janine had already experienced some of the fiery haired woman's temper.

 

So the girl had already been tested. This meant she had to know, somewhere deep down inside of herself that she would be accepted within the White Tower. That she would learn to channel, to the best of her abilities. Still the girl shifted in her seat, as if she couldn’t quite believe that she would be asked to stay. Faerzyne decided to relieve her from the tension that was building. She opened the book of Novices which was still in front of her. “So you’ve been tested already. How fortunate.†She picked up her pen, and prepared to write. “Let’s see about making your stay here a bit more permanent then, shall we?â€

 

She didn’t have to look at the young woman to see that there was a change in the tension that had kept her in it’s thrall. “Can you tell me your full name again?†As the girl replied, she wrote it down in the book. Another life sealed to the Tower, for better and for worse. “And your place of birth and raising?†again she wrote, making Janine's stay more certain with every letter, every curved or straight line. “And finally your age.†She finished with a dot behind the age, which felt as heavy and important as any signature from any high lord or lady. “Welcome to the White Tower.â€

 

~Faerzyne, MoN

[Quibby]

"Welcome to the White Tower." With those words, the Mistress of Novices suddenly caused Janine to realize just what she had done. She had signed her life away without a thought of the alternatives. Her curtsy was far shakier than the first she had given the woman. "I... ah, thank you, Faerzyne Sedai." There was an awkward moment where Janine tried to decide what to do. Obviously, there would be other people that she'd have to talk to, things she had to do. Finally, she settled for a simple, "By your leave, ah, Mistress." Light, these titles are going to take some getting used to.

 

As she turned to leave, Janine's eyes met Lavinya's. Everything in her screamed to just keep walking, but one part seemed to mutter, No, wait, wait... "You take good care of that pipe, now, Lavinya Sedai. I'll be back for it someday." As she walked away, Janine muttered, "Bloody wench," half-hoping that the woman heard it, half-hoping she didn't. Either way, one did hear it.

 

"Just a moment, novice." Janine winced as the Mistress of Novices spoke again. "Since you and Lavinya Sedai seem to get along so well, I've decided that she will be your mentor. She'll be the one giving you your lessons and assigning any required punishments."

 

"WHAT?! You have got to be kidding me!" The voice of reason cried out to be silent, but the voice of anger smothered it. "You're putting me under this red-haired tyrant's eyes?! I won't have it! Blood and ashes, woman, if I have to put up with her, I'll... I'll..."

 

As her temper cooled off, Janine drifted into silence. For a moment, there was nothing else but the sound of breathing. Finally somebody broke the silence. "Are you about through, Miss Alastarn?" the Mistress of Novices said cooly.

 

************

 

Shrugging into the white dress she'd been given, Janine rubbed at her rear end. Light, she wouldn't be able to sit for a week! Even the light touch of the shift that had been provided for her was more reminder than she wished. "'Welcome to the White Tower,' indeed. Janine, what have you gotten yourself into?" All that she could think of was that somewhere in the White Tower, there was a red haired woman laughing at her with a pilfered pipe in hand.

 

 

-Janine Alastarn

Novice